Inca Trail / Machu Picchu

The four day hike on the Inca Trail was certainly one of the highlights of my tour so far and I really enjoyed every minute of it even though it was quite tough at times….
We started with a relatively easy and more or less flat 4 ½ hour 12 km walk on day one and made camp at Wayllabamba on about 3300 meters.
The second day began quite early and was probably the most challenging one, as it was mainly uphill to reach the highest pass on the trail, the “Dead Woman’s Pass” on 4200 meters. We were rewarded with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys and after a short break we started the descent to our next campsite on 3600 meters.
The third day started with another uphill part to the second highest pass on 3950 meters; the next 6 km where then downhill again through lush, tropical forest like sceneries. After the third pass on 3600 meters it was then all downhill to our last campsite a Winay Wayna, this part was all stairs (3000 steps) and quite challenging for your knees and legs too…
In Winay Wayna we welcomed the opportunity to have a hot shower and a nice cold beer!
On the last morning we got up at 4am to begin the final section of the trail to the famous Sun Gate and then down into Machu Picchu. We had been really lucky with the weather on our first three days of the hike (no rain whatsoever, even though we are in the rainy season right now… wenn Engel reisen, dann lacht der Himmel kann ich da nur sagen); only our last day was not that great and so we did not really see anything from the Sun Gate, as the whole valley in front of us was covered by fog. So we continued our hike down towards the entrance of Machu Picchu and only then the sky suddenly cleared and the ancient Inca town of Machu Picchu majestically rose from the clouds…
What an inspiring view, I was standing there almost in tears……..
After a guided tour around the site we then had the rest of the day to explore this mystical Inca city ourselves and after a visit to the Inca bridge I went down to Aguas Calientes and soaked in the nearby hot springs, what a nice treat after four days of hiking. After a four hour train journey we finally got back to Cuzco in the late evening and enjoyed the comfort of having a nice and warm hotel bed waiting for us again.

I earlier said that this trail was probably the highlight of my trip so far; well this all would not have been possible without the great Tucan group and the team of guides and porters accompanying us. It was simply amazing to see how our porters would carry our belongings, the tents, cooking utensils, food etc; each one having to carry 25 kg on his back. It seemed so easy for them and they were always smiling….. and then not to forget about the food, simply delicious! I had no idea how they did it, but everyday they were surprising us with yet another culinary delight!

The Inca Trail was truly an amazing experience for me and I can highly recommend it to all of you!



Getting ready

On the Inca Trail

Arriving in Machu Picchu in the morning of the fourth day