We were allowed a cheeky little lie on day three right up to the wonderful hour of 5:30am...what a treat! 

Our trek was to start at 7am today but of course, it was still a very cold morning. I'd had a much warmer night after choosing to wear the entirety of my kit bag. Of course, it made taking layers off quite unpleasant but at least the cold hadn't kept me up as much. Michael on the other hand slept terribly. He woke feeling quite unwell likely from tiredness and the excessive amount of coco leaves he had consumed to get him up to the pass in such good time! 

We had semolina and peaches for breakfast which was one of the more disappointing meals of the trip, but still lovely and warm. 

After delayering I was really feeling the chill in the air. My fingers were numb as we started the trek and I kept leggings on underneath my hiking trousers. It wasn't long before that became a terrible mistake - the sun came out and it was boiling. 

Today was about site seeing. On route to Dead Woman's Pass the scenery had been incredible but as it was located more among the hills and mountains, the actual Inca sites had been scarce. The first site we stopped at was Runcuracay which was a look out post for the Incas. We were told it would have also been a stopover on the route to Machu Picchu. The slope up to this was still a little tiring and I could feel the hike from the previous day having an affect on my now wobbly legs, but we had a nice time to explore the relatively small site and select a rock to take onto the next peak to make a wish.

A serious rock slide that ran through our path and continued down the other side. Apparently this had happened a few years earlier but the damage remained.

The view from Runcuracay

The view from Runcuracay below including an additional look out spot

Our highest peak today was 3,900m. On the way up we stopped beside a lake and rested for a short while. People passed by but no one else stopped in this area. We all had a snack and chatted for a short while and the day in general felt much less challenging. Bobby stayed with us for the whole day as everyone just wanted to take in the scenery and off we went up the next steep climb. We reached the lower level of the peak which was a lovely seated area surrounded by trees. We ditched our bags to hike up a little further and take some photos from a lovely high spot that only two other tourists had ventured up to. The Black family decided to take the opportunity to spell out Peru with their bodies which turned out to be quite hilarious for us onlookers. 

People carried small rocks from Runcuracay to the peak and made a wish. Stones were piled high around the area from years of the tradition

Don't mind me - just enjoying the view

The view from our high point for the day - it really made you realise how far the apparently unstoppable fire had spread

The views were just so perfect. 

After going over the pass we came to another site, Sayaqmarka, which we really got to explore. The site was built in a perfect position to catch the sunrise. In the early hours from a certain campsite you could see the site spectacularly lit up by the morning sun. Unfortunately, it wasn't the campsite we were staying at but Bobby showed us his photos of said campsite and the view he had. It was spectacular. An aqueduct was built to this site from a local spring and running fountains were built within. Bobby told us that the closer the site is to Machu Picchu the more fountains there are. This is thought to be to do with cleansing oneself for the sacred site of Machu Picchu. 

We were shown around the site in real detail. Bobby showed us how the Incas built curtain hooks which they hung cow hides from the same way we would curtains. They also carved indents into the walls alongside steps to act as handrails. It was incredible to think what they had achieved. 

Michael and I started to feel a bit worse for wear at this point. We were right beneath a blazing sun and our bags, and therefore our camel packs, had been left at the bottom steps of the site believing we wouldn't be there for long. The dehydration began to hit us quickly and Michael still wasn't feeling great from the morning. We carried on exploring for a little but the group all headed down to begin the final stretch to our lunch spot 35 minutes away.

Unfortunately, due to how we both had been feeling we didn't capture many photos in this area, which is a real shame because if you follow this link, you can see how amazing it is! 

We were in a beautiful spot for lunch with incredible surrounding views and llamas. They were sat at the entrance to our pitch and I never realised how huge they could be until this point!

For lunch we had chicken noodle soup followed by shredded beef, rice and homemade chips. Let's remember for a moment we are 1 day away from Machu Picchu and miles and miles away from a shop or civilisation besides hikers, porters and guides! The chef and his team really did incredible things! 

Our campsite was a further two hours from lunch and our porters packed up and as always, sped on ahead running most of the way. The beauty continued as we walked to our campsite mostly descending. We walked through the most incredible scenery that it seemed more like you were in a beautiful garden in Asia. The rock faces had been cut away and the vines wrapped around the path with beautiful orchids springing out of the rocks and walls along the walk. We passed through a tunnel that had been carved through the rock which was astounding. The area we were walking through was called the Cloud Forrest. Most of this reminded me more of The Amazon than the Inca Trail I had experienced so far. The walk was leisurely rather than challenging like it had been the day before. I could see why Bobby thought it would be tough because of how much you descend and the pressure this puts on your knees and toes, but personally Dead Woman's Pass was the toughest for me. 

We hadn't descended an incredible amount, with our beautiful deserted campsite being 3,700m up. The fire had continued to spread but the smoke was heading in the opposite direction so we were told our route to Machu Picchu was clear. There was no one at this campsite, many had carried on to the next one as they were on a 3 day hike rather than a 4 - I'm very grateful we did a 4 day one because that would have meant Dead Woman's Pass and a steep descent all in one day! 

Phuyupatamarca from above - day four gave us the opportunity to explore this one!

Intipata from afar - on the other side of that mountain is close to where Machu Picchu lies! Intipata was once a massive agricultural site and it looks pretty big from afar but even bigger up close. Come back soon for day four!

Michael felt unwell still so he went for a good sleep whilst I watched the sunset with the rest of the group. It still blazed on us whilst it set but the moment it had gone you could feel an instant chill in the air. I woke Michael who reluctantly came and nibbled at a bit of his dinner before we all headed for another early night.

The smoke added for an eerie scene as the sun set over The Andes

A view from the other side where the last of the sun's rays glistened over Salcantay Mountain

I remember feeling a pang of sadness on this night. It felt as though our time in Peru was going so quickly already but the anticipation ahead of the next day was beyond exciting. In less than 24 hours we'd be setting foot in Machu Picchu, a place Michael and I had always talked about visiting but believed we wouldn't until our late 20s. In that moment, I felt so grateful and so happy about the decision we had made to splurge away a bit of our savings on the trip of a lifetime. 

MissIsGoode

Day two is quoted by Exodus as the hardest day of the entire trip. We started our second day walking at around 2,800m and needed to work our way up to Dead Woman's Pass at 4,200m. The only real practice we had done was Mount Snowdon in Wales which is 1,085m above sea level. We had already been sleeping well above that and boy didn't my cold body know it!

It was 5am when we woke to Bobby making bird noises and torch lights shining through the lining of our tents in the hamlet of Huayllabamba. The porters poured us a cup of boiling hot coco tea which was so lovely and warming. At this point, the hardest part of the day was mentally preparing myself to get out of my sleeping bag. Getting changed into my hiking gear was a despairingly daunting idea. The coco tea was the only thing stopping me from crawling back into my sleeping bag and burrowing down there for the rest of the trip. I'm well known for being very prone to the cold so this was one of the hardest things for me.

Once I had pushed myself into dressing and squealed in my tent a little whilst doing so, we were served porridge followed by an omelette and more tea if we wanted it, which I did merely for warmth! I couldn't wait to get started on the hike just to get my blood flowing more than anything. We set off around 6:30am and stayed together as a group before the first check point. Here, Bobby stayed at the back of the group to ensure no one was left behind and we were left to make our own pace throughout, all Bobby asked was that we waited at certain points along the trail. Michael and I started off fairly quickly, but not so fast we missed out on the views.

We passed many animals on our trip wandering quite freely. Whilst these donkeys were saddled up ready they weren't carrying anything at the time and apparently they were never heavily loaded, which was lovely to know. They looked very healthy and well looked after and travelled in huge groups around the park.

The photo probably makes you wonder what the hell I'm on about when I talk about the beautiful scenery, but this is part of the Cloud Forest. It was an area of woods along the path that's very sheltered from sunlight with thick moss covering all of the trees. Very little lives in this part of the trail and it was fascinatingly creepy!

It wasn't long before I started to drop back. My sinuses were hurting from the pressure due to the altitude and whilst I hadn't any comparable experiences I felt confident my acetazolamide, a drug for altitude sickness, was working it's magic as I wasn't feeling nearly as bad as others had back in Cusco. 

Michael carried on ahead taking loads of photos and videos along the way whilst I stayed with the sisters and chatted with them, if a little breathlessly at times. I'm not much of a cardio bunny and I openly admit we didn't practice as much as we planned to, but I don't think you could ever prepare for that many steps! We were all so grateful for the walking poles we'd taken with us as they saved our knees so much torture.

Getting close!

As we climbed higher I could really feel the pressure on my lungs. A breath began to feel short and sharp and at some points it felt like deep breaths were becoming less effective. We had stops here and there along the way including a wait for all of the group to catch up, including Bobby who had stopped to chat with other guides and porters. Michael stopped with us for a while and I picked up the pace when we began to walk again but it wasn't long before I abandoned my post by his side in favour of going a bit slower. We powered through to the 4,000m mark where we could see what we thought was the peak of Dead Woman's Pass, however it turned out to be about 50m before the peak, and whilst the view was beautiful we desperately wanted to have it in our sights to encourage us. It was a lot tougher than I expected.

Most of the photos I have are from the open area heading directly towards the summit, but a lot of day two was also spent  walking through the Cloud Forest and the meadows of Llulluchapampa. Most of our memories there are captured on video so I'm really going to have to pull something together!

I believe this is Salcantay mountain in the background...

Up ahead we met back up with the fastest members of the group so far; Michael, Mirran and Megan. Stansa also had the pace but stuck back with myself and Annette chatting. We waited in a beautiful spot for everyone else to catch up as it was nice and sheltered compared to how the peak would be. Bobby came around the corner and then led the group up to Dead Woman's Pass, which was of course up many, many more steps.

Just off from the centre of this photo is where our hike began - from this scale it doesn't look so far but you just try and spot the people on the path!

Not satisfied with the peak of Dead Woman's Pass Michael chose to climb up higher onto the rocks for an even more scenic view. Here is a few of our group, other hikers and also porters taking a well deserved break at the peak

The view on the other side of Dead Woman's Pass. What looks like a thick fog on the other side of the mountains is actually the smoke!

It was the most amazing feeling when we reached the summit. Dead Woman's Pass is an intimidating name but the view is just incredible. I could have stayed there all day and taken it in had it not been for the wind! From the peak we could also see the spreading fire mentioned in my previous post. We could see it's path of destruction and that it was still burning its way across the mountains. The smoke was thick in the air deep into the valley. We stayed in the area a short while taking as many photos as we could to remember the moment before approaching the dreaded descent to our next camp.

Feeling like champions!

I look like a giant in comparison to my surroundings here - I promise I hiked 4,200m above sea level and I'm not just 4,200m tall!

My handsome man Michael looking somewhat less mighty than me in the above photo due to his love of low angled shots. Everyone was really impressed with how easy Michael found the hike and thinking back on our training I was flabbergasted at how much easier he found it compared to me! Hats off to him though, he could have done it in 6 hours or less if we hadn't held him back!

It took us around two hours to reach the valley of Pakaymayu and the lower we went the more smoke we could smell and see in the air around us. Whilst walking, Bobby told us that if the smoke continued to blow in the direction it was we may be stopped from entering Machu Picchu and asked to turn back, to which we all gasped. None of us could face going back down all the steps we had come up to reach Dead Woman's Pass. With little in the way of signal all we could do was wait to hear more from the Park Rangers.

We arrived at our camp by the Pakaymayu River around 14:30pm meaning the ascent and descent took us around 8 hours in total, and boy didn't my legs feel it. I was glad to have descended from the height of Dead Woman's Pass and be able to take a deep breath again, but it was so worth it.

We had a late lunch upon arrival at camp of vegetable and quinoa soup for starters and chicken with rice and vegetables alongside a slice of cauliflower pizza for main. As always, it was delicious. Post lunch we were treated to a nap in our tents. Most of the group were exhausted and Michael and I had a short nap before playing a game of cards.

For dinner we had chicken and tagliatelle with sweet and sour sauce. After watching the stars again for a short while, we headed for an early night.

And guess what? I was absolutely freezing cold again!

But we'd done it. We'd climbed to Dead Woman's Pass and it had felt like we were on top of the world. Whether the fire was going to stop us or not, we'd already had an incredible journey.

MissIsGoode

We woke up for a very early start with our 7kg holdall bags packed with everything we'd need at camp whilst our smaller back packs were filled with water, snacks, spare socks and some spare clothing if the weather turned. We weighed our bags due to the trail restrictions and briefly met our porters for the trip. 

The day before, during our tour of the Sacred Valley, Bobby had received a message from his wife, also a tour guide, advising him that a farmer had started a fire to fertilise his soil after the harvest but unfortunately it had got out of control. The fire was spreading right near Machu Picchu mountain and was a threat to our trip. It hung over us a little on that day and when we were told on the morning of our first day that the fire was still burning, all we could do was start the trip a little anxious.

On route we stopped again at Ollantaytambo for the porters to buy some last minute food where we also took the chance to buy a snack and have some coffee. We hopped back on the bus and headed on our way to our starting point, KM82. At the starting point Michael thought he'd give one of the porters' bags a try which was half the weight of me at 25kg. Whilst he managed to get it on, he was quite happy to take it off after a few moments! The porters would reach our lunch spot in half the time it would take us and with more than 20kg of extra weight on their shoulders too. 

We headed down to the check point where we showed our passports and our tickets for the Inca Trail. Onwards we went to have a photo at the KM82 starting point sign and before we knew it our hike on the first part of the Inca Trail had already begun! The first site we passed was named Camabamba, this was a resting place - it wasn't a campsite, more of what we'd call a modern day pit stop. The view was beautiful as we hiked and the climb so far wasn't too tough. Bobby took the lead and we all stayed close together, going at a fairly slow pace along the way.

A sign of the beauty to come.

A rather blurry photo of Camabamba - it actually ran alongside another Inca Trail on the other side.

We met this beauty at one of the houses on the trail belonging to a local family. They also had chickens. He looked absolutely fierce for such a beautiful little kitten.

After the flat turned to 'Inca flat' which actually means really bloomin' steep then a little bit flat, we breathlessly reached the top of our first real hill. At the top of this was some small family houses where they were selling drinks, snacks and also offering a toilet stop. To Martin and Michael's delight, they also sold cold beers! Apparently this was one of the last Inca villages on the trail. 

We had another big hill ahead but the view when we reached the top was incredible. The mountains surrounded us and the snowcaps peeped up among the other mountains. Two horses grazed nearby and we followed Bobby around to the next Inca Site on the trail, Llaqtapata, which happened to be the biggest in Machu Picchu Park. I couldn't even describe this place with words, the photos show how incredible it was...

These two horses grazed just next to Llaqtapata. We passed some Donkeys on the way too all happily roaming the trail.

Here you can really see the scale of the houses in Llaqtapata. The structure in terms of the terraces was in some ways similar to that which we saw at Moray on The Sacred Valley Tour, however these were not for agricultural purposes but were means of defence instead.

It's hard to put the scale of the site in perspective in photos, but honestly it was simply incredible.

Next to this Inca site was a pre-Inca site called Willkarakay, where Ann Kendal, initially a graduate when she first visited Peru for her studies, restored the water and brought it back to Llaqtapata to make running water available much like they had done in Inca times. The site in the above photo is shaped as such to protect it against flooding, the villagers would live within and down in the far right corner was the priests home. It was magnificent to see.

The hike continued and before long we'd arrived at our spot for lunch. As we came around the corner our porters clapped for us and whilst this was such a lovely way to arrive we couldn't understand why they would clap for us! They'd done all the hard work, all we'd done was hike and sight see!

The lunch we had was amazing and really was the start of things to come in terms of our meals. For starters we had asparagus soup followed by a selection of bread, ham, cheese and two different flavourings of guacamole. After being absolutely stuffed, we were poured a cup of cocotea to help with the altitude.
Post-lunch we relaxed for a short while, reapplied suncream and refilled our empty bottles. A little way into the beginning of our walk Bobby stopped us whilst he went to the next check point and then showed us a map of the second days walk:
In our itinerary from Exodus they quoted day two as the toughest, but Bobby's personal opinion was day three. As he's done the Inca Trail almost 700 times we trusted him! The second half of the hike is a bit of a blur, the sights continued to be beautiful but even at the time it seemed a blur to me. We were at a new camp in a few hours and our porters clapped us once more. Our tents were set up for us with the porters hard at work in the kitchen and around camp. We moved our bags inside and had a quick wash, then we were called into the tent for snack time which was copious amounts of popcorn that we wolfed down.
For dinner on the first evening we had soup to start, with locally sourced trout and rice for dinner followed by Banana Flambane for dessert. We couldn't believe we were on our way into the mountains and this was the kind of food we were being served - you'd never have that if I was the chef on a camping trip!
After dinner we came outside to the most beautiful sky. There was no light pollution apart from the minimal amount from the torches in our camp, but once they went out the view was breathtaking. Staring up at the Milky Way was the perfect way to end our first day of the trail...
Our sleep that night was a little restless. The cold was biting and even with loads of layers and a sleeping bag done all the way up over my face I was so cold. At one point in the middle of the night I needed the toilet and I absolutely had to go. Coldest peeing experiencing of my life!

On that note, there ends day one! It's hard to put a hike into words when I didn't make as many notes as I intended. It's been a few months now since Peru and I'm sad the memories are already becoming muddled within my busy work and home life. I'm clinging on to what I can, but the photos really do most of the talking!

Come back soon for Inca Trail Day Two - featuring Dead Woman's Pass, 4,200 m high views and much more beautiful scenery! 

MissIsGoode

On the day we travelled to Cusco we woke in our cabin at Cayman Lodge Amazonie, packed our bags, ate our breakfast and travelled back to Puerto Maldonado. We hugged Frank goodbye after an inspiring few days in his company and boarded our fourth plane of the trip. We arrived to a beautifully warm and sunny city. Cusco is elevated to around 3,400m and on the way towards baggage collection Stansa, one of our fellow travellers, spotted some coca leaves being given out freely and took a small handful. The purpose of coca leaves in Peru for travellers and locals alike is as a means of prevention against altitude sickness. We weren't aware of it at the time, but apparently you're supposed to spit the leaves out...we of course all swallowed a small handful, which Bobby found quite hilarious.  

We arrived at our hotel for the night, Hotel Inkarri, and quickly headed out for lunch at Gustitos de Loli - which I'd highly recommend! Whilst we were all hungry we were also quite eager to get back to our hotel rooms for the first hot shower in three days, so we gobbled our delicious food down at pace and shot back to the hotel. After freshening up a few of us headed into the square which was beautifully lit up. The incredible cathedral and architecture surrounding us was truly stunning. Unfortunately we only brought our phones with us and with all the lights, the photos came out awfully! 

After a good rest in a relatively warm room that actually had walls (although I quite liked how open our rainforest cabins were!), we were set up for a jam packed day of exploring Cusco. Today was the 'Sacred Valley Tour' an optional addition to our holiday we were all keen to go on, and I'm so glad we did. 

On the drive to our first site Bobby told us a little about the history of Cusco. Apparently, the original name for Cusco was Qosqo which translates to belly button - according to history, it was named this as it was thought to be the centre of the world.

Bobby also shared a rather inspiring tale about a mountain called Veronica. Veronica, also known as Willka Weqa, is the third highest mountain in Peru and it's name has quite a wonderful history. A group of male Swiss hikers tried to hike the mountain during the wet season but failed to do so. They returned in the dry season and a Peruvian woman named Veronica asked to join them. The men said it was for men to climb, not women but said she could hike with them but they'd be free of blame if she became injured in any way. On the hike, she managed to be the first to reach the top and the mountain was supposedly renamed in her honour!

On the drive we passed a huge area of farmland that the government has recently acquired. The intention for this town, called Chinchero - which sits on the outskirts of Cusco - is to build a new international airport here. In the locals opinions, this will damage the farm based community and will change the area entirely, replacing their main source of income with tourism instead. It will also make travelling to Peru different - the only international airport currently is in Lima, an otherwise uninspiring city that attracts tourists mainly as a pit stop. 

We finally reached our first site, called 'Moray'. This site is 150m deep, with each step of land presenting a different eco system for different crops to grow. The site was restored in 2014 by the Institute of Natural Agriculture. Before 2010 the site hadn't even been visited by tourists and Bobby himself remembered visiting the site to play football on with his friends when he was a boy. When a big flood caused Machu Picchu to be closed for 3 months, tour guides started to bring tourists on the Sacred Valley Tour, which introduced them to the rich history surrounding Cusco and made Moray a popular site to visit. 

The photo doesn't do justice to how huge the Moray site truly is. You can see just to the right of the centre of the photo there is a zig-zig - these are small steps used to move between each layer. In the centre of the circular area is a small drainage hole, and on the higher level there was once a small house for the groundskeeper.

This site was just to the left, over a hill, of the Moray site. The name of which you can read in the photo below. The stone is in piles because they are in the process of rebuilding it - if you can spot two of the workers in this you have good eye site or good zoom!

We moved on from here to Ollantaytambo, a town we'd visit a few times during our trip. The locals here still live in the same houses the Incas once did in the 1200's, having supposedly only replaced the roofs. The site we visited here was part of Ollantaytambo, and one that the Incas acquired after conquering another society who had originally built it. Whilst not originally made by the Incas, they built upon the basis of the structure with incredible stone work. We were shown the location of the quarry and it was hard to comprehend how they possibly transported huge cuttings of masonry and brought them high up into the site. 

A rather photogenic alpaca (or was it a llama? Even after travelling to Peru I still can't quite tell!).

More of the site built straight into the mountain

The notches on these stones were all part of the moving process and enabled the stones to be easier to carry and move. After putting the stones into place, these notches would usually be removed however, historians and locals suspect that these ones were left unfinished due to the timing of the Spanish Invasion.

Another example of the stone work, can you imagine trying to move these without modern machinery?!

Opposite this site is a large storage area for grains. From afar we thought this was a large grave, but after telling us what its true use was, Bobby explained that the way in which it is built means it's shielded perfectly from the elements, wind in particular. A citizen would have had to sit on the mountainside for days, weeks, months even to try and establish the perfect place to build this site. 

A view of the storage from another a different angle, capturing a slightly higher view of the town.

This was the carving which helped the people to tell the seasons, the notches each create differing shadows based on where the light is coming from.