Cusco is a beautiful city set in the Andies at an altitude of 3500m which we felt quickly upon arrival. There are a number of reasons to travel to Cusco and we chose to acclimatise in the city for 4 days before starting the Inca Trail.

We had some amazing food and drink in Cusco and were able to catch up with a friend from uni as well as explore the Sacred Valley. We took a free walking tour to find our way round the city and learn more about the multicultural history of Cusco. With so many influences including; Arabic, Spanish, French and the Native Incas, the city’s architecture is varied and has a part to play in Cusco’s story.

I think that it is now time that we give a shout out to our amazing Travel Agent Jeanette at STA Aberdeen who has organised our tours for us including Galapagos and The Inca Trail! We did the Inca Trail through Bamba Experience and this is an extremely popular tour selling out 6 months in advance! We had a briefing 24 hours before our trip, detailing our route and equipment needed for the trek which would be 4 days and 3 nights.

Day 1: An early morning meet at 6am to get the bus to Ollantaytambo where we met the rest of our group and had breakfast. From there we were transported to Kilometre 82, our starting point for the trek and final checks were made along with sleeping bags and mats secured onto our bags.

The start of the trek was relatively flat and took us alongside the Urubamba River for 10km. On the walk we passed the famous Incan ruin of Llacpapata, used as a food store and collection of taxes for produce. We climbed 700m to our first campsite at Yuncachimpa where we arrived to tea and popcorn followed by a delicious dinner.

Day 2: Early rise at 5am for our toughest day of trekking on the trail. We walked for 4 hours climbing 900m to reach the “Dead Woman’s Pass” at 4215m and it was safe to say the air was thinner up there!

After a break and some photos at the top of the pass we carried on down through the trail to campsite number 2, at Pacaymayu at 3600m. We arrived at the camp at 1.30pm before another delicious lunch at 2pm, and the best part of he day, an afternoon nap! Woken up at 5.30 pm for tea and popcorn again was a treat, and provided with another 3 course meal for dinner! That night there were very little clouds and we could see the stars and the Milky-way clearly.

Day 3: Best news after 5am wake up was Cake for breakfast! The cook had prepared a cake and iced it for breakfast that morning followed by pancakes and syrup ! We did not think that the food could get any better…. But it was a piece of cake for the guys on our team!

This was our longest day of hiking on the trail, 16 km and total drop of 1000m in altitude. The start of the day included a 400m climb up to Rukurakay Pass at 4000m, ruins of an Incan storage building used for preserving foods in the mountain. This was then followed by a 400m descent to Sayacmarca an old Incan resting place for pilgrims travelling to Machu Picchu.

It was at this point our guide Pabel informed us of the physiological difference between westerners and the Incas which allowed them to travel through this environment efficiently. The Incas and native people to the mountain have a deeper chest cavity, allowing them to take in more oxygen per breath.

From there on the trail followed the original Inca trail on the stones payed by the Incas, passing through beautiful landscape and under a canopy of native trees.

We descended 1000m passing Winaywayna, huge Inca terraces used for creating hybrid crops, experimental farming and bringing on crops in concentrated terraces. The crops were then moved to produce food for residents of Machu Picchu. Our campsite was at the bottom of the ruin at 2650m our lowest camp of the trail.

Day 4: Rain overnight made the 3am rise a little challenging, as we packed up for our final day. We joined the rest of the 250 trekkers at the check point at 4am (3rd group in the que) and waited for the check point to open at 5.30am. We walked for one hour along the edge of the mountain side to reach Inti Punku otherwise known as the “Sungate”. We were really looking forward to being the first ones up to the Sungate before any tourists set foot on Machu Picchu for the day and getting the “postcard” photograph…..

After the “stunning” view from the Sungate we headed closer to Machu Picchu as the cloud started to clear and the sun burned through. We were able to explore the magnificent ruins and our guide gave us a tour of the Temple of the Moon and the traditional buildings.

We took a walk to see the Inca Bridge used by the Incas to escape to the jungle. You can see where they remove their planks so that the enemy could not follow them…

Our day was finished off with an incredible train ride through the Sacred Valley on an Inca Rail train from ……. To our starting point at Ollantaytambo, where we hopped on a bus back to Cusco.

A truly magnificent trip, which was WELL worth saving up for and the experience was made by the hard work and commitment from the Bamba team. Our guide Pabel, the porters who carried tents and equipment at 25-30kg each and the cook! Also the porters ranged from age 17-80 years old and ran past us to pitch tents and get the camp ready for our arrival. They were truly the reason that the trip was such a success and they deserve all of the credit they can get.

We will have another blog update after the Olympics, speak soon !