Machu(=old) Picchu=(mountain) was built around 1450 and abandoned a century later during the Spanish invasion. It was not discovered, and hence not destroyed, by the Spaniards. The city was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It has since become the most recognised symbols of the Incan civilisation and is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World.
The Inca Trail from Cusco to Machu Pichu is 26 miles (42 km) and can be covered in 4 days.
During the 4th of July long weekend in 2002, we visited Machu Pichu.
There were 5 of us – Mayur, Bharat and Hari from Boston and Aaron and me from NY.
The 3 Bostoners were Big5 consultants and Mayur punnily christened ourselves as
the Pig5 (Peru Invasion Group 5) which in turn mutated to “the Pigs”. We planned to meet up at Lima and then proceed together to Cuco which was the base for the Machu Pichu trek.
Plans were finalised sometime in April 2002, which left us a couple of months to book air, hotel and the trek itself. But true to Parkinson’s law some of the important stuff got done only at the very end – I picked up a sleeping bag at Kmart bcos there was no time to go to any of the camping specialty stores. It was a bulky cylinder reminiscent of the bed-rolls used in railway journeys, rather than the hyper-compact bags favoured by trekkers. It caused me no end of discomfort later on the mountains.
28th June 2002 – 11.50 pm – Jorge Chavez Aeropeurto, Lima
Aaron and I arrived on a direct flight from Newark, reaching Lima around 10.30pm. The Boston group would arrive on a Boston-Miami-Lima flight only about 3pm. Since we were flying almost due south, there was no jet lag. I was too keyed up to even doze and spent the night sprawled on my sleeping bag in the arrivals hall of Jorge Chavez airport reading Taleb’s “Fooled by Randomness” – forever, in my mind that book is associated with the Inca Trail.
With the Boston flight coming in before schedule, we managed to inveigle our way onto an earlier Aero Continente flight to Cusco rather than the 9am which we were booked on. Unlike Lima which is at sea level, Cusco sits at an altitude of about 8000 feet and we were keen to get there and start acclimatising.
29th June 2002 – 8.30 pm – Room No. 206 – Hotel Rumi Punku, Cusco
We were staying at the Hotel ‘Hostal Rumi Punku’ on ‘Calle Choquechaca’ (street Choquechaca). Rumi in Quechua means ‘Stone’ and ‘Punku’ is ‘Gate’. We were paying about US$ 30 for a 2-bed room and US$ 40 for one with 3 beds (breakfast included). The rooms were very clean and comfortable. Luckily no rules “about 2 pm checkin” and we were shown to our rooms as soon as we arrived around 8am.
irst impressions of Cusco very favorable. Small and clean place.
After breakfast, we went to the central square (“Plaza de Armas”) but even that is not crowded or noisy. Few cards – all of them look pretty old. People are very friendly and helpful. Have not s
een any of the petty crime that we heard so much about. We went on to our travel agency “Andean Life” to confirm the travel plans. We paid about US$ 220 per person for our 4-days trek on the Inca Trail.
In the evening we went to Sacsahuaman (pronounced something like “Sexy Woman” said the guide — means ‘House of Sun’ in Quechua).
This construction is something similar to the pyramids – huge stone block structures held together without mortar.
I had come mentally prepared to eat the local delicacy – roasted guinea pig (called “cuy” ; pronounced “kwee“). But at the last minute, I chickened out and had pollo instead.
Sunday – June 30
We had one more day of acclimatisation at Cusco before we started our trek.
We woke up at 6am to watch the World Cup Final on a tiny black-and-white TV – Germany vs Brazil. A rather pedestrian game which ended with Brazil winning 2-0.
We had booked a bus tour to “Sacred Valley”. We first went to the Pisaq Market which had all the hustle and bustle of a Sunday market. From there we proceeded to Ollantaytambo, stopping on the way for a buffet lunch consisting of local rice and chicken. Learnt that the Puma is the Inca God of War and the Condor is the God of Peace.
We then went to the Chinchero market where I bought a sweater supposedly made of llama wool. I was hoping it would keep me warm over the next 4 days however it was so itchy I never used it. That seller really managed to pull the wool over my eyes!
We returned late to the hotel in Cusco and packed our backpacks and left most of our stuff back at Rumi Punku.
July 1 2002 – Day 1 of Trek
Wake up at 5 am. Got out of the hotel at 6 am. Bus arrived at 7am to take us to KM82 which is the starting point of the trek. We arrived at KM82 around 8am and had a quick breakfast and got introduced to the rest of the hikers who would be joining us.
Gerald from Austria, Mark from Ireland, Kevin from New York and Hakon & Johan from Sweden.
Gerald in his mid-sixties was the senior-most but also the fittest. He was a retired school-teacher. He had been hiking in the mountains of Austria most weekends for the last 30 years. Mark was in his mid-thirties and also seemed fit and also experienced in hiking at high altitude.
Gerald’s and Mark’s experience was most evident in the way they had assembled their gear – the small things that provide comfort during an otherwise strenuous high-altitude walk – which is learnt over years and many expeditions. In comparison, our backpacks were assembled in a fairly slap-dash manner.
Hakon and Johan had come to Peru to attend a friend’s wedding and had joined the trek on a whim. However they also seemed fairly hardy. At first impression, it seemed like Kevin and us Pigs were the frailest and likely to struggle the most – and later events proved it so.
Our guide for the next 4 days would be Washington named after the great George W himself (No. 1, NOT 43). He said his brothers were named Franklin and Jefferson and I never really figured out if he was kidding.
Washington was fluent in English and this had helped him become a head-guide at a young age. Expectedly, he was also very knowledgeable on the history of the Incas as well as the various monuments we would see on the way.
At very high altitude, appetite declines. But we were still low enough on the mountains that the few hours walk made us all ravenously hungry. We had lunch in a hut because of an incessant drizzle.
Rain is the most uncomfortable element to encounter, especially on the first day of a trek – leaving us with wet gear for the remainder of the trip. I had not planned for a waterproof covering for my backpack. My last-minute purchase sleeping bag was too bulky for my backpack and needed to be strapped on to the top of it, making it further vulnerable to rain.
Post-lunch, the drizzle intensified and we used our thin ponchos to cover ourselves and our backpacks as best as we could. Around 4pm we got into a shelter to wait out the storm. A bunch of Aussies passed us by with merry waves. They must have been around 16-18 years old and were in enviable condition – they sped up the mountain like they were strolling on Bondi Beach.
We arrived at the campground in the gloaming and the porters set up the mess tent and our sleeping tents. We had a quick hot tea and retired for the night.
July 2 – Day 2 – The highest point
On Day 2, we would ascend to the highest point of the trek – Wamay Wanusqa (Dead Women’s Pass) at 4200m (about 14200 feet). This would be the segment that would cause AMS for most people. I chewed coco leaves along with the porters to alleviate symptoms.
The last 500 meters took me about an hour. Very frustrating to see the summit so close but not have the energy to speed on.
Due to inclement weather we set up camp in the mid-afternoon. Bharath’s sprained an ankle on the descent and the extra rest should help him recover for the next 2 days.
July 3 – Day 3 of Trek
Early start at 5.30 am to make up for the previous day’s shortfall. A longer day but relatively easy.
At 7am we reach the Runkurakay ruins. There are large trapezoidal blocks of stone used to make the doorways. Washington tells us that there is no word called “Runkura” – perhaps Bingham misheard “Runtura” which means means egg-shaped. The stones have been well-preserved probably because the land here is not easy to farm and hence there are no permanent settlements here.
The camping site was more “civilised” with hot and cold showers as well as beer and coke! But we reached there late and our tents were put up on a muddy slope.
Tipped our porters and said good-byes – they would not be accompanying us to the top – they would return after breakfast the next day.
Day 4 – July 4 – Machu Picchu at last
We had to start at 4.30 am to be able to see the sunrise at Machu Picchu.
Gerald and Mark had head-lamps. I had a hand-held torch – not ideal when you are trying to balance yourself and a 10-kg backpack up a slope. Some of us had no lights at all and trailed in the footsteps of the others.
We reached Machu Picchu around 6am.
The mountain that you see in the background of most photos of MP is actually Wayna Pichu (“young mountain”). It is a 2 hour climb up and another hour down. Some of our group went over to climb WP. I was too beat to continue.
We started back around 11 am to the town below Aguas Calientes (“Hot Water”) where we had some cold beer and waited for our train back to Cusco.
It is possible to visit MP by train in a day (4 hours each way from Cusco) but the journey on the Inca Trail matters as much as the destination.
Day 5 – July 5 – Back to Lima
After reaching our hotel around 9pm, we had to make an early start to catch our flight back to Lima. We needn’t have bothered – bad weather had caused all flights to be delayed by 4-5 hours. We finally reached Lima around noon. We were staying in the Miraflores district which was supposed to be the party area of Lima.
Day 6 – July 6 – Lima city tour
