Inca Trail

The Inca Trail in one word: AMAZING. During the four days of the trip we got to see the most beautiful Inca sites, walking in between breathtaking mountains and through jungle-like areas. The trip itself was very hard: we were almost constantly going up or down and when it rained, we had to watch our every step in order not to slip.

 

 

 

Our group consisted of a guide, a cook, eight porters and eight hikers. Beside ourselves, there were three Argentinean women, an Englishman and an Australian couple. Most of the time, we walked alongside Jess and James (the Australian couple), with whom we had a lot of fun.

 

 

The food was surprisingly good. We ate - among other things - soups, popcorn, pancakes, amazingly varied Peruvian dishes and cake. The porters made sure the dining tent was set up each time we arrived. In the evenings, they also took care of our personal sleeping tents, which were, by the way, more than OK. The only downside to the trip was the ‘bathrooms’. We’d probably better not discuss them in detail. Let’s just say we survived it without permanent traumas.

The first day was supposed to be the easiest one, but turned out to end with a hell of a climb. In the afternoon, we saw our first Inca site. Bit by bit, we got to unveil – thanks to our wonderful guide Rolando - some of the intriguing mysteries of the Inca culture.

 

The second day was the longest hike and, supposedly, also the hardest one. We had to climb two passes (one of which was called ‘Dead woman’s pass’, because of the boob-like shape of the mountain), which wasn’t easy but actually went quite smoothly. In the afternoon, we were lucky to witness the (after)birth of a lama!

 

 

 

On the third day, we only had to walk half a day. We visited three Inca sites, the last one of which was the most beautiful we had seen all along. It even turned out to beat Machu Picchu, probably because there weren’t any other tourists there and we could enjoy the overwhelming quietness of the surrounding mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

On the last day, after waking up at 3.30 a.m., we only had a couple of hours to go before reaching Machu Picchu (actually pronounced as ‘Matshu Pichtshu’). Despite the many (MANY!) tourists, we were still able to enjoy the beauty of the site. It definitely deserves to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In the afternoon, we visited the natural hot springs of Aguas Calientes, together with Jess and James. This turned out to be a major disappointment. The water was brownish and had nothing natural to it. Thankfully, a nice drink and meal (pizza alpaca!) afterwards made up for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the other members of our hiking group left for Cuzco, we stayed an extra night in Aguas Calientes to enjoy the luxury of a hot shower and an incredibly soft bed. Before taking the train back to Cuzco, we visited the Machu Picchu museum and botanic garden, and stuffed ourselves with the best French pastries ever.

Back at home, we got together again with Jess and James to visit one of Peru’s best restaurants (Gastón Acurio’s Chicha). What was supposed to be one of the most expensive restaurants of the country only cost us about fourteen euros each.