Inca Trail

Tuesday 3 July 2007 On Thursday I had a 3.30am wake-up call to pack up and vacate my room for the 4.30am pick up from my hotel to commence the 4 day trek on the Inca Trail culminating at Machu Picchu. I was collected on time and as I climbed onto the darkened bus before dawn I was taken by surprise by a round of applause just for boarding the bus. In the gloom I could make out that the rear rows of the bus were filled with Peruvian men with red football shirts and woolly hats. This I ater realised was the team of porters. I gave a little bow and settled into the first empty pair of seats I could find. The bus snaked round the town until 16 trekkers, 22 porters and 2 guides were on board and we set off on an hour and a half drive to Ollantaytambo for a hearty breakfast. In the daylight of breakfast we trekkers identified each other; 10 Americans, three Brits, two dutch and one Aussie. The first time I´ve been anywhere with a majority of Americans, who had been notably inconspicuous at most earlier destinations.

After a further hour we arrived at Kilometre 82, the start of the Inca trail, 2720 m above sea level. We unloaded our baggage from the bus and made ready to start the trail. I, like most of the trekkers, was paying for a porter to carry most of our luggage. While most had shared a porter I had hired a whole porter to minimise the weight of my day sack, although my total pack was well under the weight limit.

To protect the environment the numbers using the trail is limited to 500 people each day, including trekkers and porters. It was necessary to book my place 3-4 months previously, when I was in Australia, in order to ensure I had a place on a trek. I had booked with a local company called Llama Path who had gained a recommendation from an American website and Lonely Planet for the ethical treatment of their porters, and this appeared to be bourne out as our team of porters were the best kitted out of all companies I saw on the trail, in red shirts, body warmers and woolly hats provided by the company. Our head guide, Casiano, introduced us to all the porters referred to collectively as the 'red army'. Unlike other company porters the red army invariably marched the trail as a group, passing us trekkers each morning and afternoon to set up the next stop for lunch or overnight camp, working in a close knit and happy team. They always marched as a group and each time they passed us we would applaud them and as we arrvied into camp each lunch or evening they applauded us. It was always a great lift to the spirits to see them and one could not but admire their strength and pride as they strode over the mountain paths which makes even the fittest paying-trekker look weak.

After going through the trail entrance check point we started walking about 9.30 am. At the same time the porters are weighed through a check point to ensure their individual loads are kept within a limit. The first few hours walk to our lunch spot at Wayllabamba was a gentle climb rising 280 metres mainly following the valley with the railway track in the valley bottom. Our first lunch set a high standard for our meals for the rest of the trip.

After lunch we diverted from the valley to a more strenuous trail, climbing a further 800 metres before reaching Llulluchapampa at 3800 metres above sea level (Ben Nevis is 1344m and Snowdon is 1085m). This long first day´s walk broke the back of the notorious Dead Woman´s Pass which is the second day's walk on most treks. I was pleased with my first day's hiking at these altitudes. I had found it quite comfortable to keep up with our lead guide, Casiano, and kept to the front of the group while others were struggling to breathe some distance behind. My porter hire and a week´s acclimatisation in Cusco was paying off to make it an comfortable trek and enabled me to enjoy the exercise and mountain scenery, with mysterious cloud floating below us and snow capped ranges catching the sun light above. I had been chewing Coca leaves and drinking Coca tea to assist with the altitude, but I was never convinced it made any difference as I stopped on the third day and felt perfectly OK.

Throughout the next few days trekking, it was most noticeable that the three Brits; that's Stuart, a 23 year old young 6foot 6inch law student from Milton Keynes, and Maddy a 19 year old gap year student, (ex Cheltenham Ladies College and going onto Oxford) were almost invariably at the front of the group throughout the trek. Maddy was remarkable as she claimed that she had only got back from her night out at 4.25am before getting on the bus for the hike on the first day at 4.30am. Stuart was equally remarkable as he elected to carry his own rucksack and had no apparent difficulty bounding up the mountains in the thin atmosphere with a heavy back pack.

We arrived at the campsite on the first day just before it went dark and I hurried to get a quick cold water wash and change of shirt before the temperatures rapidly fell as the sun disappeared. Two older couples from Alaska and Wyoming, suffering from the altitude, took another two hours to arrive at the camp site with hands-on help from guides and porters. We were given high tea of tea and biscuits with jam and later we had a three course dinner. The standard of food and its presentation throughout the trip was amazing considering that all supplies were carried by the porters and cooked on arrival., even if the mess tent was a little cramped with 18 of us squeezed into it on plastic stools. I was missing have a chair with a back to it to relax against. After dinner we played cards and I went to bed about 9pm. During the night it was a long cold walk to the bathroom by torch light. The toilets were pretty basic squat toilets and were about the worst thing on the whole trip.

I shared a tent with Stuart. His long legs only just fitted into the tent. The were tents placed very close together. I reckon I slept about 80% of the time that night. My snoring was mentioned at breakfast next day but I´d supplied Stuart with ear plugs and as a result he said he hadn´t heard a thing and had a great night´s sleep.

Second day, after 6am breakfast we completed the climb of Dead Woman´s Pass with another two hour 400m ascent for group pictures at the highest point on the trail at 42oom above sea level, which just pipps my previous highest, 4170m, on Jebel Toubkal in Morocco several years ago . The group photos were taken and I'm on the far left of the picture. We then descended for a lunch stop at Pacaymayu. After lunch we trekked for a further 4 hours climbing again a further 400m before descending the same height to arrive at Chaquicocha, 3600m above sea level. Our guide, Casiano, gave an interesting talk about the ruins but as usual I was falling to sleep as he spoke. It was getting dark as he finished and we had an nerve wracking 20 minute walk to the campsite by torch light. During the second day a small brown dog attached itself to us. I believe it was a spiritual re-incarnation of a small dog called Ranta who ran away (that's what I was told) when I was about 4 years old. Others named him Perrochita, small dog. Shortly before our day´s destination we visited some Inca ruins perched high on a mountain view point and accessed by one narrow stairway.

The third days walking was mainly down hill and the terrain became more forested. The descents were frequently down steep steps which required constant concentration. The walking pole was a great boon in reducing the stress to my knees on the downward slopes and steps thus hopefully saving the NHS future expenditure. During this time our 'lucky dog' attached itself to a couple from another group and we never saw him again. Tart!

We arrived at Winay Huayna (Forever Young) campsite about 3pm and the tents were neatly pitched on a narrow terrace cut into the mountain side. There was a distinct danger of stepping out of the tent and forgetting that there was only 2-3 feet gap before a drop over the edge to the terrace 10 feet below . This campsite had luxury of a hot shower but the weather was so nice and the queue so long I opted for a refreshing cold shower.

After a siesta we went to the local Winay Huayna ruins accompanied by Casiano´s explanation. The curved terraces which dominate this site are easily compared with Roman amphitheatres, but the terraces are purely for horticulture and there is no stage. The cluster of stone buildings and watch towers were the first I had seen restored with the gables in tact which gave it a more ancient Britain , or as some said a Hogwarts, feel to the place.

The final day of the trek was the relatively short walk to Machu Picchu for sunrise. This required an ungodly 3.30am reveille and getting into the queue at the park gates from 4:50am ready to get in early at the 5.30am opening. As usual one really wonders about the necessity of these early mornings as when we got there there were hundreds of trekkers queueing ahead of us. When the check point was opened at 5.30am the trekkers were let through gradually as passes were stamped then it was a 1/2 hour trek around the mountain to the Sun Gate, a 'classic' place to watch the sun rise. However when we got there almost everyone decided that the sunrise over the mountains was still some time away and it was better to walk a further half hour to get closer to the ruins as the sun rose, which is what our group did too. Casiano made us realise how lucky we were to get there on such a clear sunny day.

The Machu picchu ruins are a great view when you first see them and as you get closer to them they only get better. They are indeed one of the wonders of the world because of their scale and dramatic mountain top location. At about 8am Casiano gave us a two hour guided tour of the site and we then had free time to wander the ruins for a further two hours. It was a baking hot day and we had already had a full day out by noon. As I was leaving to get the bus down to the nearby town for lunch at the nearby town I fully appreciated the early morning. The numbers of full buses arriving and queues for entry for the site made me realise I had probably seen the ruins at their best even with the large number of walking tourists that arrived early in the morning.

After a splendid lunch in Aguas Calientes we made our way to the 'back packer' train to take us to Ollantaytambo, where we began and from there by coach to Cusco where we arrived about 8pm. It was heaven to have a hot shower and shave before collapsing into a real bed for the night. But what a great trip which I shall always remember.