My experience on the Inca Trail
by The Adventure People on 29th November 2018
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This guest blog is written by Lucy Toombs who trekked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in November 2018:
My 30th Birthday. I'd been panicking for the last year at the prospect of the big 30 (my friends and colleagues can attest to that!). One thing's for sure, I wanted to do something memorable. I wanted to prove to myself mainly that it wasn't over for me. I can still do anything I want to if I set my mind to it. I didn't want to concede to the norms.
I remember a few years ago when I first became interested in travelling, I came across a picture of Macchu Pichu in a travel brochure. I thought at the time who'd be crazy enough to hike for 4 days to get to the top. I was just becoming interested in fitness and getting healthy. A university friend of mine was talking to me about the trip and we eventually agreed that we would one day go together.
Every year we would discuss it but as most people will agree, life got in the way. Fast forward to May 2018 and myself and my friend finally booked the trip for November. I would have preferred to go over my birthday but unfortunately, there are only 500 inca trail permit made available every day (300 of which are for porters, tour guides and staff) and the permits were gone. November was a very comfortable time of year to go I found. Just before the rainy season gets bad and just enough sun to get your vitamin D.
Once we had arrived in Peru, I was taken aback by how beautiful it was. We were soon to discover how dramatically the landscape can change from the city streets of Lima to the desert of Nazca to the mountainous region of Arequipa to the beautiful plazas of Cusco and the mystery of the cloud forests on the inca trail to Macchu Pichu.
I think out of all the places we visited, Cusco was my favourite town. It was very much what I was expecting of the real Peru and at night, the small communities that lived in the hills (where I spent some time in a homestay) would turn on their lights which would encircle the town and was so beautiful to see. It was like stars in the sky. I had some of the best food and a great night out here (Mythology is a small club which gives 2hr salsa lessons every night and well worth a night on the town if you have time).
Looking back on the trek itself, I have nothing but fond memories of the people and places I shared the experience with. The first day itself was fairly easy with some small inclines and declines. The second day is the most notorious, Dead Women's Pass. This is a steep incline which goes on for hours and while you are walking it you feel as if it will never end. I wish I had spent more time looking around instead of looking down at my feet because the clouds rolling in and the deep valley below from which you had climbed was something to behold. Once I had reached the top, I remember breathing out for quite a long time. Dead women's pass was my Everest and my greatest fear. I'm not gonna lie, I struggled with the steepness of the trek but with my guide telling me to zigzag up the steps and to take regular breaks of 10 seconds or so, I reached the top and soon after photos with my group, we began our decent which was just as difficult. Once we had reached campsite, we ate and went straight to bed (I slept very well that night). The third day was much easier than the day previous while still having many inclines and declines along the way. The last day was a 3.30am start and wait for the gate to open at 5.30am to start your ascent to the sun gate and Machu Picchu. This was only a 2hr walk but was not easy as the steps were very steep at times (I remember crawling on my hands and knees at one point)! The reward at the top was well worth the struggle of the last few days.
At the end of each day on the trek, you were welcomed by your porters and chefs who cook your meals and carry all the tents, equipment and your 6kg bag containing your sleeping bag, mat and clothes. These guys in my opinion are heroes. They carry up to 25kg on their backs up the inca trail and will race past you so they can set up camp before you get there. You felt thoroughly spoilt with food on this trip. We had hot drinks with bread rolls or porridge for breakfast, a 4 courses for lunch (normally something like garlic stick with guacamole, soup, a rice dish and desert) and normally soup and another dish with desert. For our last lunch we had a huge buffet of rice, salad, pizza, veg, chicken and a stunning congrats cake on reaching the end. Amazing people!
The camping itself was very comfortable. The tents kept us warm and dry (it rained a few times on the trip) and the air mats and sleeping bags were clean and comfortable. We were greeted every morning with coca tea and a warm bowl of water to wash in the morning and evening after the hike. I used to thank Pachamama (mother earth) for this as you have the odd shower made available to you but it is cold and there is no electricity to use a hair drier so you would go to bed with wet hair. Remember, Peru gets very cold at night especially at higher altitude so best to embrace the stink and not shower for 4 days.
The toilets are very hit and miss. The majority of the toilets we came across were squat toilets. These are holes in the ground that flush so no seat. If you are not used to this, it can be a little bit of a learning curve but they aren't as scary as most people make out. They do smell though. I recommend taking a roll of toilet paper with you.
Altitude sickness was something I was worried about as you can never know how you will be affected by it. The main time I noticed the altitude was when we climbed quickly, you became a little out of breath. Outside of the Macchu Picchu hike, my tour group accended to 4900m which was our highest point of the trip. I noticed a slight headache and some dizziness for a few seconds but otherwise, I was unaffected. Obviously, everyone is affected differently by altitude so I would advise to take things slowly and one step at a time. Coca leaves are used by the natives and come in many forms such as leaves, mints, toffees and cookies. I found these did help a little and are completely legal but don't bring them back to the UK. Best thing you can do is to drink plenty of water (recommended amount is 2 litres).
So did Macchu Picchu meet my expectations? Not at all. It was so much better than I could have hoped it would be. It was like a canvas. It felt like I was in some sort of dream once I was at the top of the sun gate looking down into this secret pocket where time has stood still. Even with all the tourists around, the place has a peaceful silence to it. As you walk around the inca ruin, you hear the tour guides telling the stories of the inca people and how they lived their lives. A place worth the 4 day hike through steep inclines and uneven steps down.
The worse part of the whole trip was having to come home the next days. It was crazy to me that one minute I was on top of Macchu Picchu and the next flying home.
I would 100% recommend this trip to anyone whos looking for a challenge, to meet some great people and learn some history along the way.
If I could pass on one tip, Look around not at your feet.
