Get ready for a life-changing experience! Challenge your limits and hike the legendary Inca Trail and dare to explore the unknown!!!
Trekking the Inca Trail is to connect with the Inca culture, to see the wonderful landscapes that surround it, for some it can be a physical challenge because you will go up and down hills, to visit more important archaeological sites that are on the Inca Trail.
In reality it is a whole experience that is lived along this route, here you will share new experiences not only with your companions on foot but also with the cooks and porters who will share various experiences with us;
The best time to do the Inca Trail is from May to September, because on these days we can see sunny mornings and clear afternoons, and it gives us a better view of the landscapes we are going to visit.
But just as it's warm during the day, it's very cold at night, so you need to wrap up warm.
Before I tell you all about my trip, I must tell you that if you want to do the Inca Trail you have to book at least 6 or 7 months in advance, because the responsible entity offers limited spaces, so if you want to travel the Inca Trail you have to organise it in advance or with the support of a certified travel agency, in this case I travel with the agency Tierra de los Andes.
Our trek starts from the town of Ollantaytambo, I am ready and prepared to start one of the best and most famous adventures in South America, treading those ancient Inca trails, hiking through mountains, cloud forests and more. Oh and let's not forget that we will meet many wild animals, the fauna, and as such you should respect them in case you meet them on the way.
Our ultimate adventure begins at km 82 - Piscacucho in the district of Ollantaytambo, here we introduce ourselves as travellers, cooks and porters, as we will all travel together as a group for 4 days and 3 nights along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
To enter the Inca Trail, the first thing we do is to register, then we go over the small suspension bridge, and we start one of the craziest hikes and with great success we arrive at Machu Picchu.
What we are told is that from this point to our first camp we will walk at least 13 to 14 km, and as this is the start of the hike it is easy, it is like practice for the following days.
I am excited, because doing this trek is like connecting with the ancestors, on the way we meet other adventurous travellers who are also on their way to Machu Picchu, and as you said so far everything is quiet.
And we find the first archaeological site of Patallaqta, it is constituted in three levels where you can see the urban residence, religious residence, temples that points towards the snowy Veronica and the sunrise. After seeing this site we continue our hike until we reach Miskay where lunch awaits us.
The cooks have already prepared lunch for all of us, they go ahead first to have everything ready when we arrive, the lunch consisted of fried fish, potatoes, salad, soft drink, everything was delicious and gave us strength and energy to keep walking.
Along the way we will be able to see this greenish landscape, surrounded by flowers, trees, snow-capped mountains, the whole panorama is very beautiful and even more the sunset; now we are heading towards Wayllabamba which has a slope, but the road is quiet, and we are already arriving to Yuncachimpa where we will spend the night, this is our last stop of the first day.
Here the porters are the ones who wait for us in the armed camps, they also wait for us with everything ready for dinner, the truth is that the attention is first class, I feel at home.
Nothing to miss, but rather with more desire to follow the Inca trail all the way to the marvellous city of Machu Picchu. Now it's time to rest as much as possible because the next day we have to get up early and continue our adventure;
Ready to continue our second day of walking, this day the pace is slow, as each traveller walks at their own pace, and why, you may ask, is that the route takes us to the highest point known as Warmiwañusca or the pass of the dead woman, so we are not required to all walk at a single pace, but we must take into account the time, so here you have to climb according to your pace and we all meet in this open.
The route takes about three or four hours to reach the top of Warmiwañusca, in certain sections we will rest, the truth is that I got quite tired, it is said that this route is for those who love trekking, so you must have a good physical endurance.
All this road is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, derived from Quechua which means royal road, do not despair, if you do not arrive, you can turn around and there is no problem, hahaha ... it's a lie; we all arrive at this point so we are given a long time to arrive and once at the top we are ready to rest and admire all the scenery around us.
Each point is different and there are different things to see, between mountains, flowers like orchids that have a different shape each time and of different types, the various animals that we see in the distance, like the taruka or deer, etc. so it is difficult to get bored on the way;
Then we will descend to Pacaymayo, where we will have lunch, just like the previous day, the cooks and porters will go ahead to prepare our lunch.
We rested here for lunch, this time we were served rice with peanut chicken and mashed potato, along with a soft drink, then we rested for a while to continue on our way.
After resting for a while, we continue on the Inca trail for a couple of hours towards the archaeological site of Sayacmarca, from this place you can already see our camp in Chaquicocha where we have to arrive.
To get to this camp we have to walk through a landscape covered with lush vegetation, surrounded by native plants, flowers and the beauty of it all is that we were accompanied by birds singing, until we reached the place where we rested, because it was almost night and it felt as if the mountains would scorch us.
This is another day and we are told that it is one of the most beautiful trails, as we will be saying goodbye to the mountains and entering the rainforest, passing through a cloud forest, the vegetation is more extensive.
Our way now is downhill, and we pass some archaeological sites such as Runkurakay, a circular Inca building where they cultivated corn and is built on the top, we continue descending to Sayacmarca is another archaeological remains that we find and what is most striking about this point is that the water channels surround the main wall.
Then we go to Chaquicocha, where we can see that the walls of the Inca Trail are resistant despite the fact that a lot of time has passed and it is even thought that if there is any telluric movement, it will be difficult for them to fall down.
Now we will go down through an Inca tunnel where we have to go to the other side and we must go down very carefully or you can fall, we go down with the torch of the mobile phone to guide us on the way.
After walking for a few hours we finally reached Phuyupatamarca, another archaeological site known as the city above the clouds; here they worshipped water, as you can see some liturgical fountains. We continue our walk and pass again through an Inca tunnel that leads us to the archaeological site of Wiñayhuayna.
They tell us that we are not far from Machu Picchu, I am really excited and I really want to be there, I could only see in videos, photos, and sometimes I was even envious because some friends had already visited this great wonder and I was only looking at it from afar, but it is not long now. I am just a few hours away.
This is our last day camping under the stars, surely many of the tourists like me will not be able to sleep tonight, because it is a thrill to be close to one of the seven wonders.
On the other hand, I am very grateful to the cooks and porters who will accompany us during this adventure, they tell us that they get to this place and only we get to Machu Picchu. Their work and company was very important for each one of us and we appreciate every single thing.
So let's get some rest because tomorrow will be the big day, and we will get up very early to get to the Inca city on time.
Today is the most awaited day for everyone, we got up very early, you can see that happiness in everyone because there are few people who do this route, you could say that it is a privilege.
But first, the cooks prepared a delicious breakfast to start our last journey on the Inca Trail; once ready we leave, but it is still dark so everyone puts on their headlamps to guide them on the way and the first point we have to get to is the Puerta del Sol.
After about four hours we arrive at Inti Punku or Sun Gate, they tell us that the ancient settlers used to enter through this place and could see the citadel completely, indeed we go up and wauuu....it has an incredible view, you can see the ruins, the mountains, the lush vegetation, the sun rising, there are many things that I see and I don't know how to describe it.
We spent a long time admiring all that beauty, the nature is so beautiful that I want to stay here forever, but unfortunately we are against time and now our next stop is the archaeological site itself.
Our guide explains that Machu Picchu comes from Quechua and in Spanish means old mountain or ancient mountain, considered one of the most important Inca sites in Peru.
Also considered as one of the seven wonders of the world, textually mentions that Machu Picchu is a pride of all Cusqueños and Peruvians, and who would not be proud of this unique wonder, as each country has its own so far this one surprised me.
After an hour or a little more we arrive at the great city of the Incas Machu Picchu, the first impression of this place is that it is something unreal, to feel the sound of the wind, of the people, of some times, it even feels as if the place itself has a mouth and speaks, everything is fantastic.
I took several photos on each tour, I did not want to forget every moment of this beautiful city, paths through the streets, the sacred square, houses, agricultural areas, observatories and some places of worship among others, it is truly so immense that two hours is too little to know everything of this paradise.
Sadly, two hours passed and I was told that we had to go down to the village of Machu Picchu, we went down by bus and had lunch, we had some time left and went to relax in Aguas Calientes, its water is hot and relaxes you completely.
After relaxing we left for Cusco, I won't lie to you that I rested most of the trip, I was happy and at the same time sad because I was saying goodbye to one of the best places, but I will return and this time I will visit the Hayna Picchu mountain.
I could see that there are many places to eat in the village of Machu Picchu, because certainly the archaeological site is in the high part and there are not many restaurants like here in the village;
There is only one restaurant that offers accommodation with restaurant, it is the four star hotel Tinkuy and it is located next to the entrance gate to the citadel, however I will mention some of the places where you can go to eat.
These places have a special dish, so you would have to try them and decide between these the best dishes, now if you want to eat other dishes or something cheaper you could go to the Machu Picchu town market that offer good dishes among them is the traditional chicken broth, lomo saltado, juices among other dishes.
There are a few things to keep in mind if you are thinking of doing the Inca Trail.
