South America

The Inca Trail - a 42km trek over 4 days in the Andes of Peru arriving at Machu Picchu on the final day. The first day was a gentle introduction to the trek, with gradual inclines and passing through small villages of locals. We visited our first Inca ruin site of llactapa and saw the beautiful scenery that surrounded the path which gave us a taste of what was to come.

The second day was the hardest day of the trek. A very early wake up call of 5am was a shock to system but enabled us to climb to the top of Dead Womans Pass (the highest point of the trek at 4215m) and to our camp by mid-afternoon. The scenery along the way was breathtaking, especially at the peak with snow capped mountains in the distance.

Day 3 was supposed to be the longest day of the trek and we should have arrived at the camp next to Machu Picchu late in the afternoon. However, somehow, there was no room for us in this campsite and we had to camp up in the mountains. This was frustrating especially as the majority of the group had booked the Inca Trail so that we could be one of the first to arrive at Machu Picchu. So instead day 3 was a more relaxed day, hiking at a shorter distance at less of an incline than the day before. The trek showed us more beautiful scenery and Inca ruins before arriving at camp for the night 'the town above the clouds'.

Due to the change of plan, we had to wake up at 2am on day 4 in order to reach Machu Picchu at a reasonable time. We had around a 10km trek to complete before arriving here, which was challenging as it was pitch black outside and we had a steep decline to tackle (give me uphill anyway!) Determined to reach our destination on as much time as possible, we walked with a serious pace, reaching the checkpoint not much later than we would of if we had camped in the closer campsite.

Finally we arrived at Machu Picchu!! 😁 We were overcome with relief and a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately it was cloudy at the sun gate meaning we didn't get a sighting of the ruins from this viewpoint but as we walked into the site itself, the cloud lifted and we could see Machu Picchu in all its beauty. It is a truly stunning place! The Inca's were so talented in order to produce such a structure with as much thought as they did and so little resources. We spent the rest of the morning here learning about the site and getting to explore the ruins (see separate blog post for photos)

In order for us to reach Machu Picchu we had a fantastic team with us - our guides Josef and Rene who's knowledge on the history of Inca was second to none. The chefs who enabled us to eat like kings; each meal would be 2 or 3 courses and is genuinely the best food I have eaten since being in South America - soups, buffets, cake 😋 They are insanely talented to do what they do with such little resources, in a tent & always providing variety! The most important people who helped us are the porters. These incredible humans carry ~25kgs each on their back along the Inca Trail to enable us to complete the trek. From our tents to extra clothes, to the table we ate at and our food, each and every one of them are heroes for being able to trek (sometimes run!) with that weight on their back. They are so humble about the job they do, always taking time to clap us for completing that section of the trek, such a small detail but it made such a big difference to our day. Without them our trek wouldn't be possible and they do not get nearly enough credit for what they do. Forever grateful ❤Leia mais