Post by balzaccom on Jul 24, 2015 10:20:17 GMT -8
The Inka Trail to Machu Picchu, April 2011
We did this hike with our daughter and her boyfriend, and we were very lucky that the four of us were the only people in our hiking group. Other groups had up to 25 people in them, and I am sure that they had a somewhat different experience than we did. The photo links below are to our Picasa page, where you can see ALL the photos.
The Peruvian government strictly regulates the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu. There is a limit of 250 hikers and 250 porters/guides per day. No horses are allowed, and all hikers are required to use both a government certified guide and a rough ratio of one porter per hiker. While this may not be to the liking of more independent backpackers who are used to going it alone in the Sierra Nevada, the system was developed to protect employment in the area for the porters. No mules or horses are allowed for the same reason. To make it all work, there are a few checkpoints along the trail, and if you don’t have the proper paperwork presented by a certified guide, you are not allowed to continue.
One charming element of this system is that they actually stamp your US PASSPORT upon entry and exit of the trail itself with a very attractive stamp at each location! If you don't have your passport... you don't get to continue.
Day One: It’s not a long drive, but a slow one to the trailhead at Km. 82. We left our hotel in Cusco at 6 a.m., and by the time we had driven to the trailhead (about four hours to go roughly 60 miles, including a stop for breakfast and supplies at Ollantaytambo—a fascinating Inca site in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, at right.) and worked our way through the checkpoint, it was almost 11 a.m. The route on this first day starts at Chillca at about 8,500 feet and descends along the Urubamba River for a few miles, then follows a tributary up to the first night’s camp. The whole day is only about 6 miles long, and involves a couple of steep, short climbs and descents, most notably right around the junction of the two rivers. On our way, we were passed by two young girls, ages about 7 and 11, who hike this every day in both directions to go to school in Chillca. How's that for dedication?
Happily, the high point of the trek overlooks the ruins of Llactapacta, which are perched at the junction of the two rivers. ( see photo below.) As we did every day, we had a cooked lunch which included soup and a variety of other dishes. We finished up that day climbing into the small community of Huayllabamba, which has some minor ruins. Here we camped beside a stream in what was basically the backyard of a local farmer—his chickens strutted through our tents. It was a good day to get the legs moving and the lungs breathing the air of the Andes…and the view from our campsite included a stunning shot of Mt. Veronica.
I was amused that when I went to buy bottled water here, I was charged 7 soles for a liter. My daughter’s boyfriend from Argentina went to the same vendor and was charged 6 soles for a liter and a half. And yes, I am fluent in Spanish. Grin.
The stars here at night were truly amazing, and you could not only see the Milky Way, but the soft glow of the Magellanic Clouds, our nearest celestial neighbors, clearly in the sky.
Day two: This is known as the Day of Death, or the lung-buster day. We started early, and after a cooked breakfast we hit the trail by 7 a.m. This is nothing but a steep climb. The trail heads straight up from Huayllabamba to WarmiWanuska Pass, from 10,000 feet to 14,000 feet in 3.2 miles. There was no flat section here—it just varied from stone steps to steep inclines all the way up. Rest stops were organized at miles 1 (at Ayapata –10,900’) and 2 (at Llulluchapampa—12,600’), where we could buy water, Gatorade, etc. from the locals. From that second stop to the top of the pass was one solid slog, and it took its toll on many of the hikers. (I am in pretty good shape, and I hiked the first two sections in about 35 minutes each--the last section in about 80 minutes. I didn’t think it was brutal, but I took a very steady pace and tried not to stop.)
But there were people on the trail that day who literally took five hours to climb the 3.2 miles. And they were hurting. One hiker actually turned around and headed for home, but that is out of 250 who started. The others struggled, panted, wheezed, and cried to the top—often stopping every twenty feet to rest. The trail followed the course of a cascading stream, so that the scenery often including dense lush forest growth (photo at left) as well as more open terrain. That last mile or so is out in the open, and you should pray for cloud cover. We did not have full sun, and it would have been a whole different hike if we had done it in full sun. Check out the photo below:
Of course, every group tried to re-group at the top of the pass, so those of us who climbed faster had plenty of time to chat and get to know the hikers from some of the other groups. There was a nice sense of camaraderie among us at the top, and we shared quite a few stories with each other. And we cheered as each new hiker reached the top and joined us.
On this day there were also minor ruins to be seen, but the best part was seeing the towering Andes around you, with clouds billowing in and around the valleys and peaks to create a truly mysterious and wonderful cloud forest. Remember that this trail is on the Amazon side of the Andes, not the Altiplano or Western side. So at 14,000 feet we were still well below the snow level and the mountains were green with lush growth. High above us, snow-capped peaks were uncovered and hidden by the drifting clouds.
The descent was damn near as steep as the climb---you drop 2,000 feet in 2 miles to camp at a small Inca site at 12,000 feet. I don’t think the photos even come close to conveying the pure verticality of the landscape—every single slope seemed to be nearly perpendicular, and there were times when it was hard to imagine where the trail might go. At left is a shot from our campsite.
This second night we camped where we couldn’t purchase water and snacks, so we had to depend on our porters and cook for those on the third day of the hike. Not a great system, as we were to see--even though our team was wonderfully supportive and helpful:
Day three: Known as the knee-buster day, this was a fabulous hike of about ten miles through stunning cloud forest scenery. We began with a steep climb up narrow stairs to the second high pass, at around 13,000 feet. Our guide held a charming ceremony here where we left a small offering to the mountains and thought of other mountains and friends from around the world. Very nice.
From there we wandered along ridges through the ancient world of the Inca, stopping for lunch at the ruins of Sayaqmarca, at right. Orchids, fabulous trees, Inca tunnels through the rock, lush jungle…this day really changed the way I think of hiking in the mountains. The trail was a stunning string of intimate cloud forest moments and massive Andean vistas, all to a sound track of whispering trickles, gushing streams and roaring cascades of water. Who would have guessed that we would see these things at 12,000 feet?
We were frequently warned to keep to the inside, mountain side of the trail, as the porters were flying by us, and they were much better at it than we were. (Our team of porters is in the photo at left, looking calm before hitting the trail.) They didn’t want to see any hikers bumped off the trail by a racing porter...because there were precipitous drops, and once you fell off this trail, it would be a long way before you stopped falling!
Lunch included a tour of the ruins, and we even took a short rest/nap to allow our food to digest a bit before the next big stretch. This part continued along the ridges and contoured around and through the forest. A fabulous hike that made it very clear that cross-country travel in this part of the world is simply impossible. The jungle was impenetrable, and the slopes were absolutely vertical. Following a stop at the third pass at 12,500 feet, we dropped into Phuyupatamarca to visit those ruins (below, left), and I even caught a tiny glimpse through my binoculars at the final goal---the ruins of Huayna Picchu overlooking Machu Picchu.
But from the ruins the trail dropped 3,500 feet in less than three miles to our final campsite at Winay Wayna. Steep, steep, steep, with lots of big stone steps! For the first time, my wife had taken along hiking poles, and she swore that they saved her knees on this section of the trail. It took us most of the day to hike the ten miles, with stops at the two ruins. But we still made it in time to visit the ruins at Intipata, which are less than a mile from the campsite. We had these ruins to ourselves at the end of the day, and it was a magical time for us all.
That night included warm showers and a cake for teatime! We tidied up our packs, got ourselves organized, and held a small ceremony to thank our porters, who had been simply amazing. (More on them, and our guide, in another report). But we called it an early night, because the next day called for a very early start—up at 3:30 to allow the porters to catch the 5 a.m. train out of Aguas Calientes. Oooof!
Day Four: It rained most of the night, and so we got up prepared to hike in bad weather. But Willy, our guide, explained that it almost always rained only at night---and sure enough, we didn’t really even feel a sprinkle during the day.
the crowd waiting for the sun....
From WinayWayna there is a mad rush to get to the Sun Gate, IntiPunku, by sunrise to see the morning’s first rays hit Machu Picchu. But Willy explained that it was almost always cloudy…and we did have to pass through the checkpoint at WinayWayna first. Rather than get up and hit the trail and then wait in line at the checkpoint (which doesn’t open until 5:30) we chose to wait until then to leave the camp. So we sat in the large (but primitive) visitors center and stayed somewhat warmer than those on the trail. And we were sitting down, not standing in line at the checkpoint for an hour. By the time we got to the checkpoint at 5:40, there was only one group in front of us, and we flew through.
Once through the checkpoint, we climbed up to IntiPunku and were in time to see glimpses of Machu Picchu as the sun peeked through the clouds. The last part of this climb was the steepest single section of the trail—a 75 foot stretch of steep steps that had most hikers using both hands and feet to ascend it. The clouds were constantly shifting, so that one moment the city was visible, the next it had disappeared again. Wonderous.
From Inti Punku it was only a mile or so down into Machu Picchu, where we arrived at about 7 a.m. The first train arrives long before this, so there were already plenty of people at the ruins, but frankly, the place is so huge that you just don’t notice them. We hiked down to the entrance station, got our passports stamped to show we had finished the hike, and then checked our backpacks at the luggage depot so that we could explore the ruins. Willy spent a good two and-a-half hours touring us through the ruins, and by 10:30 or so he left us to explore on our own.
I won’t go into huge detail on Machu Picchu itself, except to say that it is understandably one of the greatest of the world’s ancient archeological sites, and we were simply stunned. We could not stop taking pictures! If you really want to know more, you should read a book about it!
The road to Aguas Calientes from Machu Picchu
We finally met Willy for lunch in Aquas Calientes (He had provided tickets for the bus, which leaves every few minutes for town.) And then we wandered around Aguas Calientes for a few hours, including enjoying the local thermal baths. It was Easter Sunday, and while the baths cost about $3 for tourists, local inhabitants can enter for less than a dollar, with children under twelve free. Whole families of local residents were in some sections of the baths, soaping up, rinsing, and enjoying themselves along with us. It was very sweet and nice. (We rented suits and towels in town on the way to the baths---about $1.50 for each.)
And for those who want more info or photos...
Here are the links to the two Picasa photo buckets. The first is of Machu Picchu, the second of the rest of our visit to Cusco and the Sacred Valley
picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/MachuPicchu#
picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/Peru2011#
And these two links are to our new webpages. The first is with additional details of our hike to Machu Picchu....and the second is a series of day hikes and visits to the area around Cusco.
sites.google.com/site/backpackthesierra/more-thoughts-on-machu-picchu-and-the-inca-trail
sites.google.com/site/backpackthesierra/home/day-hikes-in-and-around-cusco-peru