So onto the big one, a 3 day trek to Machu Picchu
Day 1 was a bit of a warm up, having successfully gained entry with my old passport we took a steady pace along the trail, it was fairly easy going particularly in comparison to our acclimatisation walk on Isla del Sol.
In the evening we were introduced to our team of 20 porters, that´s right, 13 people and 3 guides had 20 people to lug our gear, tents, and food along. Just to remind you how easy our job was to walk along with a bottle of water and camera the porters would run past us after each breakfast or lunch stop with their 25kg packs...in sandals
Day 2 the first 4 hours or so were all uphill to Dead Women's Pass at 4,220m - the highest point of the trail, but well worth it for the views.
Downhill from there to lunch before another climb to the second pass and a couple of inca sites before reaching camp for the night..
Day 3 A short final day took us past several more inca sites, seemingly placed to progressively get bigger and more impressive. No photos of the final (& biggest) site as remarkably the guides managed to find somewhere to recharge my camera battery.
Day 4 After an early (3.30) start, a queue in the dark and a few steep steps we finally made it to The Sun Gate for our first look at Machu Picchu, the sheer scale of what the Inca´s built is impressive but the natural setting in the hills is what makes it really special. We spent the morning there taking pictures from more angles than strictly necessary, don´t worry i´m not going to load them all but here´s a small selection.
A select few of the group also took on one final walk to what was described as an Inca drawbridge, but bore more resemblance to a few planks of wood on a rather narrow path. Worth it for the danger factor of the path.
Room for one final picture, has any been here and not come away with the same shot?
Day 1 was a bit of a warm up, having successfully gained entry with my old passport we took a steady pace along the trail, it was fairly easy going particularly in comparison to our acclimatisation walk on Isla del Sol.
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| Raring to go at the start of the trail |
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| Q´Entimarka |
In the evening we were introduced to our team of 20 porters, that´s right, 13 people and 3 guides had 20 people to lug our gear, tents, and food along. Just to remind you how easy our job was to walk along with a bottle of water and camera the porters would run past us after each breakfast or lunch stop with their 25kg packs...in sandals
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| The porters & team (spot the chef) |
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| porters on the run |
Day 2 the first 4 hours or so were all uphill to Dead Women's Pass at 4,220m - the highest point of the trail, but well worth it for the views.
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| from the top of Dead Women´s pass |
Downhill from there to lunch before another climb to the second pass and a couple of inca sites before reaching camp for the night..
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| looking back to Dead Women's pass |
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| Runkuraqay |
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| ´Day 2 campsite |
Day 3 A short final day took us past several more inca sites, seemingly placed to progressively get bigger and more impressive. No photos of the final (& biggest) site as remarkably the guides managed to find somewhere to recharge my camera battery.
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| Qonchamarka |
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| orchids along the way |
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| Yunkapata |
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| Yunkapata |
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| dinner being served |
Day 4 After an early (3.30) start, a queue in the dark and a few steep steps we finally made it to The Sun Gate for our first look at Machu Picchu, the sheer scale of what the Inca´s built is impressive but the natural setting in the hills is what makes it really special. We spent the morning there taking pictures from more angles than strictly necessary, don´t worry i´m not going to load them all but here´s a small selection.
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| view from the sun gate |
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| mystical view before the sun came up |
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| Machu Picchu |
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| Wayna Picchu |
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| llama |
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| Machu Picchu |
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| on the way to the bridge |
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| inca bridge |
Room for one final picture, has any been here and not come away with the same shot?
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| the tourist shot |
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