The Inca Trail. Witnessing one of the 7 Wonders of the World! And doing so after a grueling four day trek through the breath-taking Andes Mountains. Machu Picchu.
Where do I even start?!
Writing this post is so incredibly hard for me, because it is such a momentous experience for any one person to have, and I want to be absolutely sure that I don’t miss anything. Not just for my own sanity, but because I don’t want to do a disservice to you, my readers.
Regardless, I’ve decided to just start writing about my own experience through it all, and see where it takes me. This may amount to a “Part One” of Two, Three, or Four!
Back in 2014, my husband and I decided that for our one big trip of the year, we wanted to explore Peru. We knew we had about 3 weeks to work with, and that we wanted to see Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. When we first started planning the trip, the thought of trekking along the Inca Trail didn’t even cross my mind. I knew I liked the outdoors and that I was a generally fit person, but I had never done anything like that before. Spending four days out in the wild, amidst the mountains, with no showers? This kind of concerned me. But after reading dozens of blog posts on “How to see Machu Picchu” I became obsessed with the thought that I just HAD to trek my way to Machu Picchu, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I started to have this elated feeling that I could definitely do the trek, and would love being one with nature for four days (with the use of WetWipes). Thankfully, my husband felt the same way.
We had to book our trek a whopping six months in advance, and we chose to go with Enigma Peru. Stay tuned on a future post about why I chose Enigma, and why they are literally the best tour provider in Peru.
Fast forward six months. Scene: It’s about 10pm… We’re in Cusco at our hotel. I’m extremely nervous, because I’ve been suffering with intense altitude sickness and a bad cold for the last three days, to the point where I had to call a doctor. Will I be able to make it on the hike that starts tomorrow morning? I am laying out all of my belongings that I will be packing in my backpack for the next four days. What if I am forgetting something?! If I did, I am thoroughly screwed. Highly doubt I’ll find a convenience store up in the Andes mountains. I decide I probably did forget something, but it’s ok, and that the most important thing I can do now is take my last shower for the next four days, and get some sleep!
The first morning of the trek was a painfully early start. Our alarm goes off at 4:00am sharp, but to be honest we really never fell asleep. We had to be outside our hotel at 5:00am to be picked up by the Enigma shuttle bus. We grabbed our bags, donned our hiking boots, and waited for the pick up. We sat in the bus, shivering from either being too cold or nervous, and drove through Cusco picking up various other couples who would be joining us on our hike. At 5:30am, no one really spoke to each other. We barely said hi, and wrapped ourselves up with our provided blankets, and tried to nap while the van continued toward the Sacred Valley.
We arrived at Piscacucho (better known as Kilometer 82) at about 7:00am, where we had a nice breakfast while the team of guides, cooks and porters packed all of our belongings, gear, food, and then some into big satchels. We were only responsible for carrying our small day-packs, while the porters carried everything else like some sort of super humans. We started our hike by getting our passports stamped by the Inca Trail control station, and crossing over the Urubamba river. (Yay for Machu Picchu passport stamps!) At this point, I am beyond all my anxiousness, and quite frankly ready to start the damn trek. My feet are itching to get a move on!
We start the hike on the Inca Trail nice and slow through the Sacred Valley right along Urubamba River and get to know our fellow climbers better. You’ll see a lot of action on the first day while passing through the remaining villages. You’ll see people, mules, and there is even a shack where you can pick up some last minute snacks and beverages before you go into the abyss that is the remote Andes Mountains.
When you hike with Enigma, the good part is that for the first day, you hike much further than all the other tour companies, so that the next day you have a head start over everyone on your way up to Dead Woman’s Pass. The bad part is, the first day is THE hardest day, with an elevation gain of 8,528 feet to 12,303 feet (gain of 3,775 feet). This is no small feat when you’re already at high elevation!
Lucky for me, it seemed my training on the stairmaster and hiking up various San Francisco peaks with weights in my backpack helped a lot, and we ended up reaching camp one over an hour before anyone else. Yes, it was one of the hardest hiking experiences I had to-date, and YES, I could do this!!! My legs were on fire, but so was my soul! We had just hiked up some of the most beautiful lush forests on the side of the mountain. From this point forward, I would never fail to be moved by the beauty of my surroundings. Pausing along the way to admire the beautiful flowers and the magnificent views. By the time we reached our first camp, the porters had arrived long before we did (they are magic), and had already set up our tents, with our bags inside, and hot tea waiting. Now this is the kind of adventure I could get used to. Hike all day, be pampered at night.
(Yes, that is a llama threesome happening right outside our tents!)
I spent the majority of that night looking up at the stars, holding my husband’s hand, thinking about how lucky and blessed we are to be right here at this exact moment. The milky way was the brightest I had ever seen it. That was also the coldest I had ever been. The majority of the night was spent shivering and anxious to wake up and get the show on the road to summit on Dead Woman’s Pass – the highest point of our entire trek.
Wake up call was at 5:30am. I woke up to our amazing guide knocking on our tent flap asking if we want hot tea, coffee, or coca tea. It’s the small luxuries in life that matter when you’re up on a mountain. I did a full body wipe inside my tent while trying not to freeze my tush off, and put on every layer of clothing I could find. When I stood up, I realized my legs felt like wooden planks, and it HURT. But, there was nothing some ibuprofen and coca tea couldn’t cure.
At sunrise, we said goodbye to our insanely beautiful campsite, and started our hike uphill to Dead Woman’s Pass. Whereas most groups have to hike a total of 3,900 feet on day two to reach Dead Woman’s Pass, we only had to hike up a total of 1,476 feet. Regardless, this was a very challenging portion of the hike, trekking straight up a mountainside, with absolutely no give. Reaching the top at 13,780 feet, which was the highest point I’ve ever summited in my entire life, was such an incredible experience. I basked in the (momentary) glory. I snapped many pictures. Our group jumped around. We laughed. We kissed. … And then our guides informed us that we had to hike straight down, for three hours, for 2,000 feet. And this was just the halfway point! After that, we had to hike uphill again for 3 hours up 1,500 feet.
(I think the look on my face says it all…)
(The way back down!)
I recount my previous statement. I don’t think it mattered how far Enigma got us on the first day, day two is definitely the hardest day for all.
The next two days were spent hiking through some of the most beautiful mountain ranges I have ever seen. I was now fully immersed in my trekking experience. The grotty squat toilets were no longer a problem and I wasn’t even craving a shower. As far as I was concerned, this trek could go on forever. The rest of the world felt a very long way away, and I kind of loved it. Being one with nature made me feel alive in ways I never knew I could. The rest of my life suddenly was becoming a big blur. We trekked through numerous mountain passes, saw dozens of ruins from the old Incan empire, hear amazing stories from our guides, and got to meet so many llamas! Every day was a new beginning. Our entire group became one big happy family, including our amazing/hilarious guides and porters.
We were all in this together.
It was now our last night, and it became so clear at this point how many people were on this trail with us. Till now, we always felt like we were trekking alone and had the whole place to ourselves. Boy, were we wrong. Camping out in Winay Wayna on the last night was a trip. It was like being in a college dormitory filled with roused up 20-somethings, partying the night away in preparation for the Machu Picchu sun-gate the next morning. 
Being the oldies that we are (note: I was 24 at the time), we went to sleep at 8pm knowing we had a 3:30am wake-up call.
It was 4:00am on day four, and we started our hike into pure darkness. All you could see were headlamps and twinkling stars. Five minutes into our hike we realized we weren’t even hiking for the next two hours, but actually sitting outside in the freezing cold and waiting at a permit check until 6:00am. We all huddled up, side-by-side, and tried telling funny stories to keep our mind from remembering how frozen we were. When we finally were able to pass the permit check, there was a heavy silence among all of us. We all had our heads down, and trudged along the trail quietly. The last four days culminated to this exact moment. This is what we were hiking for. Today was our day. It felt more like a silent pilgrimage.
After trekking along for two hours, and crawling on hands and knees up what is called the “gringo killer” steps, we reached the sun gate.
Our group found a quiet spot on a rock to watch dawn break. A feeling of immense elation washed over me as the sun rose from behind the mountains and the mist of fog began to lift, revealing one of the most beautiful views of Machu Picchu. Better than any photograph I had ever seen. Experiencing a feeling far stronger than anything ever described in previous blog posts. I was sweaty. I was smelly. My legs were beyond exhausted. I was freezing. I needed sleep. I longed for normal food and drink. But, I had just survived the Inca Trail, and not only that, I was pretty sure at that exact moment, my life was changed.
I realized what a different person I became when in the outdoors and one with nature. I became whole. How had I never known this about myself? Answer: because I never tried! And that was the true eye-opener for me. I had been sitting in my comfort zone my entire life, completely oblivious to what my heart really desired. Adventure, outdoors, the smell of the mountains, getting my hands and feet dirty!
While sitting there on this random rock at the sun gate, I looked around me at all the hikers beside me. We had all trekked 27 miles of the World renowned Inca-laid trails, connecting hauntingly beautiful archaeological sites, breathtaking views, and climbed through heart-pounding mountain peaks.
Many people say Machu Picchu is one of the most spiritual places on Earth. I could feel that magic in the air around me, and see the sparkling eyes in all the other trekkers beside me who had realized the same.
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There are some moments so euphoric that all of the photos or words in the World can’t describe them. When your heart calls to something, whatever that may be, chase after it. No questions asked. I promise it will be worth all of the falls, slips, bruises (and mosquito bites).
xoxo,
Suzy
Krave The World