South America Part V: The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

Hola! This may or may not be my last post for the trip. Depends on how eventful my last few days are and how much time I have to kill at the airport before my flight home.

When I last left off I was awaiting my tour group with whom I'd be spending the next 7 days (in fairly close quarters). I've done a few organised tours in the past so I know from experience that you can get some real weirdos. It seems that there is always at least one (see post from my trip to Borneo 3 years ago as an example http://siobhanmhughes.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-people-you-meet.html). But I was very lucky on this trip and had a really really great group. We needed a team name but no one really had any good suggestions and we unenthusiastically came up with the stupid name "Machu Lovers",  which stuck. 

We flew to Cusco on Thursday, which is in the centre of Peru and is the closest reasonably sized city to Machu Picchu. We spent a day there and a day in a smaller town (called Ollantaytambo) in between Cusco and the start of the Inca Trail to help acclimatise. Although Machu Picchu is below 3,000m, the highest point on the Inca Trail is 4,200m above sea level and a few of the days/nights are spent about 3,500m. Cusco is 3,300m above sea level, so it's good to spend 24 hours there to get used to the elevation before hiking. 

There are two ways to see Machu Picchu- you can take a train from Cusco and then a bus up and see it in a day, or you can do the "Inca Trail" which is a 3 and a half day, 3 night hike, concluding on the morning of day 4 when you walk through the "sun gate" at Machu Picchu. It's 44km in total and is a tough-ish hike due to the fact that none of it is flat, and it's at high altitudes (meaning some people get sick, headaches, shortness of breath, etc)

I obviously chose the latter, because I like a challenge and I thought it would be more of an experience than just getting a train to go see a tourist attraction. I really don't like camping though (in particular sleeping on the ground and in tents) so that was a bit of risk when I booked the trip. I had no idea what the conditions would be like.

Our main activity in Cusco the day we arrived was prepping for the Inca Trail. We were given a briefing as to what to expect and were provided with all of our equipment. While you can hire a private guide and private porters, most people do the trek as part of a tour group as you need food and equipment for 4 days. You also need a permit (which has to be obtained months in advance as they sell out) so the easiest way is to book a tour who then secure the permits for you. 

We were a group of 13, plus two guides; our main guide was named Washington and our second guide on the trail was Ki Ke. Apparently it was a popular trend here for a while to give your male children American last names as first names (hence Washington). Ki Ke is the standard nickname for Enrique here. 

In addition to our two guides, we had a team of 21 porters do the hike with us (21!!!!). Saying these men were absolute legends would be an understatement. They did everything. We had a weight limit on our bags of 6kg which included our sleeping bags and sleeping mats as the porters carried these. Any other personal items we had to carry ourselves so packing the right amount (enough warm clothes but nothing to heavy/bulky) was the name of the game. In addition to our 6kg duffle bags, the porters carried all the tents, food, kitchen equipment, etc that we needed for the 4 days. They have a strict 25kg weight limit per person and get weighed at the start.

Day one is what they call the "training day" which was just 11km with some ups and downs (total elevation gain of just 300m). It's a good way to get into it and build your confidence a bit. This was a nice easy day

We were all very pleasantly surprised at lunch on day 1. I think we were all expecting sandwiches and juice boxes eaten on the side of the trail, but no. We arrived at the lunch spot and the porters had already arrived, set up a lunch tent (complete with table and chairs) and cooked a 3 course lunch (chicken noodle soup, fish fingers and rice, and pudding for dessert). They did everything, including the dishes after and packing everything up.

This was the theme for the trip. The porters continually amazing us. Each day we would all arrive at camp just exhausted. And awaiting us, our tents would all be set up, our inflatable mattresses blown up, lunch or tea ready and waiting, and a bowl of hot water ready so we could clean ourselves up. Not only did they leave the previous nights camp after us (as they had to put everything away), but they beat us to the new camp with enough time to set everything up, while carrying 25kg of weight on their backs. They literally did everything except hiking the trail for us (we had to move our own feet). 

The food was surprisingly good and we were very well fed. We had two cooks with us. I was hoping to lose a few holiday pounds while hiking, but I doubt I did with all the food they served. One morning, we got big pancakes with each of our names written on them. Another day there was pizza and chicken strips. And somehow, they managed to bake two cakes for dessert with lunch on day 3. None of us can figure out how they managed it. I should also point out that this wasn't a luxury tour - it was your standard, middle of the pack, inca trail experience.

When we arrived at camp each afternoon, the porters would be there waiting and would clap for us for completing that days hike.  This was almost insulting as it should have been us clapping for them, given that they kicked our asses on the trail while carrying all of our shit for us.

Anyway, they definitely made the camping experience easier, and allowed us to really enjoy the hike without having to lug a lot of weight up and down. However I still had to sleep on the ground (which I hate) and didn't sleep particularly well. But that's par for the course I think.

Day 2 is the most difficult day as you get up early and go straight up hill. You gain 1200 vertical meters over about 8km and end up at 4,215m above sea level (the highest point). After that, it's down hill 600 vertical meters to reach camp. I had absolutely no issues going up or with the elevation. No one in the group was sick or anything but some people felt it a bit more. I've been at an elevation of 4,200m above sea level before and never had any major issues, so I wasn't too concerned.

The biggest issue for most of us was the delicate balance between staying hydrated  and not having to pee 1800 times. Everyone was getting up in the night and ducking off for toilet breaks while hiking. I think the cold and the altitude also make this worse then usual.

Toilets were easily our most frequently discussed topic over the 4 days. Where the next toilet is, what condition the toilet is in, is there toilet paper, who has hand sanitiser, etc. The first day the toilets were OK - relatively clean and we had a western style toilet at camp that night. Things went downhill quickly after that though. It was pretty grim at times - dirty squat toilets. So bad in places that it was better to pee in the bush. When we arrived at Machu Picchu on day 4, the toilets were clean and western style and there was soap and mirrors. We were all beside ourselves with excitement. It wasn't quite as exciting as seeing Machu Picchu for the first time, but it was up there.

Day 3 of the hike is the longest day (16km) of a lot of up and down. Mostly down. As most of you know I sprained/fractured my ankle in January and recovery has been slow. A month and a half ago I still couldn't go down normal stairs properly. So the steep, uneven, slippery steps down were quite a challenge for me. Up was easy, down was slow going as I didn't want to risk rolling it. So I didn't enjoy that aspect much, but the day itself was good. The views were the most spectacular on this day and there were lots of very impressive ruins that we stopped at along the way. At one set of ruins there was an absolutely spectacular view and llamas roaming around on the terraces. We all ran around like idiots trying to get Llama selfies with the view in the background. It was a lot of fun and one of the highlights for me over the first three days.

On day 4, we were woken up at 3:30am to get to Machu Picchu early before the crowds arrive en masse. As mentioned, you can just get a train and bus, so most visitors do it that way. At about 6:30, we reached the "gringo killer" stairs, which are 62 steep steps up leading to the sun gate which is the first view of Machu Picchu. After 4 days, it's a pretty awesome sight. It's then another 40 minutes down to the site itself. We spent about 3 and a half hours there exploring. It was really spectacular. Easily the highlight of my trip. Doing the hike first really makes you appreciate the site when you arrive. It's a reward for a few tough days, and makes the nights spent sleeping on the ground completely worth it. The only negative was that we were all so knackered from getting up at 3:30 and the previous day's, that getting around the site (up and down more stairs) is pretty tiring. We were judging some of the day trippers a bit. Coming down from the sun gate, a group stopped us and asked how far it was. We said "about half an hour" and with exasperated looks said "half an hour?!!!??". Not much sympathy from us, having walked 44km up and down hill. 

Thankfully, there are buses that take you to the nearest town (you don't have to walk down) where we all went for lunch. There was wifi at the restaurant, and since none of us had any reception at all for 4 days, we all sat in silence for a while, getting reconnected and posting photos to Facebook/Instagram (priorities). It's amazing how little you miss when you are disconnected from the world for 4 days. You think you are missing so much, but then you realise that nothing happened. I had 2 texts and a Facebook message when I got back, and one was work related. Or maybe it's just me....

It was a bit of a long trip back to Cusco but since it was our last night, team Machu Lovers went for dinner and drinks to celebrate. We ended up out until about 2am, so it ended up being a pretty long and tiring day (given the 3:30am start). I was absolutely exhausted yesterday and spent the day doing literally nothing. It was so nice. 

I'm heading back to Santiago at the moment, for a few last days before heading home. Im a little concerned I might miss my connection in Lima and the airlines are being assholes and not helpful, so cross your fingers for me.  Might post one more short post, if there is enough to talk about. 

SH