Inca Trail, Peru

The spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu sit atop the Andes Mountains.  The site was re-discovered in the early 1900’s by an American historian and restored by UNESCO in the 1980’s.  The 26 mile Inca Trail trek by foot to reach the site would prove to be four days we would never forget.  Our tour company Peru Treks picked us up by bus at 5:20am along with 14 other half-asleep hikers and two local guides.  After five hours we arrived at the trailhead and handed our bags over to porters who carried our bags for the four days at $45/person (best money ever spent!).  The porters (local men aged 18-50) also carried our tents, food, water, and supplies of up to 50 pounds each.  These men had truly amazing stamina to run the trail as we trekkers huffed and puffed up the mountain with only our day packs of water, camera, and sunscreen.  See our video:

The first day was an “easy” hike of 6 miles; the second day a killer 6 miles straight up to 13,900 feet; the third day, called the “gringo killer,” was 11 miles of the steepest rock stairs possible; and the fourth day culminated as we arrived to the ruins in the morning after two hours of hiking.  This trek was truly about the journey not the destination: the views of mountain peaks, cloud forests, dry deserts, and Incan settlements was unforgettable.  The altitude and endless climbs were relentless; the friendship of our fellow trekkers made the experience hilarious.  A few highlights:

In case of emergency on the trail, the evacuation policy was via donkey.  Not joking!  We laughed endlessly about who would be hauled out by donkey and would our insurance cover donkey evacuation.

No showers for four days and keyhole squatter toilets.  No explanation required.  

Climbing to the summit with limited breathable air, we felt dizzy, with hearts racing, and headaches forming.  We laughed uncontrollably, as our brains stopped functioning properly: sentences were difficult to form.  One girl started seeing and swatting at imaginary spiders, another couldn’t speak coherently saying things like “my hot is hat” and “ching chong” instead of Top Gun.

After exploring the mystical ruins (and surviving a two hour guided tour in the relentless direct sunlight), we arrived in Aquas Caliente.  We ate guinea pig and drank beers with our new friends: a couple from Chicago who got engaged at Machu Picchu; two hilarious English girls with incredible hiking stamina; a French couple who kept telling people they were from Peru, which was ridiculous; and two American brothers who had a million dollars worth of REI equipment at their disposal.  Exhausted and stinking we sat outside a 7-11 type market drinking while three of the guys (including Ken) got $12/hour massages (they negotiated down because $24/hour was too expensive).  Grinning ear to ear, exhausted and drunk we hopped on the four hour combo train/bus ride back to Cusco.

Summit of Inca Trail, 13,900 Feet

Machu Picchu

Along the Trail

Our New Friends from the Trek