Peru day 4- Day 1 of Inca hike

 Machu Picchu (MP)

We made it ! MP from circuit 1 

View of MP from Sun Gate

Machu Picchu is my bucket list for my 50th birthday which is what really triggered this Peru trip. 

I also wanted to do some kind of hike to get there instead of just the tourist stop. But Bill talked me out of the 4 day Inca hike (which I'm glad!) and instead we did the 2 Day Inca Hike. It's really one day of hiking for about 6 hours to get to the Sun Gate and Circuit 1. Then a 2nd day of walking around the ruins. 

View of MP from circuit 1 with the SDYC flag

As mentioned in earlier blog, unless you are staying at Ollantaytambo, be prepared for a 3am pick up as the train is leaves at 630am and check in starts 30 mins before. 

Edy (our guide) called us and told us to be ready at 310am from Cusco Hotel pick up. There are 19 of us in the hike with 2 tour guides (Edy and Miguel) 

After the hike all of us knew each other pretty well and we talked and realized that Edy told everyone 310am 😂  but Bill/I are the first ones as our hotel is so close to the office. So we got the real 310am pick up =)  

It took us 2 hours to get to Ollantaytambo to get on the train at 610am to get to KM 108. 

This is the cheaper train carriage even though it's the same train as Vistadom but in a different carriage. I realized the carriage isn't as nicely decorated and we don't get snacks and fashion show as the Vistadom. 

Getting on the train at Ollantaytambo

The 1.5 hours train ride to KM 108 is really scenic and you see Urumbumba river cutting through mountains and ravines. 

The scenic train ride with the sunrise

We are practically shoved off the train onto the dirt at KM 108 =) as  it has no platform! Also, Edy is in another cheaper carriage so he told the train conductor to tell us to get off at the right place since we are not going to Agua Caliente. 

Off the train onto the dirt! And somebody was practically shoved away from the moving train!

We crossed a bridge to get validated for our hiking passes and we are officially on the trail. 

KM 108 bridge

Getting our passes validated at the trail head

Note that Inca trails only issues 500 passes a day with 200 for visitors, 300 for guides and porters. That's why it's needed to do 3 to 6 months to secure your passes. 

We did TreX company and they are one of the 2 companies who also do the 4 day Inca Trail (the other one is Alpaca). They are both good and they have the infrastructure at the camp sites to do a more luxurious breakfast and lunches with porters etc.After check in, we had breakfast at base camp around 8am. 

And as far as we can tell, the porters and cooks are treated well and in a sustainable way. During the hike Edy was careful to ensure the group let porters have the right of way and he made a point of introducing them and us tipping directly to them. 

Just note that bathrooms are not pleasant in the trails as it's not controlled by the company but the government so plan accordingly! Do what you need to do in the trains before the hikes! 

 

Introductions to everyone and breakfast before the hike

We started the 600 meters hike up at 830am after breakfast and it took us about 3 hours with frequent stops. Edy kept everyone together as a group in this part of the hike as it's a climb up and to ensure the group is ok.

He also explained that the hike is warm as we are now crossing into the Amazon climate. The Sacred Valley is Andean climate and the KM 108 is the interface between the 2 climate and we are going into cloud forest. So we literally took off 3 layers of clothing from freezing weather in Ollantaytambo to finish the hike to MP! 

At the start of the trail

We reach the first checkpoint where we join the trail for the 4 days hikers and had lunch. It's a tough hike due to the altitude. But we made it! 

To put things in perspective, the cooks made breakfast, cleaned up, then they hiked up the mountains with the equipment (tents and cooking equipment and food) in less time than we did, to make food for us when we get there! And Edy made it a point for us to tip them after lunch as we parted ways with them after lunch. This is why the tours are pricier but we have a full meal instead of a box sandwich compared to other tours. 

Mid point camp site

Luxurious lunch with 6 courses at the mid point 

Meeting the cooks and heroes behind the lunch and Bill napping after lunch!

After lunch we went to visit Winay Wayna in the rainbow valley which is a short 10 mins walk from lunch site. This is a ruin that can only be accessed by hiking trails 

Behind Gate 1: Rainbow valley and Winay Wayna

Beautiful terraces and mountain

It's a beautiful Inca site that's never discovered by the Spanish and translates to "Forever Young" after an abundant local orchid. And they can see a temple with 7 openings hence the rainbow valley as U can see rainbows there easily. 

The temple with 7 openings to represent the rainbow colors 

After that we keep hiking past the portal entrance to MP. Machu Pichuu translates to Old Mountain and it's really not the name of the ruins but the mountain. At this point of the hike, we are hiking around the mountain to get to the famous ruins that nobody really know what it's called =) 

Behind Gate 2! MP entrance

The hike at this point is relatively flat with some small ups/downs and we can really enjoy the flowers. So Edy told us that he will let us go in our own cluster but to wait for us at the "Gringo killer" or "Monkey steps". 

The different flowers along the hike

At the end of the trail there are very high rocks that we have to use both hands and knees to climb, hence "monkey steps". At this point we are about 15 mins from the Sun Gate. 

 

At the monkey steps! 

We waited for him after the monkey steps and the group approached the Sun Gate together and we can see MP at that point. As you can see in the picture, MP ruins sits lower than the surrounding mountains. We were lucky that the clouds did not obscure MP. As the ruins are meant to be a vanishing city, it's not unusual that crossing the Sun Gate did not yield a view of the ruins! Also, it's only with the Inca hike that you can see this view of MP from Sun Gate. 

The Sun Gate

We made it to Sungate! 

It still took us another hour to get to circuit 1. Our permit only allow us to use that circuit 1 that day before 5pm which is really the chase to get there. 

Hiking towards circuit 1

On the way we saw the Pachamama rock where he explained it's a cemetery.  The Inca usually mummified their dead but they found a lot of dead bodies that's not correctly buried at this Pachamama rock area. The suspicion is when the Spanish invaded, they brought diseases to Cusco that the guides brought to MP. They were worried about touching the diseased dead bodies and abandoned them there. Then they also abandoned MP so that the Spanish won't find this sacred city and hence MP was never destroyed/round by the Spanish. 

The rock of Pachamama

We continued and reached circuit 1 

Approaching circuit 1

Edy told us to roam around and take as many pictures as we want! Again, if you don't hike, you won't see the ruins from this view. 

The ultimate MP view! 

The full view of the ruins with the mountains from Circuit 1 

Beautiful View of the ruins from circuit 1

The alpacas on circuit 1

After we roamed around for 30 mins on circuit 1, we made our way to the bus station which is another 30 mins descent. 

Bus ticket and our hotel in Agua Caliente

The bus took us to Agua caliente where we found our hotel for the night. Then we met for dinner before calling it a night! We were so tired that I didn't take pictures of the food! Dinner and hotel is included as part of the package. 

With the first day hike, I was impressed with the organization and Edy with his experience guiding the group through a tough hike. The food is great and the group really bonded in this hike.