The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

We climbed one of the hills overlooking the Inca's former capital, at the beginning of the so-called "sacred valley," with the driver of our clapped-out, frost-bite-inducing vehicle paying scant attention to the number of oncoming cars, probably reasoning that the size of his vehicle afforded him some protection. The view of the city was stunning, with the huge Plaza des Armas in the old centre magnificent in the predawn light, flanked by the massive Baroque cathedral and churches built by the Spanish. A band of 120 conquistadors, led by Pizarro, had conquered Cusco (or Qosqo as it is in the native Quechuan) with little difficulty in 1532, aided considerably by the internal strife that had ravaged the Inca empire for the preceding eight years. One side in the civil war had believed that the white men from the coast had come merely to help their cause - they realised that the Spaniards had less honourable intentions only when it was too late!

The problem with modern Cusco, I soon discovered, is that it is that all the local inhabitants seem to delight in making money from the hordes of gullible “gringos” that flock to the city. Children offer to shine your shoes or sell you dubious looking sweets, everybody wants you to visit their restaurant or bar and will almost frog-march you in if you show the slightest bit of interest.

The Americans who were sitting behind us on the bus began to discuss the new Bush administration and its lack of democratic legitimacy whilst a group of Argentineans towards the front were jabbering animatedly amongst themselves. For two and a half hours, our erstwhile driver navigated his way through the plethora of potholes that littered the road. At one point the right wheel hit a pothole and the bus lurched alarmingly towards the Urubamba river but thankfully we arrived at KM 82 (so called because it is 82 kilometers from the beginning of the railway from Cusco to Machu Picchu) relatively unscathed.

We breakfasted in Ollantaytambo, one of the many places in the area to have kept its original Quechuan name, a bustling little village clustered around the railway line. Relieved to discover that our bags had remained attached to the roof of the bus during our perilous journey we donned our waterproofs as the rain started in earnest.

By the end of the first day walking through the Urubamba valley it was apparent that we had climbed a long way. The Inca ruins, often perched on sheer slopes are truly magnificent and provided a badly needed tonic for us intrepid explorers. There was a great camaraderie in our group by supper and as we retired to our tents we were lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of the Argentineans singing love songs to their female companions.

The next day was going to be a tougher, since it had been raining all the through the night, and we had a difficult three hour climb to the first pass of three, Warmiwanuska (Dead Women's Pass - 4200m). Eventually we made it up the mostly gravel path, which made for difficult conditions, especially as the last 500 m were snow covered! The view of the valley we had just come up from was spectacular, with llamas and sheep grazing in the water meadows below, and huge waterfalls dispensing with what snow had already melted. On the other side of the pass, however, all was fog, and since it was also very steep, we felt that we were somehow descending into some unknown entity. We arrived at our campsite in the early afternoon utterly exhausted and spent the rest of the day trying to sleep off our stiffness in our freezing tents, nourished by unappetizing stews of uncertain content and "mate de coca", made with brewed coca leaves and heaps of sugar.

The next day we succeeded in climbing the two other passes and visited the fascinating astronomical-related ruins of Runkuracay and the small Inca town of Sayacmarca, home to an ingenious water distribution system. After lunch and another difficult climb, we entered a damp and rather menacing Inca tunnel carved in the rock. We emerged at the top of the third pass to be met by thick fog. The sound of a nearby helicopter prompted one of the porters to raise the possibility of UFOs in the area which naturally led to an exhaustive discussion from our multi-national group. After sliding down the lethal path down towards our campsite, we rewarded ourselves with some bottles of the extortionately-priced Peruvian beer at a restaurant conveniently located to exploit walkers’ shattered nerves!

After a painful 4am start, and a grueling climb through equatorial rainforest (half way through the third day we had left behind the rocky, barren crags to arrive amongst lush forest that covered "rolling" mountains), we arrived at Intipunku, the "Sun Gate" that leads into the descent to Machu Picchu, at around 5.30 am. The sun was coming up behind us, as we stood amongst the ruins of this stage post, staring down into the clearing mists that initially shrouded the ancient city discovered by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham, in 1911. Streaks of pink and orange clouds topped the mountains away to our right, with hostile foliage dropping away beneath us to the snake of the chocolate brown Urubamba river. Behind us, the taller peaks still gleamed under their thin powder of snow. Eventually, before the sun had even pierced the valley, the mist drifted up and away, revealing the temples, terraces and other stone buildings a long way beneath us. After the three days of almost solid rain and cloud, it seemed that we had been lucky. The hardy few of us who had walked those strenuous 40 km stood there in awe, Americans and Argentineans alike, finally silenced by the splendor of the place. Three steep peaks surround the city, two of them supposedly the wings of the condor, an Inca god, with the city as its torso, and the third the Apu, god of the peaks: we descended the steps of that well-worn path, discovered by Bingham later than the city, along the side of the "old mountain". Left breathless by the view, we made our final descent and set off to explore the magnificent ruins for ourselves.

Tanya Prather, US - April 2001

Copyright Tanya Prather. All rights reserved. Story reproduced with kind permission.

Home *About Us * Peru Highlights * Volunteer Work & Community Projects * Travel Info * Photo Gallery * Ecotourism Guide * Travel Stories * Language Schools * Books * Handicrafts * Links * Search * Contact Us Tour Operators in Peru * Overseas Tour Operators * Mountain Biking * Rafting * Climbing * Birdwatching TREKKING IN PERU: Classic Inca Trail / Short Inca Trail / Salkantay / Ausangate / Lares / Choquequirao / Vilcabamba / Huaraz  DESTINATION GUIDE: Lima / Cusco / Machu Picchu / Sacred Valley  / Arequipa / Puno / Huaraz / Nazca / Iquitos / Manu / Tambopata RECOMMENDED HOTELS: Lima / Cusco / Machu Picchu / Sacred Valley / Arequipa / Puno / Huaraz / Nazca / Iquitos / Jungle Lodges

Andean Travel Web Guide to Peru  www.andeantravelweb.com/peru

Office Address: Calle Garcilaso 265, interior patio 2nd floor, Cusco, Peru (just 2 minutes walk from the main Plaza de Armas). If you are coming to Cusco please bring a couple of second hand clothes, toys, school equipment and drop them off in our office. We will help distribute the items to people who really need them in small village schools and communities in the Andes. For more details visit our web page www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/projects  A map of our office can be found by clicking here.

Copyright Andean Travel Web 2000-2004. All material used within this web site is original work and is subject to international copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the editor.

This web page was last updated in November 2003.