Day 4 – Friday, November 25 2016 (Inca Trek Day 1)

Our trekking company picked us up around 7:00am and drove us to the start of the trail at 82KM. We enjoyed a lovely outdoor breakfast here and met our tour guides, Jose and Reynaldo and 3 other couples that were joining our trek. 

Our duffle bags were weighted to ensure they are under the 7kg limit and we geared up to start hiking the first day, ranked a ‘moderate’ day (14 km distance with 1,906ft elevation gain).

We started the trail and the first 5 minute was already uphill. After two days of acclimatizing, I felt much better and wasn’t as exhausted as before. That was definitely a relief! My first impressions were that trail was definitely busy from other trekkers, porters and locals. Unfortunately there was also animal feces on the trail. But the scenery was too beautiful for me to really care and be discouraged.  

The first two hours were flat and easy. No problem until our guides told us we will be doing the Inca test, which was a solid 20 minute of natural steps up. If we suffered from this incline, we might be send back by our guides! I went slowly but steady and I passed the test, even though I was out of breath. The view at the top made it all worthwhile though. 

After a total of 4 hours of hiking, we stopped at the campsite for lunch. The porters clapped as we entered—they were so sweet! My legs were feeling it so the rest was much appreciated. It started to rain but we were luckily indoors. The food was delicious and we got a small salad starter and a soup. Most of us thought that would be all we’d get until the shared dishes kept rolling out. We had guacamole and chips, cooked chicken ceviche, trout and more. We were never left hungry. 

We headed out for another 3 hours but this time, it would be harder due to more incline and steps than the morning. Mid-way, we stopped for a break at the first ruins, Llartapata. Jose gave us some history but I was just glad to sit down. 

When we finally arrived at camp around 5:00pm, the porters clapped and cheered for us again. The “moderate” day was done. Our tents were set up by the porters and we were ecstatic to lie down and rest our legs. I was definitely tired but reassured that I can do the most challenging day tomorrow as long as I maintain a slow pace. 

Around 6:00pm, we had happy hour where we all enjoy tea, hot chocolate and coffee with some light snacks like fresh popcorn. It was fun to share stories with everyone and get to know each other better. Dinner was served at 7:00pm and we got our starter soup and various shared dishes.

 We went to bed shortly after because we were all exhausted and needed the rest for Day 2. 

Day 5 – Saturday November 26, 2016 (Inca Trek Day 2)

Breakfast was served at 5:00am so we got a man-made rooster wake-up call at 4:30am by Reynaldo. The porters served us hot coca tea (helps with the altitude) and provided us with a bin of warm water to freshen up. Breakfast was light but there was always ample food. 

We started the toughest day of the trek with two mountain passes to get over (16 km distance with 2,950ft elevation gain for the first pass and 1,423ft gain on the second pass). The first two hours was just uphill steps in the tropical rainforest. It was shady and luckily breezy with interesting foliage to see along the way. I was one of the slowest trekkers in our group but our guide, Reynaldo who was always at the end encouraged me and told me I was doing great. He was so friendly and gave me tips on how to be more efficient. 

After 2 hours, we arrived at a Llulluchapampa valley area with squat toilets and vendors selling snacks, water and Gatorade. We took a short break before our toughest challenge, climbing without shade in order to reach Dead Women’s pass. We could see it from here. 

Our guide, Jose told us to go at our own pace, take our time and we will meet at the summit for a group picture. It was “rock and roll time” as he’d tell us. Slowly step by step I’d ascend taking short breaks to catch my breath, drink water and appreciate the view. It was tough but luckily it was a cool breezy day. 

With my last final steps, I reach Dead Woman’s pass. It’s called Dead Woman’s pass because of the mountain silhouette resembles a women lying down with her hands crossed… but I could tell you another reason as to the name—the uneven steps are killer. At the top, we got some fresh juice and a sandwich to refuel from our great porters. 

It’s not over yet! Now comes to descend on the other side. It was very interesting to see the contrast of weather and landscape from the ascent. The ascent was sunny and dry, while we bundled up for the foggy cold descend. 

Once we reached the bottom of the Pacaymayu valley, lunch was served and we chowed down like hungry alpacas.  

My legs were like jelly and I was ready to lie down but there is still have one more pass to go! Yes, more uneven rock steps up and down. It started to drizzle lightly but somehow the rain, my music and lunch reenergized me. I was climbing at a good pace.  

We stopped for a break at the Runkuraqay ruins where Reynaldo showed us how to make strong rope from straw and told us they made bridges from this technique. 

Behind our guides, we just saw clouds moving in and out between the mountains. We started to climb agian and the sun came out half way up and the clouds started to disappear to reveal beautiful glaciers in the distance. 

We made it to the top of Runkuraqay pass and now we only had an 1.5 hour of descend left until we reach camp. We slowly climbed down as Jose played his flute for us as encouragement. At this moment, I knew I did it… the toughest day was almost done. I was proud and knew it’d get easier from here… well at least that’s what I believed at that time. 

We arrived at one more ruins site, Sayacmarka which was a sacrifice site. The fog was heavy and it added to the mysterious vibe of this space. My legs were extremely weak and each step up to the ruins was brutal. I felt like my legs could collapse any minute.

I reached our camp, Choquicocha only to see fog since we were in the clouds at 11800ft above sea level. Soon after lying on my air mattress, the fog cleared to reveal the mountains peaks in front of us. It was spectacular and my favorite campground of the three nights. However, it was cold lowering to about 5°C.

Our entire group celebrated successfully completing the toughest day of the trek with happy hour and dinner. Unfortunately, another group had members than needed a porter to carry them up because they didn’t make it! 

After dinner, we saw the stars lite up the sky. It was remarkable. Gayaanan and Rosanna tried to shoot it while Chi and I kept mistakenly ruining their long exposure. 

 Day 6 – Sunday November 27, 2016 (Inca Trek Day 3)

We woke up to a beautiful mountain landscape. I never expected the trek to be this scenic. After breakfast, our guides introduced each of our 16 porters and 2 cooks. They ranged from ages 20 to 67. 

Today was an easy day but still hiking over 10km with mostly downhill. Our tour guide, Jose told us the third day is his favorite because of the ruins and the scenery. There were gradual ups and down but it was hard since our legs were so tired. The foliage was interesting and there is meters of moss. We stabbed it with our hiking poles. You could seriously lie on it and sink inside. 

Our first break was at a camp, where we could see the Phuyupatamarka ruins, the watch tower. We were in the clouds and the panoramic view was remarkable. 

Today, the trail was less busy and I took my time to soak in the scenery. We arrived at Intipata ruins, agricultural site but the view looking out was one of my favourites. It was starting to look like Machu Picchu—lush green mountains.  

We also found some llamas at this site and took some photos with them. One of the llama loved Andrew so much, he slept on him!

We arrived to the campsite around 1:00pm and had lunch. After lunch, we walked to the Winay Wayna ruins, a inca hospital, farming terraces and temple. It started to rain harder and harder so we hid in our tents and took a siesta. 

We enjoyed happy hour and the final dinner with the group. We tipped our cooks and porters and expressed our appreciation for them. It was a lovely night and we even got a cake!

We called it an early night around 9pm because we would have to wake up at 3:00am the next day to queue at a trail checkpoint that opens at 5:00am. 

Day 7 – Monday November 28, 2016 (Inca Trek Day 4) 

We woke up at 2:45am and I didn’t have a peaceful night. I kept waking up in excitement but also some tummy issues. We quickly headed to the checkpoint and waited in line for two hours. It was freezing and unenjoyable but necessary to ensure the porters can pack up and catch their train back to Cusco. 

Once the checkpoint opened, it was a mad dash to the sun gate. The 2 hour trek was relatively easy but the end required climbing steep stairs. Our team stuck pretty close together and sunrise views were magical. We were all eager and excited to see what we worked so hard for. 

Majority of the times, you cannot see Machu Picchu from the sun gate because the clouds are low and fog is heavy. We were very lucky to be able to see Machu Picchu with blue skies above us. We all made it and no words can express the sense of accomplishment that day.

We rushed down and took photos of Machu Picchu. We definitely had a different level of appreciation for these ruins due to our journey. 

We wander the site with our tour guide and then used the free time to explore more. The sun was beaming on us and we were exhausted from being awake so long. 

 

Regardless, Chi and I hiked to the Inca bridge which wasn’t that impressive in comparison to everything else we’ve seen. 

We exited the park and took the bus down to meet the tour guide and group one last time for lunch at Tupana Wasi. I enjoyed some soup before heading to our hotel, Panorama B&B. The hot shower with the perfect pressure felt so great after not showering for four days. 

I took a nap since I started to feel slightly sick from the food on the trek or the heat. We left for dinner at Indio Feliz, where I started to feel better. This was our last dinner together as a group of 8 and we shared our favorite moments of the trek. We walked around the small town, Aguas Calientes before heading back to the hotel. It was a small cozy tourist town at night. 

Day 8 – Tuesday November 29, 2016

After a night of well deserved rest in a comfy bed, we had breakfast in our hotel and returned to Machu Picchu to climb Machu Picchu Mountain. We noticed how foggy it was and knew how lucky we were to finished yesterday. The new group of trekkers arriving at sun gate weren’t able to see anything. I was hoping the fog would lift by the time we get to the summit. 

This hike wasn’t easy! It was a solid 1.5 hour of steep uneven stairs and our legs were already fatigue from the trek. Thank goodness, we didn’t plan to do this trek yesterday. We slowly step by step got through it and I was hoping we would be rewarded with the view and not just fog.

We finally arrived from what felt like forever climbing and the clouds magically revealed Machu Picchu. The fog and clouds lifted and we were presented with an sunny unforgettable view.

Photos could not capture the beauty of this place. Chi also got on one knee, popped the question and I said “Yes!” to the ring. Read about it here

After descending down, we bumped into some llamas before exiting the park as it started to thunder and get grey agian. Man, we really lucked out with the weather. 

We took the bus to Aguas Calientes to grab lunch at Orquidea’s Grill and picked up our luggage from the hotel. The rain started to pour and we were so glad we didn’t experience this during our trek. We got to sample of walking through this torrent rain as we headed to the train station. We took the upgraded Vistadome train to allow for catching a evening flight to Lima. The train had lots of natural light and big windows. It was a scenic ride but we had seen better on the trek. 

We took our shuttle back to Cusco to grab our luggage and said our goodbyes as Rosanna, Chi and I were taking a flight back to Lima. We arrived in Lima around 10:00pm and ordered some Pardo chicken for a late dinner.