Trekking Machu Picchu

AU takes Machu Picchu

Trying to explain this trip to people after it was over felt somewhat impossible. 4 days of hiking and camping in the Peruvian jungle was unlike anything I had experienced or expected it would be. There’s no way I can convey how extraordinary this trek was, but hopefully these pictures will give you a glimpse into one of the best weeks of my life.

DAY 1

Our first day on the trail was relatively relaxed – it was pretty flat with only a few uphill sections to get us acclimated to hiking with our packs and again, the altitude. Our guides wanted to get a sense of our group’s pace, so for most of the morning/ afternoon we walked along at a pretty slow and steady pace.

The first ruins we saw along the trail

The group was composed of 15 hikers, 2 guides, 2 cooks, and 18 porters. A word about the porters – these are incredible humans.  They carried everything except for our clothes and sleeping bags and still outpaced us daily on the trail. They would wake up before us, cook breakfast, serve us, clean up after us, tear down camp, pass us on the trial, and then have lunch/dinner/ our campsite set up and ready by the time we got there. I don’t think any of us could convey or emphasize our gratitude enough to these people – they were unbelievable.

The group and porters

Our campsite the first evening was really nice – complete with soft grass and moderate temperatures. The sun set by about 5:30 or so and it was dark by 6:30, so once we had settled into our campsite it was pretty much dinner and bed by 8. Each morning, though, when we were woken up at around 5 AM (with cocoa leaf tea brought to our tent by the porters – again, incredible people), the sun was already up and bright.

Campsite night 1

DAY 2

The second day of the trail can really just be described as stairs and uphill, with some stairs and downhill at the end. It was pretty tough – we climbed over the first of 3 peaks that we would pass during our hike, reaching our highest altitude of 13, 776 ft. It was a long day (we had not one but two breakfasts), but eventually we made it to the top! The weather changed from sunny to rainy to just surrounded by clouds several times over the course of the hour or so we spent at the top, but the views and satisfaction of what we had accomplished were certainly worth the cold.

Day 2 didn't look so bad at the beginning

What most of day 2 really was

Views from the peak

Mixed emotions about the peak

That afternoon, we had another two hour walk downhill – mostly stairs – to our second campsite of the trip which was arranged in a terraced set-up. Since we were at the highest altitude of our trip, it was the coldest night we faced. However, our tour guides made us a nice warm drink before we headed to bed that helped take the edge off the cold. It was also a beautifully clear night and the stars were unbelievable. 

Campsite night 2 - peep the waterfall behind us

DAY 3

Our third day on the trail was hands down my favorite day of hiking during our trek. Though it was also the longest day distance-wise, after we passed the second two peaks the trail was relatively flat making for a nice trail walk. Our lunch spot had a beautiful lookout over several valleys, and we made a few llama friends along the way. We were also able to wander through several sets of Incan ruins, and got a sneak peek at what Machu Picchu would be like the following day. We were all amazed that the ruins were so well preserved after so many years – it was difficult to imagine that they are dated back to the 16^th century!

One of several ruins sites we encountered during the day

Hiking views

Cheesin' with Darcy

Cheesin' with the llamas

Really impressive ruins close to our campsite

Lots of steep stairs

DAY 4

On our final day of the trek, we woke up bright and early (2:45 am!) to get in line at the final check point before Machu Picchu. Every morning on the hike after we left our campsite we would pass through a small check point where they stamped our papers, however on the last day, from the checkpoint to the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu, it’s a literal race of who can get there first between the 200-300 campers waiting in line. Though we were first in line, we were not prepared for the 5 km sprint from the checkpoint to the Sun Gate. As our guides took off running and we kept up as best we could with our backpacks, I genuinely felt as if every run I had ever done in my life was in preparation for this moment.

Line to sprint to the sun gate!

Sun coming up over Machu Picchu!

Though arguably one of the most high-pressure situations I've ever been in (this sounds dramatic but you weren’t there I’m serious), our group was the first to make it up to the sun gate so we had some nice time to sit and enjoy watching the sun come up over Machu Picchu. After this, we had about an hour long walk down to the ruins themselves where we spent the morning wandering around one of the wonders of the world.

The biggest surprise for me was just the sheer size of the ruins themselves. I know this applies to pretty much everything but there is absolutely no way a picture could convey how big and stunning Machu Picchu is. It is an entire city built into a hill with one half used for agriculture and the other used for living and public spaces. The ruins were also packed – in high season they see about 6,000 visitors a day – and it was very clear who had hiked 4 days to get there and who had taken the train up for the day. There isn’t much that I have to say other than that it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, and the week was an experience unlike any other.

Our hiking group at the ruins

Llamas everywhere!

Needless to say, coming back to finals and presentations was a little rough, however somehow we all survived the end of the semester and just like that our time in Chile was about over. In the next week or so I hope to put up one more post talking about some end of the semester travels as well as a few final reflections on my first semester abroad, but also, to all of those that have been following these posts and keeping up with me over the last 5 months, thank you!! These posts have been a welcome and enjoyable outlet for my English throughout a Spanish filled semester, and I hope they have been a nice glimpse for you into some of the most wonderful experiences I have been lucky enough to have. 

Tired but happy