Inca Jungle Trail – Arriving at Machu Picchu!

The night we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we had a few hours to hit the shops to get supplies for Machu Picchu (water, snacks etc) and then we all had dinner together one last time and the guide gave us our tickets to Machu Picchu. He wasn't going to accompany us for the final part of the trek at 5am. Instead, we would be walking the last part ourselves and meeting another guide at the the entrance to Machu Picchu at sunrise who we had left on the first day at the bike ride. It was all very cryptic, as the guide gave us instructions of how we would need to climb the final part of the trail – take the last path after the bridge before sunrise, a troll will guide you along the last part of the river and you will need to ask the toadstools which way the wind is blowing in order to determine your path etc etc. Some people (Jemma and one other girl) decided they wouldn't be able to walk the last part (Jemma had really hurt her knee again at this point) so would be taking a bus in the morning and meeting us at the entrance to Machu Picchu. I went to bed that night as if it was Christmas Eve; in awe of what I was about to experience. I hadn't realised just how massive a thing it is to do Machu Picchu until that night, in the restaurant, when the guide was making checks over and over again to make sure we all ad the right documents, passports and were ready for the experience.

After dinner, we tipped our guide and then went to bed early (about 22.00), ready for the 4am wake up the next day. 4am came and I had slept really well. I actually woke up a split second before my alarm went off, which was weird. I got ready in the dark so as not to disturb Jemma and our other Mexican room mate, and then I went down to reception with my torch, ready to meet the rest of the group.

Me at the start

We all waited in the hotel reception until everyone arrived and then we all set off together, walking along the dark road of Aguas Calientes at 5am with only my torch as guidance. It took about 20 minutes to reach the bottom of the Inca steps, which we were then told would take about 1.30 mins to climb. ONE HOUR 30 MINUTES OF CONTINUOUSLEY CLIMING STEPS IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE IS EXCRUTIATINGLY DIFFICULT! Thank God I did not have diarrhoea like half the rest of the group, that's all I can say. Sometimes not eating the salad pays off. The Canadian vegan had it worst, so we concluded it must have come from a piece of dodgy lettuce washed in tap water. By the time I had climbed a couple of steps (which, by the way, are high steps), I was drenched in sweat. And I know I have written that a few times in this blog, but this time I really really was more sweaty then I have ever been in my life: I looked like I had been swimming:

Half way up

I climbed up with various people for company along the way. Started off with the Spanish man from Barcelona, who was too fast, did some steps with the Ozzie guy who had to go slow due to diarrhoea, and then did the last bit with a Swedish couple. It was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done in my life. I actually reached the top on my own, which was nice, because it gave me time to really take in and remember where I was and feel the atmosphere. When I got close to the top I heard panpipes playing and thought it must be a nice gesture from the locals to will people on at the end. I think it was just the music at the entrance to Machu Picchu. When I got to the top, I was so happy with my achievement. I sat on the steps with the others at the entrance to Machu Picchu and waited for them to open the gates. We had actually got there before the first buses so I sat and watched for Jemma arriving. Our guide arrived on the bus with Jemma and once the gates opened we all went in and had our passports stamped (I hope this hasnt invalidated my passport, as one American suggested). We then had a 2 hour guided tour of Machu Picchu with our guide.

At the top with the group, looking like I've been swimming

At first there was mist covering the mountains and the ruins and it looked really mystical, but as the day went on, the mist lifted, revealing spectacular views of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu (the mountain opposite that you see in all the photos). After the tour, we had an hour to look around before it was time to climb Huayna Picchu (I had bought the ticket for Huayna Picchu back in Cuzco, not knowing how exhausted I would be after Machu Picchu). By this time it was midday and boiling hot. This time Jemma decided to give it a go, despite her knee. It was very very steep. Incredibly steep. I'm not afraid of heights but I just couldn't look down as we climbed the tiny narrow steps up the mountain that is even bigger than Machu Picchu.

Huayna Picchu in the background

At one point we had to go through a cave, on our bellies! I did not like that part! As we neared the top, we were cheered on by people coming back down, who told us we did not have long to go. It was a really difficult climb, but we made it to the top and the views were spectacular. You could see all of Machu Picchu and parts of the trail we had walked. You could also lie on the rocks at the top and relax at the summit of a very high mountain. Coming back down was petrifying, because you were forced to look down, and at many points, I had to come down on my bum because it was too steep. Some parts had ropes that you could grab onto for safety. When we got to the bottom, I couldn't walk another step. The only toilets at the site are at the entrance, so we had to work our way back through the maze of ruins to the entrance, which involved lots of going up and down stairs.

Some of the steps

At this point, I never wanted to see another step in my life. We relaxed in a café at the entrance (but did not buy any of the extortionately priced drinks, we had carried several litres of water with us). And at about 14.00, we decided we had had enough and went back to the town with our 2 friends Ben and Waime. I caught the bus back with them because I could not walk any more. When we got back to the town, we went to pick up our train tickets for that night to get back to Cuzco. Our guide had told us that some people would be on the 18.00 train and some were on the 21.30 train. Ben and Waime were on the 16.00 train. The poor beggars who were on the 21.30 train we thought, smug in the knowledge that the lady we had booked with had told us our train would be 18.00. Can you imagine having to hang around all night until 21.30 in sweaty clothes, exhausted, and not get back to your shower and bed in Cuzco until 2am? We were on the 21.30 train. I don't know why or how – EVERYBODY ELSE in our group was on the 18.00 one, but for some reason we were the only ones on the 21.30! I was really angry, and tired, and tried every way to argue with the ticket people, phone the tour company etc to get us on an earlier train. The thought of hanging about on our own until 21.30 in wet clothes and not get back until 2am was awful, especially as we had no hotel room to relax in or showers to get clean. In the end. Nothing worked and we had no choice but to wait for the last train. Our only other option would have been to pay $30 for an earlier ticket which I was not prepared to do. We deduced it must have been because we got a cheap deal with the tour company in the first place so they stuck us on the cheaper train. We went to a restaurant and an internet café, and the time passed quite quickly.

At the top of Huayna, looking onto Machu Picchu

We then got on the train, absolutely shattered, which turned out to be a scary journey. The train was going really fast and was rocking from side to side, as if it was about to come off the tracks. I was so tired (having been up since 4am), that I nodded off for a second, and dreamt of a white feather, and then immediately woke up and told Jemma in a semi – conscious state that I had dreamt of a white feather and it meant we would die. Jemma, already scared, did not respond well to this and was angry that I had frightened her and said that she would not be able to sleep for the rest of the journey. I didn't sleep either from that point, despite how tired I was, because I was scared. After a 2 hour train journey, we were met at the station by a man with a minibus and then had a 3 hour bus ride back to Cuzco, I think I fell asleep several times on the Peruvian woman's shoulder next to me. We were SO TIRED when we got back to the hostel, that Jemma snapped at the man at the reception for daring to ask for our passport details. 'But we have already stayed here before! Why the hell do you need our details'! (I have never witnessed Jemma have an outburst before). And then the man showed us our beds, and I snapped because they weren't the ones we had asked for when we booked, and said out loud that we couldn't possibly stay and would have to find another hostel . Not a wise idea at 2am when you've been awake nearly 24 hours and climbed 2 mountains. So in the end, we decided to stay, and after a quick shower, I flopped into the most comfortable bed I have ever slept it, and felt the cleanest I have ever felt, and had the most amazing night's sleep of the whole trip.

Machu Picchu Photos