Inca Trail
Day 1-
Our Incan adventure began at km 82, armed with plenty of snacks, hiking poles and coca leaves (to help fight the effects of altitude) we set off. We took a meandering path along the Urabamba river as we started to climb the Andean mountain towards our first camp. We were a diverse group of fourteen hikers (eight Brits- two now living in the states, one Aussie, three Kiwi’s, one Pole and an Ecuadorian) with two guides and some incredible porters. Our guide Elias took some coca leaves to make an offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth) in order to bless our journey over the mountains for the next four days. The scenery of the lush mountains and the crystal-clear streams and river below were already breath taking and felt very special.
The sun was hot as we stopped off to admire the Llactapata ruins. Llactapata means “upper town” in Quechua and was an agricultural station used to supply maize to Machu Picchu. The ruins were beautiful, from above, the lower terraces were arranged to look like a snake. In Peruvian culture three main animals hold significance as they believe in three levels (stages) of life. The snake, puma and condor are symbolic representatives of these three levels. The snake represents the lower or underworld; the middle world of earth is represented by the puma; and the heavens are represented by the condor. These sacred animals are found in most Incan ruins.
We arrived around 5pm to camp at Wayllabamba, the porters already had our tents set up and were getting dinner underway so Carrie led us through some yoga to stretch out our muscles to ready us for tomorrows’ full day of hiking. From camp we could see the outline of the Dead Woman’s Pass which loomed high above us at 4,198m (13,769 ft).
Day 2-
We continued the mystical path along the Inca Trail, the path itself is still 60% Incan and was only used by priests and royalty as they made the pilgrimage to Macchu Picchu. We began to climb up through the forest and hundreds of steep steps to reach the Dead Woman’s Pass (Warmiwanusca). The altitude made it difficult to go more than ten steps at a time before having to stop and catch your breath. It’s called Dead Woman’s Pass, not because a woman died there but because from the other side the top of the mountain looks like the profile of a woman lying down. As we reached the top the sun came out and despite the breeze it was the perfect place to take in the stunning vistas. We felt accomplished looking back on the mountain we had climbed and could see the valley and our camp below on the other side.
After multiple pictures we set off down the beautiful, ancient stone path, curving its way down into the valley. We were thankful we were going down that side of the pass rather than up as the steps were even bigger but the landscape was very impressive as we passed waterfalls and looked up at the mountain peaks surrounding us. We reached camp mid-afternoon and after cooling our feet in the river we reaxed in the sun and taught some of our group Yaniv. Pacamayo (3,600m) was probably the most scenic campsite we’ve ever stayed at. Our tents were set up on a ledge looking out onto the cloud forest valley, with mountains on the other three sides.
Day 3-
We set off around 6am which was a chilly start but the sun soon shone through. The first Inca site we came to was Runkuracay, a small circular ruin overlooking the Pacamayo valley. The views of Cordillera, the snow-capped mountain, were beautiful. We got the best views of Runkuracay ruins (and The Dead Woman’s Pass) when climbing the hill to leave the site, a reminder to always take a moment to look back where you came from! After Runkuracay, it was about a 45 minute hike to the top of the second Pass, Abra de Runkuracay at 4,000m. This section of the trail is mostly original, the stones laid by the Inca.
Sayacmarca, the next ruins were spectacular and built in such an incredible location, protected on two sides by cliffs. The name Sayacmarca means “Inaccessible Town”, which was very fitting considering the location. In fact, throughout the hike, we were amazed at the sites the Inca chose to build their towns in. After going through an Inca tunnel carved into the rock, the trail started to climb up to the third pass (3,700m). The cobbled path hugged the mountainside and lush cloud forest, with nothing but a steep valley and clouds on the left. It felt like a very spiritual and sacred part of the trek and it was impressive to see the complex towns, paths and temples still standing strong today. The Incan infrastructure and architecture was primarily built through the Mit’a system. All males starting at the age of fifteen were required to participate in the mit'a to do public services. This remained mandatory until the age of fifty. However, the Inca rule was flexible on the amount of time one could share on the mit'a.
Once we reached the top we stopped for our last lunch on the mountains, one of the best meals we had topped off with a delicious steamed cake! The food throughout the trek was really good and we were impressed with the variety and standard of food cooked with only basic equipment. Just down the hill from our lunch spot was Phuyupatamarca, the “Town in the Clouds”. It was another scenic ruin, overlooking a beautiful valley, but probably most memorable for the thousand or more steps leaving the site. On our way to the last campsite, we took a short detour to the Winay Wayna ("forever young") ruins. This site had a spectacular set of agricultural terraces clinging to the mountainside and also some stone baths. Winay Wayna may have been a place where pilgrims to Machu Picchu engaged in ritual cleansing for the final leg of the trail.
