Bonjour! As promised, I wanted to tell you all about our trip on the Inca Trail! Earlier in the year, a group of us (most of the crew who came to visit me in Singapore last year) decided to do an adventure trip this year, and Machu Picchu was our destination! We chose to do the classic four-day Inca Trail, and after lots of research by John, we decided to book with Llama Path.
To hike the Inca Trail is quite the undertaking. It's four days of trekking, with the longest day being about 10 hours of walking. You camp along the trail (no showers, squat toilets only!), and of course, there is also the altitude to contend with! We did the best we could to #prepareperu, and on 25 August, the nine of us went off the grid and headed into the mountains.
After being picked up at 4:30 in the morning by our two guides, William and Edy, we made our way to the start of the trail. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and we were all super excited.
The first day was a challenging hike, but I think we were all pretty high on adrenaline as we trekked, though I think everyone was really happy when we finally made it to camp for the day!! According to my Fitbit, we covered about ten miles on the first day.
Day two of the Inca Trail is the most challenging. You climb the most, you hit the highest altitude, and you are on your feet for the longest amount of time. It was a tough day for me. My legs were feeling pretty fatigued, particularly in the afternoon, but I was perfectly happy to just take my time and enjoy the spectacular views.
Day three was such a treat compared to the first two!! We only had to hike for about five or six hours, and we got to spend some time relaxing near some Inca sights along the way!! Knowing that we had already crossed the halfway mark was a huge mental boost. It was also really nice to be able to get to camp early and have some time to just relax in the daylight before it was dinnertime.
On the final day of the Inca Trail, we woke up super early to get in line at the checkpoint to the Sun Gate. It's about one hour from the final campsite to the Sun Gate, and we practically ran up the trail to get there!! From there, we went about another hour to our final destination - Machu Picchu!!
It was cloudy, but I don't think any of us really cared. It was a great feeling to have finally made it.. and to have made it all together!! Machu Picchu itself was actually everything it is cracked up to be. It is a massive site that is really stunning.
To hike the Inca Trail is quite the undertaking. It's four days of trekking, with the longest day being about 10 hours of walking. You camp along the trail (no showers, squat toilets only!), and of course, there is also the altitude to contend with! We did the best we could to #prepareperu, and on 25 August, the nine of us went off the grid and headed into the mountains.
After being picked up at 4:30 in the morning by our two guides, William and Edy, we made our way to the start of the trail. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and we were all super excited.
The first day was a challenging hike, but I think we were all pretty high on adrenaline as we trekked, though I think everyone was really happy when we finally made it to camp for the day!! According to my Fitbit, we covered about ten miles on the first day.
Day two of the Inca Trail is the most challenging. You climb the most, you hit the highest altitude, and you are on your feet for the longest amount of time. It was a tough day for me. My legs were feeling pretty fatigued, particularly in the afternoon, but I was perfectly happy to just take my time and enjoy the spectacular views.
Day three was such a treat compared to the first two!! We only had to hike for about five or six hours, and we got to spend some time relaxing near some Inca sights along the way!! Knowing that we had already crossed the halfway mark was a huge mental boost. It was also really nice to be able to get to camp early and have some time to just relax in the daylight before it was dinnertime.
On the final day of the Inca Trail, we woke up super early to get in line at the checkpoint to the Sun Gate. It's about one hour from the final campsite to the Sun Gate, and we practically ran up the trail to get there!! From there, we went about another hour to our final destination - Machu Picchu!!
It was cloudy, but I don't think any of us really cared. It was a great feeling to have finally made it.. and to have made it all together!! Machu Picchu itself was actually everything it is cracked up to be. It is a massive site that is really stunning.
I honestly cannot say enough good things about our two guides, William and Edy. They were so great with us the entire time.. even when some of us were feeling really ill from the altitude. Llama Path was really a great tour company, and I am so glad we chose them. They made this experience so great, and although I'm not sure I would ever do the Inca Trail again, I had such an amazing time!!
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