Picking the Right Tour
I had done a bit of research and decided that the 4 day / 3 night Inca Trail journey was right for us. My Capital One credit card was also offering 12% cash back through Viator, so I took a quick look and found a highly-rated tour with Trexperience for $735 per person ($646 after getting cash back). And this was most definitely a deal - so I booked it! One important thing to note is Viator makes it seem like every day is available, but we immediately got a message from the tour operator saying that day was sold out (there are a limited number of Machu Picchu passes each day). So we decided to start the day before, which was fine since we hadn't booked our flights to Peru yet.
Our 4-day Inca Trail experience actually started the day prior to the hike because we needed to go to the Trexperience office at 6pm to meet our guides (Pepe and Toro) and our group (folks from England, Czech Republic, China, Brazil, and the US). We were a bit late, but once we got there we got the run down of everything we needed to know. We decided to rent the sleeping pad and sleeping bag, which I found to be quite comfortable during the trek. We also got our duffel bag, which is where we put our belongings each day (up to 7kg including sleeping pad and bag) and these were transported by the porters each day to our destination. That night we packed up our duffels and went to bed very early to ensure we were ready for our 4:15am hotel pick-up.
Day 1 of the Inca Trail
After picking up the full group, we drove about 1.5 hours to get to the breakfast restaurant. They had a full spread for us and it was quite delicious. We used the toilets and jumped back into the van for another 45 minutes to get to the start of the trail. There, we were greeted by the 21 porters for our 13-person group. The porters packed up our bags into theirs (wow they are impressive) and our group went to the check-in desk with our passports in hand.
Pepe started our tour in the little museum and shared the types of animals we might see on the trek, and a bit of history. Then we were on our way! Day one wasn't too strenuous, especially since we had many stops to ensure our group stayed together. We had two girls in our group that were extremely slow, but luckily we had two guides and one could stay with them as needed. We saw a couple Incan sites along the way, which were really cool.
Lunch was served around 2pm each day and we enjoyed a LOT of food. The chef just kept bringing more out!
Our campsite that night was set up for us upon arrival. The porters clapped as we came in (even though they did all of the work). We enjoyed tea time, which we found to be a daily highlight, and then dinner with more than enough food.
Day 2 of the Inca Trail
We started the day going up up up and then down down down. This meant the views were outstanding! The mornings always started off cold and then by the time we saw the sun it was quite hot. This meant a lot of layers and de-layering as we went.
We also got snacks each day, and this day we had a local Peruvian fruit called Granadilla. It was slimy and crunched, but I really enjoyed it.
Day 3 of the Inca Trail
This was our LONG day. We weren't totally prepared, but we did it! This day we also saw a number of Incan sites along the way, which definitely helped.
Our lunch this day had beautiful views and it was our first official introduction to our wonderful porters and chefs. They each shared where they were from, how old they were, and we did the same. Each porter carried 60+ pounds on their backs to ensure we had such a great setup throughout our journey.
Our final campsite was directly next to the 'mini Machu Picchu' and we were able to visit it right before tea time.
This was our final night with the porters, which meant tips. We grouped the tips together and presented it to the head porter and head chef. Then we headed to bed because we had a 3am wakeup the following morning.
Day 4 of the Inca Trail
This was the big day! And it started off rather lame. The campsite is a 5 minute walk to the entrance of the trail, and this entrance doesn't open until 5:30am. In order to be the first at the gate you need to get up VERY early. And then you just sit there with your headlights until it opens.
Then you walk for about 1.5 hours to get to the sun gate. It feels very much like a race, but then once you get to the Sun Gate you wait for everyone to get there. A bit anti-climactic but we still appreciated the time to sit and overlook Machu Picchu in the distance, and the many pictures too.
The final trail to Machu Picchu is another 25 minutes and then you are THERE! It was even cooler than I imagined, and we happened to be there on Winter Solstice and everyone seemed to think that was quite special. We waited for our group overlooking the huge Incan site and watched the sun rise. We had our own personal viewing platform because we had just come in on the trail.
The next two hours were dedicated to a site tour, where Pepe gave us a very lengthy talk while directly in the hot sun. He was killing time, because the two slower girls were still walking down from the Sun Gate with Toro. There were Llamas roaming free and it was simply amazing!
Unfortunately we needed to leave for lunch at a restaurant in the town. So we got on the shuttle bus and took the very windy road down, down, down. We ate lunch with the group and then had some time to explore before our train. The train was about 2 hours and included a snack box, a dance performance, and a fashion show. It was something! Once we got to our stop, we then loaded on the van for another 2 hour drive back to Cusco. A long trip - but it was worth it!
Inca Trail Overall
WOW! This was amazing. I absolutely loved hiking to get to Machu Picchu. I've decided that I really enjoy walking/hiking vacations and hope to do more in the future. Our tour was excellent and Machu Picchu was unbelievable. I would recommend this tour for anyone who is willing and able to do a 4 day hike.
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