The hike took us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we crossed the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encountered an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry – a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu. It was amazing to see it - I think it helped that we had put so much effort into getting there!
The Sun Gate was crowded with people waiting for the sun rise. It was pretty misty though, so it was hard to get pictures without some clouds in the way. We stood there for a few minutes, then took off down the trail again. We completed the final leg down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, where we spent the rest of the morning exploring Machu Picchu. It was a much different atmosphere once we got through the gate, probably because we started meeting people coming up the trail towards us ... people who didn't have four days of dirt, sweat, and bug spray on them! A few times I heard their guides tell them that we (the dirty people carrying backpacks and using hiking poles) had just hiked for the last four days - most of them looked suitably impressed.
V met us as we entered the city (K, L and H were already on a tour of the site) and took our pictures with Machu Picchu in the background - the picture every tourist takes. I was amazed that that picture is actually taken in the middle of the ruins! I always thought that they were standing on an over look and the whole site was behind them.
After exiting the city, getting a final stamp in our passports, and giving our poles to V to deal with (they aren't allowed on the site), we rejoined our guide for a tour of the city. It was interesting to learn about how they constructed the buildings (splitting stones, attaching grass roofs, etc.) and see all the temples and alters to the various gods. After two hours with him, we took off on our own to meander through the area a bit more.
C, D and I were pretty exhausted (day 4 is the hardest!), so soon took a bus down to Agua Calientes. There wasn't much to see in the town, so we found a coffee shop, relaxed, and checked our emails. We were supposed to meet the rest of the group at 1 pm for lunch, but by 1:30, no one had shown up! We finally called V and figured out that they were just getting on the bus heading down from Machu Picchu. Lunch was in a chifa (Chinese restaurant), then it was to a different restaurant to collect our duffels and onto the train back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was impressive, rolling through the Urubamba valley with great views of the rapids. We were met in Ollantaytambo by our bus driver who brought us back to our hotel where we could finally scrub off some of the grime - those showers always feel fantastic!
We started the hike picking up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reached the second pass, the landscape opened onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range. We descended to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continued along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass (where we stopped for lunch), pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).
This day was the day filled with Inca ruins and awesome views - my favourite day of the trek! We were given a small snack bag in the morning and had our lunch about one and a half hours past where everyone else was stopped. This meant that for that piece of the trail (a REALLY nice piece of trail!), there were no other groups around and no porters running past us on the trail!
The campground was again terraced, but this time the terraces were narrower and separated by trees and shrubs as well as the drop. There were showers, but no one in our group wanted to wait with the 100+ other hikers waiting to pay to use two showers, instead, we scrubbed down with our buckets of warm water. There was also a bar at this campsite - it's amazing what some people will pay for a bottle of beer and some chips (it was at least 4 times as expensive here). We were at the bottom level of the campground and had a great view of the valley, it was also the warmest (and lowest) of our campsites. The stars that night were amazing!
Most of today's hike was climbing up - we started with a climb up the steep-sided Llullucha valley past a rushing stream and through enchanted native polylepis woodland. After crossing the rim of a small plateau, we found ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. The trail traversed an open slope opposite mighty mountain crags as we ascend to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (13,776ft). Here we encountered spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass, and could look back to the sweeping snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif. The trail then went down to the floor of the forested Pacaymayo valley, where we made camp.
Resting while waiting for lunch.
Like on day one, R and I were usually at the back of the pack, resting and taking pictures (well, I was taking pictures!). We had lunch part way up the pass which allowed us some much needed rest for a couple hours. The last part of the climb, R and I actually passed the two Norwegians and the Brits, making it to the top just after C and D - I guess taking it easy for most of the day paid off in the end! The view from the top was amazing and we stayed up there for close to half an hour before starting down the other side fuelled by the lollipops that our guide gave us. I was definitely the slowest going down. I had sprained my ankle really badly two months before leaving on the trip and it still wasn't completely healed, so I didn't want to wreck it any more than it already was. I found that for the large steps, I had to go one at a time, making me take at least twice as long as everyone else! But I made it without hurting myself too much!
Our campground for the night was a terraced dirt area with everyone camping close together. The bathrooms were up a bunch of uneven rock steps (not something you want to do in the pitch black night by yourself) and the group behind us was pretty noisy, so this was my least favourite of the campsites we stayed at.
It took a while to actually start the trail - the porters had to gather all the stuff together. We were finally off after about half and hour of standing around and walked down across the train tracks and took the requisite picture under the Inca Trail sign. After another ten minutes of walking, we got to the first check-point. This was the only place we were required to show our passports to verify that we were registered to walk the trail. (Only 500 permits are given out for each day and over 60% are used by the porters and guides.) I now have a stamp in my passport to prove that I hiked the trail!
After crossing a footbridge, we hiked for two hours down the Urubamba canyon, and were able to see the Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapata on the banks of the Cusichaca side river. We then climbed a short way up the Cusichaca valley to Huayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the trail, where we camped. If the hike had been at a lower altitude it wouldn't have been much of a challenge (there was only one big hill), but I could definitely notice the high altitude. R and I tended to be at the back of the pack, taking our time (and a few more breaks). At least by stopping, I was able to get some pictures of the trail. The assistant guide was laughing at me for it, but hey, I figured "It's my trip, so I'm going to enjoy it!"
The trail goes through a few villages, each with a stall set up to sell snacks and drinks to the hikers. We stopped for lunch near a stream (all the porters clapped as we came in and one handed us a glass of juice) and were able to use the "toilets" while we waited for our meal. It was my first time using a real squat toilet, which is actually easier than squatting over the toilets without toilet seats. After being given a basin of water and a bar of soap to wash our hands, we had lunch - soup for starters and trout for the main course. I was amazed at how fancy the food was - I was expecting something simpler to make!
Our campsite for the night was just outside a village, so the chickens were roaming around most of the evening. Our tents were already set up by the time we got there and our duffels were inside. A porter came around with hot (well, luke warm) water for us to wash ourselves and to blow up our mattress if we wanted. At 5 pm, we had "tea" - tea, hot chocolate, crackers, popcorn ... it was great! We relaxed a bit more before supper - a few people went an bought themselves a beer to reward themselves for a hard days work. Supper was soup, a main course, and then desert (I can't remember what we ate, but it was all very good), then after the guides had told us some stories about emergency evacuation off the trail (they CARRY you on their backs either to km. 82 or Machu Picchu, whichever is closest), we were off to bed.
