It wasn’t the earliest Christmas Day rise I’ve ever had, but it was one of the coldest and most sublime. It was 5 am at Winay Wayna, Peru. Christmas Morning Breakfast was served in the darkness. I had packed already and was basically ready for my food then the walk… Maria and Damian were already Read more about Inca Trail Day 4 Part 1: Christmas Morning in Winay Wayna[…]
Everyone was in high spirits at Winay Wayna. Our Inca Trail group had really bonded well. This was the party the night before the point of the exercise. While we knocked back the ice cold Cusquenas, talk diverted itself to the Inca Ruins of Machu Picchu. I was surprised to be the only one in Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 9: Christmas Eve Party at Winay Wayna[…]
After the highs of seeing the impressive Intipata and the tremendous views into the valleys, it was onwards on that happy walk to the finish line for the end of the third day. And there wasn’t far to go. I lost Roberta on this part of the trail, and all of the others as I Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 8: Arrival at Winaywayna[…]
Intipata was a turning point. Or better still, a point of elation. Add to that some astounding Inca Ruins, the best view so far on the Inca Trail and the fact that we were just 30 minutes walk from our campsite for the night. Oh and I forgot to mention, it was Christmas Eve, I Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 7: Intipata[…]
Often called “The Gringo Killer” this part of the entire 4 day hike was the bit I found the hardest. Probably more a fatigue thing than the actual tough terrain, as it was mostly downhill and in spirals. But we had all been awake since 5 am, and it was now after 4pm. 12 hours Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 6: The Hardest Part Yet – “The Gringo Killer” Descent to Intipata[…]
It was 3pm on the third day of the Inca Trail when we arrived at Phuyu Pata Marka, the highest stop point of today’s part of the Inca Trail (though we had been higher just 30 minutes earlier but without Inca Ruins to stop at). As far as I can recall, this was the longest Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 5: Phuyu Pata Marka[…]
Well, yes this is the Real Inca Trail and not of of those fake Inca Trails I warned you all about, but one thing to note is that apparently the only official bit from the original Inca Trail starts halfway through day 3. But this particular part of the Inca Trail is where it got Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 4: The “Real Inca Trail” Begins[…]
The third day of the Inca Trail in the morning had been the wettest to date on my South American adventure, meaning we were all drenched to the skin at lunch time and it was still bucketing down when we arrived at the low down and open spaced campsite of Chaquiqocha. This proved to be Read more about Inca Trail Day 3 Part 3: Wet Lunch at Chaquiqocha[…]