The Inca Trial!

We set off from Ollantaytambo around 6.30am, headed for Km 82 (on the railway line from Cusco to Aguas Calientes) - the starting point for our hike. Our guides Willy & Jamal were both on board & upon arrival at Km 82 (i.e. the village of Chilca at Pisacucho) we met some of our 12 porters! Having sorted out our registration & got our passports stamped we set off on the trail. We learned the following day that we wouldn't actually be walking on the original Inca Trail for half of the hike, as it was replaced between 10 & 5 years ago.

Having crossed the Rio Urubamba we followed a gently climbing trail alongside the river to the first archaeological site - Llactapata/Patallacta ("town on the hillside") - an ancient Incan village with a number of farming terraces. Llactapata was probably one of the administrative & ceremonial sites which supported the regional centre at Machu Picchu, & it probably also played an important astronomical function during solstices & equinoxes.

Having passed through several hamlets selling snacks & drinks for the weary traveller, we followed the Rio Cusichaca towards the hamlet of Huayllabamba ("grassy plain") where we stopped for lunch at an altitude of 2750m (after having tried a spot of the local booze - chicha i.e. corn beer (absolutely vile - takes just 3 days to boil & ferment)). Upon arrival we were amazed to discover that a dining tent had been set up for us, containing chairs as well as tables covered in cloths & serviettes etc.! All carried there by our porters - bless them! After a delicious meal we were allowed a half hour rest before having to complete a 3km steep uphill climb. Bleurgh.

The uphill woodland climb took us about 2.5 hours which wasn't too bad, but it was quite a long slog & I wasn't 100% convinced that I'd make it. It was the effort, however, to reach our beautiful camping spot - tents (yup, set up by our porters) upon the bare mountainside of Llulluchupampa, overlooking mountains & valleys. Definitely one of the best bedroom views I've ever had.

Once we'd sorted ourselves out - washed with hot water (provided in bright orange bowls),changed from our day's hiking clothes into our evening ones (lots of thermals & woolly hats all round - as we were now at 3800m & it was to be a very cold night), it was time for afternoon tea - how very British!!! This consisted of any manner of hot drink (tea, coffee, chocolate, milo etc.), plus rum if so desired, & snacks along the lines of popcorn etc. In the end we were brought so much popcorn that most of us were too stuffed to eat our gorgeous dinner. Oops! So.... we asked them not to feed us so much the following afternoon, in order that we wouldn't spoil our appetites. A very early night followed dinner, after a brief moment of star-gazing (just too bl**dy cold to be out there too long).

The following morning we were woken up at 6am - with a cup of hot cocoa in bed. It just gets better :o)  Also, another bowl of warm water to get freshened up at the start of the day. Brekkie was half an hour later - bread, jam, cereal, yoghurt, porridge etc. - quite a spread! Then it was time for another 3 hour uphill climb up towards the pass of Warmiwanusca a.k.a. "Dead Woman's Pass" - the highest point of the trail (at 4200m above sea level). Unfortunately, it was a fairly cloudy/misty day, so we didn't really have any kind of view from the top - but the fact that I was still able to breathe upon arrival was enough of a joy for me :o)

Once we'd completed the necessary summit group photo, it was time to start our steep descent down to Rio Pacamayo (Sunrise River) where we stopped for lunch. After lunchtime we crossed over the river & the climbed up once again - towards the ruin of Runturacay (a basket-shaped building used as a control post along the trail). I hadn't realised up until this point, but so far we hadn't been walking on the original Inca trail - but on new paths laid down some time during the past 5 to 10 years. However, from Runturacay onwards we finally got onto the real Inca Trail. Woohoohoo!

From the ruin we had more climbing to do - this time up passed a couple of small lakes to the second pass of the day (at almost 4000m). Afterwards we descended once again, past a lagoon (which we could just about make out through the mist) to the ruin of Sayacmarca ("Dominant Town"), perched on a small mountain spur. From there we continued further down, crossing the Rio Aobamba, onto our second night's campsite at Ch'aqui Cocha (at 3600m).

Once again we had afternoon tea & dinner, but for a change we did manage to stay up past 8pm! We spent a couple of hours playing games in the dining tent, along with our guides. They taught us a Spanish game & we taught them Fuzzy Duck - much to their amusement... sporadically throughout the next day we could hear "Ducky Fuzz" & "Fuzzy Duck" ringing out across the mountains! Or, in Jamal's case, "Fuzzy Duzzy" & "Ducky Fu*ky" :o)  We also had a go at sherades. The two most memorable were Ian doing "Free Willy" (described, but didn't actually demonstrate, pulling down his pants & freeing his willy), & Willy (tour guide) describing the film Force Gum (Force =  acting like a strong man; Gum = chewing action). Not suprisingly, it took us a while to work out that this was actually Forrest Gump - ha ha ha! I think it was when he mentioned a box of chocolates that some bright spark in our group finally sussed out what he was on about. Very funny indeedy!

The following (final morning of our hike) we were up again at 6am, with brekkie at 6.30. This morning we were fed pancakes - very yummy indeedy! This was to be an easier day's hiking - following a gentle uphill climb through cloud forest in the morning (to the third & final pass along the trail), it was then downhill all the way. We lunched near to Huinay Huayna ("Growing Young") - a ruin which we visited after having eaten. Another childish moment of joy... Willy pointed out to us 7 windows in one of the buildings & asked why we thought there were 7, at which point Jamal let out a really loud fart! I'm not too sure that that was quite the answer Willy was after! From there on he became known as the Fartman - poor guy.

This was followed by a steep 3-hour descent into the cloudforest below, down 100s of Inca steps - not something muchly enjoyed by my knees (the left one of which was refusing to work by the end of the day!).  Unfortunately, because there had been a couple of recent landslides around Intipunku ("Sun Gate") - the route normally taken to reach Machu Picchu, we had to descend all the way down to the river & make our way along the train track to Aguas Calientes (a town near Machu Picchu) where we would be staying the night in a hostel - instead of at a campsite near to Intipunku. This meant we weren't to get those famous postcard shots of MP at sunrise. However, it did mean we got to spend the night in a proper bed - after spending a couple of hours in the hot springs drinking Pina Coladas :o)  (I was slightly disconserted that Lucy thought she saw a poo in the pool we were in, but it was nice & relaxing nonetheless!).

That evening it was time for our "last supper" with Willy. Then we had a mini presentation with our porters - when we got the chance to meet them all properly & thank them muchly for all their hard work over the past 3 days. I don't know who started it, but we ended up having to hug & kiss each & every one of them!!!

Then finally it was the day when we actually got to go & see Machu Picchu - an extraordinary  fortress city of the Incas, located in a high saddle between two Andean mountain peaks - Machu Picchu itself ("Old Mountain") & Huayna Picchu ("Young Mountain"). It is thought that the city was begun in about 1440, & was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532 (about 50 years to build & just 100 years of being inhabited!). MP was not a conventional city, but a country retreat town for Inca nobility - the site has a large palace & temples, with other buildings for support staff. It is comprised of approximately 200 buildings - thought to have been planned & built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. Like many Incan structures, most of the buildings were built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, & smoothed with sand. The blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size & have many faces.

We spent much of the morning/early afternoon absorbing the majesty of the pre-Columbian city, before heading back down to Aguas Calientes - ready to catch a train & then bus back to Cusco.