Inca Trail

Here is an example of the amazing Inca sites we saw along the trail.
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WOW, what an amazing adventure!!! We both found the Inca trail to be one of the most inspiring and TIRING adventures so far.

We were in a group of about 15 tourists and a similar number of porters. I know what you are are thinking; it must have been a luxury trip with all those extra people carrying everything. In a way it was pretty luxurious, we were served amazing meals in a dinner tent and we even got bowls of hot water to wash in brought to our tent every morning. However, we still carried all of our own gear -  minus the tents.  The trek was fairly tough with most of it being up and down hill. The second day we went over two passes, the first being 4200 meters and is called 'dead womans pass' --that was a tough day! The nights were freezing cold and the days were hot and the sun as very strong up there.

This is a group picture of all the Canadians that were on the trail. We are standing at the top of the 4200m pass.
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The views were amazing. We were surrounded be beautiful snowcapped mountains and a large clear blue sky. The stars were amazing at night and I was so happy to finally be able to see my favorite constellation, the southern cross.  We also walked though what is called a cloud forest and I was so surprised by the amount of vegetation that could grow in those conditions. It was almost like a jungle in the mountains, there were amazing trees, vines, and lots of flowers, including beautiful orchids. I did the Inca trail for the ruins and the history, I was not expecting the amazing scenery that the Andes has to give. I would have done the trail just for the views, they were that good.

Check out this view!
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The ruins were amazing too, it gives you such a good feeling of satisfaction to see sites that can only be reached by a challenging trail and there are no bus loads of tourists getting in the way!Our tour guide was really informative and although there are many theories to Macchu Picchu and the trail, he believes that the trail is a religious pilgrimage and might take a few months to complete the rituals at each site before finally reaching Macchu Picchu which is a religious site for only special people. Unfortunately true meaning of Macchu Picchu is lost and all the theories are based on what can be observed.

Vince standing beside an amazing example of Inca craftmanship at Macchu Picchu.
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We were both amazed by the Macchu Picchu site itself, it was the biggest Inca sites we've seen and the stone work was amazing. The Inca trail was one of our main objecives for the trip and we loved it.