The Inka Trail - Day 3

The last full day before Machu Picchu. Since it is the longest day, we woke up early (4.30am) and started the day with a 45 minute incline to a gorgeous viewpoint and an old Inka site. This really was the last big incline of the trail and when we were told this, we all were relieved.

But it also meant we had to descend these uneven steps, stones and what not. To be honest, at this point, I would have rather walked up slowly than going down as the unevenness of the path became really annoying.

After the end of the descent, we visited what was probably the most beautiful Inka site of the day. It was sitting at a high point on a cliff with views over the Andean Mountain range. We spent some time exploring the site and taking in the views before heading towards lunch, which was about 1.5-2h away.

Once we arrived at the lunch spot, we could see a first glimpse of Wayna Picchu, the famous mountain that serves as a backdrop to Machu Picchu. We couldn't see the city yet, as it was on the other side of the mountain, but knowing it was within 'reach' gave all of us a little motivational boost. That was further enhanced by an incredible lunch. There was so much delicious food, we dug right in and the chef even surprised us with a cake - A CAKE(!) - for desert. No idea how they made that one in a tent.

There was only one slight problem ahead of us. To get to our next camp site, we had to survive what the locals call 'The Gringo Killer'. Basically, we had to descend 1250m within 6km and afterwards our legs would probably gonna be dead - hence the name. Luckily, on the way there were a few Inka sites where we stopped to give our legs some rest. In all fairness, it was strenuous but not as bad as expected.

The last Inka site before camp served as the agricultural hub to feed the people in Machu Picchu and looked stunning the way it was carved into the mountain side with its many terraces. We stayed there for a while to soak in the views and spotted our lunch spot in the far distance. We could not believe that we walked all of this in just 2h - it looked miles and at least a day's hike away.

We reached camp at 4.30pm, had a snack and said goodbye to the porters as they would not come with us to Machu Picchu. We also got told our wake-up time is 3.30am the next day and thus went to bed right after dinner.

The excitement in me was definitely building up for Machu Picchu after three days of walking almost 40km. After all, visiting Machu Picchu has been on my mind for a long time and tomorrow, I would finally stand there and see the city with my own eyes. Machu Picchu, bring it on!Read more