Camino Inka and Machu Picchu

High up on many bucket lists is the Classic Inca Trail, which finishes with the spectacular entry to Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. We opted for the four day three night trek. In order to manage numbers and protect the fragile landscape, Peru restricts the numbers on the Inca Trail to 500 a day. The 500 includes porters as well as tourists and if our group of 3 Britons, 2 Argentinians and 4 Spanish is to go by, we had 2 guides and 10 porters, one of whom doubled up as a cook, making 21 in all and in effect only 250 of the daily total are tourists. The classic trail books up very quickly and to do it, you almost have to book up at least 6 months in advance. There are other trails for those who have not booked up in advance, but none of them enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate.

The trail starts at Km82 Piscachucho shortly after Ollanaytambo in the Sacred Valley of the Río Urubamba, which according to the old Inca legend mirrors the shape of the Milky Way. The first days trek does not follow the ancient Inca paths, instead it hugs the other side of the river and is more of a track that also supports a number of local communities and farms. There are Inca sites big and small all along the valley, and on the first day the principal site is at Llactapata, where you can see clearly the three Inca worlds represented by the serpent, the puma and the condor in amongst all the terraces. We finished the first day at the camp site at Huayllambamba, a reasonably well equipped site in contrast to those later on the trek given the farming communities in that part of the valley, after some 12 kms relatively gentle trekking.

Day 2 of the trail is easily the most strenuous and also once we crossed the river after the campsite we were trekking on the original Inca pathways, which consist of interlocking rocks, with many bumps. Trekking on the Inca paths is much tougher than the normal paths carved out of the ground. Also the paths contain many steps, both up and down as well as the more undulating “Andean Flat” elements. The hardest part of the whole trail is the trek up to 4,200 metres Dead Woman’s Pass. The views on the way up and at the top are spectacular and we were fortunate that the sky was totally clear. Trekking at 4,200 metres is tough, despite the acclimatisation we’ve had over many weeks at high altitude in Peru and Bolivia. Equally tough is the intensity of the sun at high altitude and the risk of heat stroke is almost greater than the altitude. Hats, even cold weather wooly ones are a necessary part of the equipment. Day 2 ended early in a high campsite at Pacaymayo overlooking another spectacular valley after some 8.8 Kms trekking.

Day 3 was easily the longest day with 13.4 Kms trekking and contained some significant climbs above 3,900 metres together with similar descents and lots of Andean Flat. Also significant is the fact that we had got used to the Inca trails and rocks so could build up a more consistent rhythm for the trek that made the day much easier. There were many Inca sites, including the impressive Sayacmarca sitting high in the mountains overlooking the valleys below and a couple of hours later the equally impressive Puyupatamarca. Towards the end of the day the trek finished at the Winay Wayna campsite.

Day 4 started at 3:30 am so as to enable the heroic porters to make their way to the train station at Aguas Calientes while us trekkers passed through the final control point at 5:00am on our way to Intipunku, the Sun Gate and our first views of Machu Picchu. The climb up to Intipunku included a scramble up a near vertical wall, where you had to use your hands for grip. This was a particular challenge for our colleagues carrying large back packs.

Machu Picchu was spectacular as we descended the final trail down through the Guard House and into the citadel. The site was particularly full on the Sunday as local Peruvians can access it for free on Sunday’s.

Just below the Guard House is a platform where the classic clichéd shots of Machu Picchu are taken. Practically every tourist was taking selfies and posing with that classic backdrop behind them.

To manage the site, the Peruvian authorities have created a one way system that takes visitors from the Guard House down to the Temple of the Sun and the Royal Palace, which has the cleanest classic Inca stonework them up through the principal temple then looping round the main dwellings and to the Condor Temple and then out of the site. Unlike our previous visit back in 2011 there is now opportunity to back track or meander around the site.