Day 1 – Downhill Mountain Biking
At around 6AM, we were picked up from our hostel and brought to a bus with a large group of other trekkers. We drove for a while (I can’t say how long, as I was in and out of conciousness – after a week of partying, waking up before 6 was very difficult) and ended at the top of a mountain, 4350 meters (>14K feet) above sea level.
We each grabbed a bike and away we went. I can certainly think of gentler ways to wake up, but probably not a faster way. I biked downhill through tremendous cold, driving rain, and bus traffic for a while until the road gave way to rocky terrain. Eventually, after a few hours, we arrived in the small town of Santa Maria at 1430 (4700 feet) meters above sea level. We had some lunch and checked into our first hostel. I took a fantastic nap and woke up just in time for some dinner, a bit of socializing with the other people in my group and before too long I was asleep again.
Day 2 – Inca Trail
We set off early from Santa Maria, with the whole group standing in the back of a large truck. We drove out of the town and up into the surrounding mountians. The truck let us off near a small sign saying “Camino Inka” near a small footpath. We walked along this segment of the original Inca Trail for hours.
On this day, we actually got some decent weather, and were able to take in some spectacular views. At one point, the path was flanked on the right by a wall of rock and on the left by a sheer drop off of some 400 meters down into the raging Rio Urubamba below. After a quick lunch, we continued walking and ended up at the Banos de Cocalmayo, a nice hotspring where we soothed our aching muscles. A quick bus ride took us to the town of Santa Theresa where we had dinner and spent the night.
Day 3 – To Aguas Calientes
We woke up at 7 and hit the road from Santa Theresa, trekking for a good 5 hours before stopping for lunch. The weather wasn’t quite so nice on this day, as we got rain all morning long. Just as the rain started to give way, we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we set out walking along the train tracks to the town of Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. We stayed in a nice hostel and got a very good dinner. The town is very touristy and expensive, but was a good enough place to spend the final night of the trek.
Day 4 – Machu Picchu
We woke up at 4:30 in order to walk to Machu Picchu and be among the first people allowed in. About 10 minutes walking out of town, we hit the first of many hundreds of stairs leading up to the site. At 6, the doors opened, and we were allowed to enter the site. We had a small break in the rain and clouds long enough to take a few pictures overlooking the main part of the site and Wayna Picchu mountain.
Our guide, Ever, took us around and gave us a bit of history on the Inca leaders, the temples of Machu Picchu and the surrounding area. By 10, we had walked a good portion of the ruins, and were ready to do some more climbing. Wayna Picchu is the mountain that most people climb when they come to Machu Picchu, but Ever clued us into the fact that the mountain to the south (confusingly also called Machu Picchu) is higher, nearly as challenging (Wayna Picchu is notorious for incredibily narrow and steep stone steps – definitely also present on Machu Picchu mountain) and offers a more impressive view.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the top, the clouds had settled in, and there was absolutely no visibility whatsoever. Still, we sat at the top with a good sense of acheivement and took a few pictures by the tattered flag marking the summit. As we decided to begin our descent, the rain started up. It didn’t let up at all for the rest of the way back to Aguas Calientes.
Back in town, we discovered that our group had been booked on the last train out of town at 9PM. With our newfound abundant free time, a few of us grabbed some coffee, and then some dinner, and then a few celebratory beers. The train left on time, and got us back to Cuzco at around 12:30AM.
All in all, it was a great trip, and Machu Picchu is well worth a visit. One bit of advice if anyone out there ever does want to do this: Don’t book the trip from home. Come to Cuzco and compare prices here. There were 14 of us together on this trip, and we all did the same things, stayed at the same places and ate the same food, but I paid 50% less than some people that booked the trip online or internationally.