Trekking to Machu Picchu

 After a very long and not overly comfortable bus trip we finally made it to Cusco. Being the closest major town to Machu Picchu and an attraction in its own right, the town sees hordes of visitors every year and is therefore not cheap. Knowing that we were going to spend some days in town and a decent sum of money on a trek, we installed ourselves in the dorm of a cosy little hostel in the old part of town.
We spent the days in Cusco checking out the various museums, old Inca walls and most importantly researching tour operators. Once we had made our choice and handed over almost a thousand dollars, all that was left to do was relax and prepare for our five day trek across the Salkantay pass to Machu Picchu. Preparations included celebrating Wayne's birthday. The birthday boy choose shepherd's pie and a pint of Speckled Hen for the celebratory lunch, enjoyed at the highest altitude Irish pub in the world.

Lunch stop on day one.

Bright and early the next morning (4am to be precise) we were picked up from our hostel and along with the rest of our group we drove to the trail-head several hours away.
We were introduced to our guides and the two most important people; the horse-man and the cook.
The first day was a relatively easy eight hours walk, we had barely started before we spotted a Condor. Before lunch it was uphill, but then it flattened out and we walked along a fresh water canal towards Soraypampa, a tiny settlement on a barren plain surrounded by high snow clad mountains. If anyone should be in doubt camping at 3800 m.a.s.l is rather cold, but luckily our rented -20 degrees sleeping bags lived up to expectations and we both slept well.

Camp site at 3800 m.a.s.l.

Avalance spectacular.

The 5am wake up call was eased by the offer of hot Coca tea, taken while still in our sleeping bags. Setting off just as the sun's first rays hit the top of the mountains was magical and although the day was going to be the hardest, the scenery was some of the most stunning we've seen on our trip.
Today's goal was to reach the top of the Salkantay pass at 4650 m.a.s.l. Although we were well acclimatised, the altitude affected us both. You constantly feel out of breath and for my part my fingers were tingling like a thousand ants were having a rave party in my gloves. Despite this we both did well and on the last hard slug towards the pass, we had a prime position to see no less than three avalanches thundering down the sides of Mt Salkantay.
After celebrating reaching the top of the pass and re-fuelling, we headed downhill through a wide valley towards a well deserved lunch. Further on the landscape and flora quickly changed from barren high altitude scrub to lush cloud forest with bromelias and even a few orchids.
After a very long day af challenging walking, we reached the edge of the jungle and our second camp site, just in time for a sundowner and even a hot shower.

The third day´s walk was an easy six hour affair, crossing small streams and rivers of the upper jungle. We reached our third camp site just before lunch, in the small village of Sahuayaco.
Food throughout the trip had been far above any expectations you might have. Our cook´s ability to whip up multiple dishes on a one-burner portable camp stove was no less than amazing. For lunch he outdid himself, with a roasted guinea pig, multiple other dishes and a cake for dessert!

Enjoying the view towards Machu Picchu and a well earned rest.

The next morning we started out through gardens and small coffee plantations, but soon we turned onto an old stone covered inca trail, only discovered in 2009. It was a hard four hour up-hill walk, but when reaching the top of the ridge we were rewarded with a view to Machu Picchu in the distance, from the Llaqtapata archaelogical site. In the Inca times the site was used for ceremonies and forms a part of a network of sites surrounding Machu Picchu. The site was only about five kilometres from Machu Picchu, but both are perched on steep ridges, so getting near meant another knee jarring trek down hill. After lunch a couple of hours walking in pouring rain along a railway led to the curious tourist town of Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu. After a bit of trial and error we managed to get the second hot shower of the trip and a nights sleep in a warm bed.

The next day was solely devoted to the magnificant site that is Machu Picchu. On most days 2500 people visit the ruins, so to beat the crowds and get a pre-dawn view, we were at the bus stop at 4am patiently waiting for the first bus to wind it´s way up the ridge at 5.30am. The early morning start paid off, and we did manage to get a breathtaking look at the ruins and the surrounding landscape while watching the sun´s first rays over the mountains.

It´s still debated exactly what it was used for and how many people lived here, but I think all the experts agree that it was a sacred site, made for the exclusive few at the very top of the Inca hirachy. The difficulty of building something so complex at the top of a steep mountain would be a feat even today.  
No doubt it is one of the wonders of the world and arriving there via a trek that´s been named one of the worlds top 25 treks by National Geographic and sharing the experience with the love of your life,  just makes it even more special.