The Inca Trail (for anyone considering visiting Machu Picchu)

   This blog post is for any out there who might be considering going on the Inca trail to hike to Machu Picchu.  I have normally refrained from just describing what we have done...but if you are thinking of going then this post is for you.  The Inca trail is not the royal Inca trail.  The royal Inca trail is made such that the Inca (the semi-god king of the Incas) could be carried when going to Machu Picchu.  Besides those who get sick on the trail and are carried by porters all the way up and down (this actually happens...the porters' strength knows no bounds), no one is carried today.  In fact, the trail that we take is not flat.  On day 2 of the hike, you walk up 3500 ft to an altitude of over 13,000 ft.  You move at the pace of a turtle over thousands of stairs because you can not get enough breath to go any faster.  On the way down, you brave perilous vertical steps (we saw one unfortunate soul pull his shoulder out of its socket after he tripped).  But on days 1, 3, and 4 for all of your hard work, you are rewarded with gorgeous views of canyons and jungle, or a mysterious cloudy and foggy terrain that obscures the drops beside your path and make you think that the world ends two feet to your left.  Flowers abound in beauty and the occasional llamma and Inca ruin provide ample variety to make the journey highly pleasurable.  The last day culminates in the viewing of Machu Picchu, that, if you are lucky, will be cloud free for a sunrise view of the sun streaming through the sun gate on a neaby hilltop that guides the light directly to the sun temple in the middle of the partially restored town.  Or, you can still enjoy walking around a cloud covered, rainy Machu Picchu by remembering that it is not everyday you walk through a city in the clouds (and certainly the irony of arriving at the sun gate as the rain starts to pour will not be lost on you either).  If you decide to go on this trip, I highly recommend traveling with GAP Adventures who provide a superb tour complete with a visit to a local town where the women show you how they make their handicrafts from the Alpaca that run around your bus as you arrive.  Incidentally, the GAP tours employ these womens´ husbands as the porters.

This cake was made for WHILE CAMPING!

These are Inca stairs.

Example of Inca ruins that you see along the Inca trail.

Stairs that you must climb to get to Macchu Picchu.

One view from Macchu Picchu.