Hola, right then, the inca trail. Our fist day of exploring was on the 1st of may, we left the hotel early and travelled to the sacred valley. Here we explored some amazing incan ruins where some massive slabs of stone had been hauled to the top of a hill and then abandoned before they were assembled. That evening was our last night of civilization in a hotel, we were up and away the next morning at 7am for our first day of walking.
It was a scorching day, and although we walked for 6 hours, this was broken up with many stops at sites of historical interest so the pace was fairly easy going. The porters however pretty much ran the trail with all of our gear, food and tents on their backs. We arrived at camp at about 4pm with enough time before dinner for an England vs the world dodgeball match, which we lost..... comprehensively. Our dinner than night, and for all the nights on the trail was amazing, a proper sit down meal with a dessert.
The next day was the hardest, involving the crossing of dead womans pass, a high saddle 4200m above sea level, requiring a climb of 1200m. It was fairly gruelling but getting to the top was very satisfying, even more so as i was the first one to the top. After the climb we admired the view from the top for an hour while everyone from our group made it up took plenty of photos and then headed down 700m to our campsite. That night was pretty chilly, and with us getting up at 5am the next morning it was not a good nights sleep.
The next day was our last full day of walking, with 17km to cover, but mostly down hill so it was a nice day of stolling along and having a chat. We arrived at camp with enough time to have a few cervezas and relax in the sun. As it was our last night camping we gathered together and gave the porters a well deserved tip. The next morning we had a wake up time of 4am so everyone got an early night.
Our final day to machu piccu was only a 2hr walk, but it was by far the least enjoyable, as every group doing the trail left at the same time so it was very crowded. We got our first glimpse of machu picchu at 9am and with the wisps of morning cloud still lingering aroud the valley floor it was an amazing sight. As we descended the could slowly cleared and revealed more of the ancient city until we arrived at the site with clear skies. It was spectacular, as a location for a settlement i think the incas picked the most innacessible and visually stunning place possible, which all adds to the enigma. As our guide was saying that Machu Picchu was not really an important city to the Incas and it is more the stunning setting that makes it the icon os Peru.
We got back to our hotel in cuzco at 6pm, sleep deprived, stinking and sore, but thoroughly satisfied. A nice shower, quick nap and a shave later we met up with the group to go out for a slap up meal to cap off a very special few days.
Next stop is Lake Titikaka where we head tomorrow. Hope you are all enjoying some sun at home. Blog soon
Rich
It was a scorching day, and although we walked for 6 hours, this was broken up with many stops at sites of historical interest so the pace was fairly easy going. The porters however pretty much ran the trail with all of our gear, food and tents on their backs. We arrived at camp at about 4pm with enough time before dinner for an England vs the world dodgeball match, which we lost..... comprehensively. Our dinner than night, and for all the nights on the trail was amazing, a proper sit down meal with a dessert.
The next day was the hardest, involving the crossing of dead womans pass, a high saddle 4200m above sea level, requiring a climb of 1200m. It was fairly gruelling but getting to the top was very satisfying, even more so as i was the first one to the top. After the climb we admired the view from the top for an hour while everyone from our group made it up took plenty of photos and then headed down 700m to our campsite. That night was pretty chilly, and with us getting up at 5am the next morning it was not a good nights sleep.
The next day was our last full day of walking, with 17km to cover, but mostly down hill so it was a nice day of stolling along and having a chat. We arrived at camp with enough time to have a few cervezas and relax in the sun. As it was our last night camping we gathered together and gave the porters a well deserved tip. The next morning we had a wake up time of 4am so everyone got an early night.
Our final day to machu piccu was only a 2hr walk, but it was by far the least enjoyable, as every group doing the trail left at the same time so it was very crowded. We got our first glimpse of machu picchu at 9am and with the wisps of morning cloud still lingering aroud the valley floor it was an amazing sight. As we descended the could slowly cleared and revealed more of the ancient city until we arrived at the site with clear skies. It was spectacular, as a location for a settlement i think the incas picked the most innacessible and visually stunning place possible, which all adds to the enigma. As our guide was saying that Machu Picchu was not really an important city to the Incas and it is more the stunning setting that makes it the icon os Peru.
We got back to our hotel in cuzco at 6pm, sleep deprived, stinking and sore, but thoroughly satisfied. A nice shower, quick nap and a shave later we met up with the group to go out for a slap up meal to cap off a very special few days.
Next stop is Lake Titikaka where we head tomorrow. Hope you are all enjoying some sun at home. Blog soon
Rich
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