The Inca Trail, Peru

This was it. The sole reason many people visit South America.

 Only 500 people a day are allowed to trek the Inca Trail, the majority of whom are porters who lug tourists' bags and tents for them at lightning speed. We had to book this months in advance, otherwise we would have had to trek one of the many lesser trails to Machu Picchu. We had sensed a lot of bitterness from travellers who tried to belittle the 'official' Inca Trail because they couldn't just turn up and do it as they had planned!

This trail is the most famous of the 'highways of the kings' due to its stunning scenary, the amount of ruins you come across and the oxygen deprived paths that you encounter on your journey. At just over 26 miles it's almost the same length as a marathon, except that it takes the average traveller four days to complete, as opposed to 4 hours (although the record for running the trail stands at a staggering 3 hours 45 minutes!)


Day One

The first day was the easiest of the four as we only walked 10km, the majority of which was perfectly flat. We came across many communities who still lived in the park, most of which survived by supplying tourists with campsites, coca leaves and beer!

We quickly came across our first set of ruins (Patallacta) which were really impressive. Their function was primarily farming and a place in which religious ceremonies could be performed.

    

The porters had raced ahead of us and by the time we reached our camp for the night we were greeted with fruit juice, warm soup, grilled chicken and even apple pie! There's no chance that all of us would have completed the trail without the porters' help - taking our extra clothes and tents, preparing our food and encouraging us when we were struggling.


Day Two

We had been forwarned that day two would be the toughest of the four days. It wasn't the furthest that we would walk, but it was at the highest altitude, reaching 4,215 meters above sea level. There weren't any ruins to visit either, meaning it was mostly a day of pain for our legs and lungs.

The day began with a 6.30am wake up call from the porters offering coca tea to help wake us up. Andean people have used coca leaves for thousands of years, as it provides you with a burst of energy and a resistance to the effects of altitude. (It's also one of the key components of cocaine and would cause us to fail a drugs test if we were to take one in the next few weeks!) Thankfully neither of us are planning on enrolling in the army anytime soon!

The first half of the day was to spent climbing up towards 'Dead Woman's Pass' at 4,215 meters. We encountered a variety of landscapes as we slowly made our way up thousands of stairs, varying between lush rainforest and arrid plains. The view at the top of the valley made the exhaustion completely worthwhile.

    

After a well deserved rest, we had to make our way back down the other side of the pass. It turned out to be a lot harder going down due to the impact on your knees. To make things worse, it seemed that the campsite in the distance didn't seem to get any closer no matter how far we were walking!

By the time we got to the camp we were absolutely exhausted and went to sleep as soon as it got dark.


Day Three

After another early start, we started the day with an hour long, muscle tearing incline up what felt like thousands of steps. The views from the top of the pass were awe-inspring; snow capped mountains, Inca ruins, fluffy white clouds, endless green forest... and Sam dripping with sweat!

Our leader then asked us to perform an Incan ritual of offering gifts to Pachamama (Mother Earth) in return for a safe passage to Machu Pichu and good weather to accompany us. We offered three coca leaves each, which must have been accepted as the weather was perfect for the remainder of our trek.

After visiting another set of ruins (an administration centre/checkpoint) we made our way through the cloud forest. Thankfully it was mostly flat and beautifully tropical. The landscapes were becoming more and more dramatic the closer we got to Machu Pichu, building up our anticipation of seeing the biggest if the Inca ruins.

The food on the trek was ridiculously impressive given the facilities available to the chefs. We thought they couldn't do any better when we were served apple pie, but they exceeded themselves when they produced a freshly baked cake complete with icing and a message of congratulations!

Just before we reached camp for our final night we came across a massive terrace farm. It's size took our breath away. It was hard to comprehend how an ancient civilisation was able to build something so grand in such a impressive and remote location.

That evening we gave our thanks to the porters and chefs who had accompanied us along our journey. It was difficult to express our gratitude, but without their help we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the trail nearly as much as we had done.

Soon after began the most dramatic few days of our trip to date. As soon as we finished dinner Jo began to feel unwell. She spent the remainder of the evening in agony with stomach cramps and with her head out of the tent retching... Safe to say neither of us got much sleep that night!


Day Four

Today we were awoken at 3.45am. Not even the offer of coca tea or hot water could make Jo feel any better. The plan had been to make it to the Sun Gate before sunrise in order to see the sun illuminate Machu Pichu from behind the huge Andean mountains. Unfortunately Jo was feeling even worse then the previous night, so she wasn't be able to hike anywhere fast. We hung back as the rest of our group stormed towards the Sun Gate.

We made it to The Sun Gate soon after sunrise, but that didn't take anything away from how incredible Machu Pichu looked. When we arrived the crowds had already gone down into the city, giving us more time to appreciate the setting and how majestic the ruins looked from afar.

By the time we got to Machu Picchu Jo was in a pretty bad way, unable to walk much further (she did manage a smile for a quick photo though!) Our group was amazed that she had even managed to make it this far given how she was feeling. Unfortunately, the vast majority of our time at Machu Picchu was spent in the medical centre rather than exploring the ruins. It was probably the worst place to get ill, especially when the doctor in the clinic resembled Dr. Nick from The Simpsons! It later transpired that the doctor has a penchant for diagnosing appendicitis and taking out travellers' appendices out when it's not needed!

Whilst Jo was asleep, Sam embarked on the world's fastest self-guided tour of Machu Pichu. Running the whole way and only stopping every few minutes to take a picture, Sam was in and out within 30 minutes!

     

Dr. Nick's magic injection didn't ease Jo's pain, so our guide called for an ambulance to collect Jo from the nearest town to Machu Pichu. She was then greeted by a doctor who resembled The Fonz, but at least his diagnosis was a lot clearer and didn't require emergency sugery!

After an extremely bumpy ride in the ambulance during which the driver decided to pick up a hitchhiker to earn some extra cash, we arrived the hospital in Cusco. After a series of tests, Jo spent the next four nights in hospital being treated for Salmonella and parasites!