Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail.

The treck we chose to do was the classic inca trail and the most expensive trail at 450 us dollars. There were alternative routes which were cheaper and there was also an option of getting the train up but this was still expensive with park fees. It was expensive butwe had picked one of the better companies offering the treck, who treat their staff well and the food was excellent. Like many tours it was another 4 days and 3 nights to Machu Picchu camping en route.

The first day as advised was very easy with around 5 hours walking, one Inca site, and over a hour listening to our very good but a little over talkative guide. The porters or Chatskis we already had huge respect for as they were running past us with masive loads on their backs to set up camp before we arrived for every meal and camp site.

The second day we had been warned was the hard day ascending from something like 2400 meters to 4200 meters in 5 hours continualy up hill. This was the day we realised how many people were on the Inca Trail as 500 people were all walking the same path, some faster than others. At the top of the ascent we also had the first real rain that then didn`t really stop for the remaining 2 and a half days.

The 3rd day was mostly downhill (not easy in the rain) and we started to come accros larger and more impressive Inca sites. By this point it really was raining which meant the tent at lunch was much appreciated, and we picked the pace up a little to get to the next camp quicker.

We spent our last night at a camp only 1 hours walk away from Machu Picchu. To beat the other groups we were away from camp at 5am and walked fast to be the first group there. When we arrived at Machu Picchu the weather was how it had been for the previous couple of days, which was rain and very poor visibility due to the rain clouds. The first point of entry was called the Sun Gate where on a clear day you get a great view of the whole site. We on the other hand could see only a matter of metres in front and so walked on down to the main site and took some bad photo´s and begun to question whether it had been worth it. As the guided tour began at around 8am our luck changed and we saw the first bit of blue sky since we started the treck. From then on it just got better and better until the whole sky was blue and we could see the whole site from every view point and the trip was suddenly well worth it.