Inca-redibile

100 years after Hiram Bingham ´rediscovered´ Machu Picchu (and only a few days after Mick Jagger visited) it was our turn to find out what all the fuss is about...
Day 1 - Easy
Pick up from Cusco at 6.20am, so an early morning wake up call at 5.30am.  After a quick shower, bite to eat and coach ride to KM82 we started our journey.  Our group consisted of 2 Canadians and 2 Dutch, 3 guides, 7 porters and 1 cook.  Certainly one too many guides!
After passing the check point and entering Machu Picchu National Park we walked for around 5 hours plus a welcome pit stop for lunch.  The porters would run ahead set up camp and start cooking so everytime we arrived at a stopping point there was food at the ready (perfect!).  The first evening involved getting to know our fellow explorers with a few Cusqeuena´s and some wine before bedding down in our sleeping bag and tents.

Day 2 - A Challenge
Woken up (again) at 5.30am but this time we were geared up and hiking by 6.30am.  By 8am the sun was shining and the sweat was dripping!  The whole morning consisted of an uphill climb to ´Dead Womens Pass´ at a height of 4,200m (we started the morning at 2,900m above sea level).  But what goes up must come down....  After a short break at the top to admire the views and rediscover our lungs it was time to to lengthen the walking poles for some 500 year old down hill steps!  2 hours (and 2 inflammed knee´s) later it was arrival at basecamp for a late lunch and a siesta before happy hour and dinner.

Day 3 - Unforgettable
A 5.15am start for our longest days hike... 10 hours up, down and around.  The morning started with an immediate climb and some already stiff joints.  However the day was broken up by several awe-inspriring Inca sites on the original Trail made 500 years ago.  The late morning consisted of several hours of cloud forest, passing around the mountains with cliff edges on either side (one stretching perilously high, and one stretching omminoulsy deep) against a 3 foot wide path.  As the cloud clears in area´s the views are stunning but also a little bit alarming at the though of putting a foot wrong!  The afternoon took us on a chosen detour off of the path to visit the Incans largest existing agricultural site (picture the spralling grass and stone pyramid effect stretching down the mountainside.  A sheer drop with a view of the entire Urubamba valley allowed for the perfect time to get some high altitude action photo´s in.  Arrival at basecamp around 5.30pm for our last night before the big day.  A few drinks and celebration and thanks to the porters before bed....

Day 4 - Unique
.... a stupid early start (3.45am) in the dark was required to allow us to treck the final 3 hours to Machu Picchu in order to get there for day break.  After little sleep and waking up with even stiffer joints (and still no shower - deodrant clean only) we set off for a relatively easy hike to ´The Wall´.... 50 stone steps that are so steep you´re required to scramble up on all fours.  From the top we just needed to turn one more mountain side in order to gain the near top down view of ´The Lost City Of The Incas´.  Cue the greatest Indiana Jones moment as the clouds start to break and we got our first glimpse of the Incas most sacred city, circa 8am.  A final push down the mountainside fuelled only by what we´d just seen materialise from the clouds took us down into the site.  After about 20 minutes of Kodak moments we started to explore the Sun Temple, Royal Tomb, and Sacred Rock among the Llama´s and Chinchilla´s!  Words cannot describe the magical feeling attached to the place after spending 4 days walking the original steps of those who frequented the site half a millenium ago!

Kudos to our fellow trekkers and guide for making it unforgettable experience.

Ciao for now....
A&G