We met our porters and other members of the support team at Ollantaytambo and continued by bus to Chicla, km 77 on the railway line, where we were to start 5 days on the Inca Trail. Now (Dec. 2001)  the standard 4 day hike starts from km 84. (The old km 88 start is no more, following a landslide.) This allowed a fairly level start, walking beside the fast flowing Urubamba River. Towards the end of the day's walk, we began to climb not far from the ruins at Patallacta. Here we were shown the best way to cope with uphill climbs at altitude. It is a very slow walk - slow enough that you continue at a constant rate without having to stop to catch your breath. We were soon at our first campsite at a relatively low 2750m. After a hot cup of tea, we were given a basin of hot water. It was bathtime!

Another nightly routine involved the water bottles. We put them out each evening for the cooking crew to fill with boiling water. They doubled as hot-water-bottles at night and were cool enough (and germ-free) drinking water in the morning.

Nobody seems too sure how long the Inca Trail actually is! It all depends how many extra ruins you stop to examine and where you start. But our walk would have been about 45km. Day 2, Christmas Day, was uphill all day until we finally reached our campsite of Lulluchampampa at 3800m. This was the scene of the llama incident. A flock of llama were foraging at this site. Prior to our arrival, a trekker from our sister group visited the bushes before the toilet tent was in place. This angered a male llama, intent on protecting his flock. The result was that the trekker was knocked to the ground by the llama, something never previously witnessed by any members of our team - porters, guides, cooks or any other. The trekker escaped with just a few bruises. 

To start day 3, a 400m elevation gain took us to the highest point on the trail, Dead Woman's Pass (or Warmihuanusca) at 4200m. With cloud and swirling mist, there were no views on top and only intermittent views down the other side. We descended for 500m, only to climb through the cloud forest a further 600m  to the next campsite at  Cochapata (3900m), set above the treeline and just below the second pass.  Our day's walk had taken us through the cloud forest in the steep Pacamayo Valley. Not long before reaching our campsite we had come upon the circular ruins at Runkuraqay. Though mid-Summer, I was just too cold to appreciate them.

Cochapata was a beautiful campsite beside a small mountain lake. The ground was quite spongy on peat moss, with tussock grass all around. The downside was that it was quite boggy underfoot.  A pit toilet was set up at every campsite, comprising a seat over a hole in the ground, enclosed in a tent. At several locations, it was set at a precarious angle at the edge of an escarpment. On this occasion, (Camp 3) the hole was dug into peat bog, which filled with water as soon as it was dug! One had to be desperate!

Perhaps Day 4 was the most beautiful day of the trek. A short walk took us to the second pass, Runkaryayaqcasa at 3950m. Once again, we weren't blessed with views. We stopped briefly to check out a pretty mountain lake as we descended. Soon there were views of waterfalls and hiking trails further up the mountain. And not much later the ruins of Sayacmarka came into view, perched on a seemingly impossible cliff - impossible to all but Inca builders! A narrow stairway took us up to the ruins with a view far down to the valley. It was here that we realised that there were actually other trekkers on the trail. Our descent took us through the cloud forest, through mossy glades along genuine old Inca pathways. Our guide was able to point out many of the wildflowers and orchids. Then we were on an upward gradient again as we made our way to our final campsite (3600m.), set above the ruins of Phuyupatamarca and surrounded by 360 degrees of mountain views. One of these mountains was Machu Piccu, but from this angle, the famous ruins were not visible.

Day 4 campsite

The final day of the trek began with a steep descent and continued descending for most of the day. There was a brief detour to the terraced ruins with their ritual baths, set immediately below the campsite.  The trail  took us along original Inca pathways, with tunnels and flights of stairs carved directly into the granite rockface. Once again there are various types of vegetation, including plenty of orchids. Porters were passing us all the while almost at  a run, making their way home. We passed several ruin sites before calling at Winya Wayna. Here we are almost back in civilization, as you can buy a meal or a drink at the nearby cafe. During the last few kilometres of the walk, we could see the Urubamba River in the valley way below as we began to climb. 

After passing through "Purgatory", a very steep set of stairs, we were soon at the Sun Gate (Inti Punku). We took a breath to savour the moment, and then we were through the gate with the site of Machu Picchu spread out below us, its smaller sister site on the  mountain of Huayna Picchu beyond, and the zig-zag road leading down to the river. It took about another hour to reach the site. We had time for a celebratory drink (pouring a ritual offering to Pacha Mama) before heading down the mountain by bus to the village of Agua Calientes below, with plans to return for a full tour of the Machu Picchu site the next day.

But our plans had to be amended when, overnight, a landslide blocked the road not far from the town of Agua Calientes. This meant that we had to negotiate our way around the fallen rocks and walk back up the mountain to the site, a steep 2 hour climb. 

On the positive side, the site of Machu Picchu was relatively uncrowded, and we had a good couple of hours there to explore the terraces, the huge rock buildings of the temple area and the smaller stone walls of the village area. The return trip was much more interesting, as the day-trippers  who had arrived by train were making the climb. It was very satisfying so see how easily we had made it up the trail compared to unfit people, some sitting exhausted by the side of the path after the first 100 metres. Things got worse when it started to rain. Back in Agua Calientes, we had time to explore the markets as the train had been delayed to accommodate the day-trippers.

We returned to Cuzco for another day to take care of laundry and other mundane matters before setting out for Lake Titicaca and on to Bolivia.