Inca trail to Machu Picchu

Hiking the Inca trail has been a dream of mine for a long time, and when an opportunity came up to join friends to do it, I hardly needed any convincing! Machu Picchu is the destination of this amazing trail (I’ll write a separate blog entry about Machu Picchu), and we were incredibly fortunate to have amazing clear skies for the entire trip. The sites to see along the Inca trail are impressive by themselves, and only serve to whet the appetite for what is to come on the dawn of the last day – Machu Picchu, one of the most awe-inspiring places on Earth.

Fortunately for me, somebody else did the logistics planning with finding a suitable guide company, and so I provided my necessary details and money when asked. I foolishly didn’t do as much preparation exercise as I should, although the hiking itself was quite straight forward with paths that are kept in excellent condition. This was my first meeting with altitude sickness, which made for slow going for the second and third days as I had no energy. Despite this, I would heartily recommend the Inca trail to anybody, and would even go through the same ordeal myself again to take in more of the sites (perhaps with more preparation!).

Key standout locations that I visited

Piskakuchu (Salapunku), the first site that you’ll pass on the Inca trail, thought to be a resting place for travelers.
Patallacta, a large town with around 100 houses, around 1.5km onto the Inca trail.
Llaqtapata, on a hill above Patallacta, thought to be an important rest stop and roadside shrine along the Inca trail near KM 88.
Sayaqmarca (‘Inaccessible town’), named because of the three sheer cliffs around it, contained a temple of the sun (also serving as a solar observation post) and place for residents to live. Similar to other Incan structures, it also contained a canal system for water.
Salcantay, at 6,271m, is the highest peak of the Willkapampa mountain range, and 38th highest peak in the Andes (12th in Peru).
Puyapatamarca (‘City above the clouds’), with ruins, terraces, stone baths. Interestingly, we visited at one of the few times where the site wasn’t living up to its name, and it was a clear and cloudless day.
Intipata (‘Sun terraces’), one of the largest agricultural complexes of terraces before reaching Machu Picchu, was thought to supplement Machu Picchu itself. Potato, maize, fruit, and sweet potato were all grown here.
Wiñawayna (‘Forever young’, ‘To plant the Earth young’ or ‘Growing young’ – the definition is still debated) contains two tiers of housing as well as fountains and impressive terraces.

When did I visit

April 2016 (Heading into Spring, so warm during the day, cold at night). The ‘traditional’ Inca trail is a four day undertaking.

How I got there

Hiking the Inca trail requires a fair bit of up-front preparation. You can only hike the Inca trail with a permit issued by the Peruvian government, which is checked at the entry checkpoint at KM 82 near the town of Ollantaytambo. Permits are issued in January for the year, and can sell out quickly (200 visitors per day are allowed). The Peruvian government also requires that each visitor is accompanied by a guide, so using a guide company is compulsory. We were a group of 14 hikers with an entourage of 27 porters and two guides. To get home from Machu Picchu, you will also need to have a train ticket booked, as it is the only way back to Ollantaytambo and the rest of the world. This is something that should come as part of the package that the guide company provides.

How I got around

We used the guide company Llama Path for our journey. Our porters carried everything we needed, so all we individually carried was a day pack with water (make sure you carry at least 2 litres), warmer / wet weather clothes, and a camera. The trail starts at 2,600m, and ascends to 4,200m over Dead Woman’s pass on day 2, and is the trail is 43km to Machu Picchu. For reference (or perhaps to feel unfit), our lead guide once ran the length of the trail in around six hours!

Which area did I stay in

Our porters carried the tents for each night, and raced ahead to get everything set up for lunch and then for dinner each day. Tents were twin-share, with comfortable sleeping mats to sleep on in a sleeping bag (I brought my own sleeping bag). You will definitely not go hungry on the Inca trail! My challenge was dealing with pretty bad altitude sickness, which left me with a frustratingly small appetite despite the mountains of food available.

Useful links

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