On the first morning we left Cusco around 5am to start our 4 day trek through the Inca trail to Machu Picchu with Dos Manos travel agency. After driving a few hours through the beautiful landscape of the Sacred Valley we arrived at the entrance of the Inca trail in Ollantaytambo. The Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu is one of the world’s most famous treks. The 45km hike can be done in 3 or 4 days with a shorter 2 day option available for those looking for an easier trek. Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu and the Inca trail between 1911 and 1915. Unlike other Inca roads used to transport goods and communicate between cities, the Inca trail to Machu Picchu was more of a religious pilgrimage that honoured Pachamama (mother earth) and the mountains. Over the first 3 days we passed through 84 different eco-systems and saw some of the most remarkable views! On day 4 we arrived at Machu Picchu and spend the day walking around the ancient city with our guide.
Once we passed through the ticket counter our 4 day Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu officially began! The trek started out nice and easy with our guide, Puma, stopping often to tell us about native plants and animals. When we arrived at the first Inca ruins, Huayllabamba, Puma again shared his knowledge of Inca site with us. Mid-day we stopped for lunch at one of the local houses along the trail. We were all so surprised about how great the food Dos Manos travel agency provided was! Most of us were expecting quick sandwich and something to drink. Instead, we had a delicious three course meal with soup, salad, a main dish and desert. After a relatively easy day of walking we arrived at our campsite for the night. When we arrived our porters had our tents set up, bowls of warm water to wash up set out and our “tea time” snacks and coca tea ready to be served. Between snack time and dinner we had a little free time to get to know each other but after dinner, it was straight to bed so we’d be ready for the second (and hardest) day……
Hi Lisa
Great blog. I just stumbled across it on Google. I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but my girlfriend and I want to do the Inca Trek like you. We’ve found just by looking online that the treks are booked up until September.
Do you know if you can book them in Cuzco with less notice as we’d like to do it in August. There is an alternative trek I think we can do, but we’d really like to go on same one as you if at all possible.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to the next instalment!
Regards,
Paul
Thanks for your lovely words Paul, I am glad you like the blog. Unfortunately it is true that the Inca Trail is fully booked for the month of August.
There are only 500 people allowed in the trek daily, the organization is pretty strict. However, there are very interesting alternative treks, such as the Lares or Salkantay trek, all ending in Machu Picchu. I will send you more information by e-mail, ok? And please visit the blog again, as there will be other posts about the 2, 3 and 4th day with nice pictures!
Thanks Paul!