Trekking the Inca Trail: Part One

Hiking the Inca Trail was both fun and miserable, all at the same time. We did a lot of prep work for it as we had to plan so far ahead to make reservations- read all about that process here. The whole hike is 4 days in length and ends the final day at Machu Picchu. The way the majority of visitors travel to Machu Pichu is via train but we wanted to hike the way of the ancient Incas!

Because of unforseen flight delays we had only one day in Cuzco to acclimate to the altitude- regularly 2-3 days are recommended. In fact, some trekking companies won’t even let you on the hike unless you can show proof from your hotel that you’ve been in Cuzco at least 2 nights.

The first morning starts very early, for us it was around 5:00am. We drove for about 1 1/2-2 hours to KM 88 which is the check point for the start of the trail. Eat breakfast ahead of time and buy water in Cuzco as well- you are not provided water on the first day of the hike and while you can buy it along the trail that day, Cuzco is much cheaper. The trekking company offered sleeping bags and sleeping pads for rent, but we brought our own. So we took a bit of time unloading things and gearing up and then after our passports and ticket for the trail was checked we were off.

The first day was a definitely a bit of a challenge, but by far the easiest day of all. We probably started hiking around 9:00am or so since we had also stopped at a restaurant for breakfast along the way. We hiked for around 5-6 hours which included some gentle slopes up and down and some flat space as well. This was nice as it was mostly dirt- not a lot of hiking over rocks yet. The downside is that the first day you’re passing through a lot of small villages for the whole first day. This means it’s not as much nature, it’s more manure from donkeys along the way, very poor people and houses and some small huts to buy snacks and drinks from. Our first night we camped right near one of the villages and heard barking dogs all night (thankfully I had earplugs with me and had no trouble sleeping with those in). Because there are so many groups starting each day there are many campsites spread within a quarter mile or so- you won’t be too close to the other campsites.

Typically groups can have around 10 hikers at a time, sometimes even up to 15. Ours only had 4 for whatever reason. Our guide told us that when he leads the large groups usually there is one person every time who can’t make it the whole way and turns back. We passed a handful of people on this day who were doing just that. The second day is the most physically challenging so if you finish that, you’re already half way there and no sense it turning around then.

Around 1:00pm we stopped for lunch on the first day which the porters had already prepared for us. After lunch it was around 1 1/2 – 2 more hours until we reached camp. It sounds like that leaves a lot of free time in the afternoon since we arrived around 4:00ish- but honestly each day we were so exhausted by the time we reached camp that once we unpacked our sleeping bags and pads and set them up we pretty much fell asleep until dinner time.

Don’t get your hopes up too high for bathrooms along the way on the trail. They pretty much consist of outhouses. Again, our guide, Edwar, told us that they’re trying to renovate these as it’s really hard on hikers to trek all day and then have to squat to use the bathroom. Plus it’s nasty! Don’t forget to pack toilet paper as that’s not available along the way.

Day 2 started bright and early around 6:00 or 6:30am with the porters delivering hot coca tea to our door. This tea helps with altitude sickness, which we thankfully didn’t experience, so we made sure to drink it each morning. We had a delicious breakfast consisting of a pancake with fruit and we were off. After being tired enough from carrying a pack on the “easy day” we decided to hire a porter for the next two days. Each porter will carry up to 12 kilos so Pablo and I each unloaded about 6 from our packs so that we would only have to pay for one porter. This was plenty as we were left with just a few things in our packs that weren’t very heavy at all. Usually porters cost $100 to carry your bag for the whole trek, we paid 200 soles for 2 days for ours so pretty close to the regular charge cost.

Day 2 is known as the hardest physically because it involves 5 hours of going uphill on stairs the whole way. And boy was it hard. Wear layers as the mornings are cold but you’ll be warming up in no time from the excursion it takes to go up step after step. I tried putting my long spandex on under my quick dry pants and quickly regretted that idea. Same with a winter hat. Within 5 minutes I was sweating too much to want either of them. So stick to just a buff to keep your ears warm and just quick dry pants- though they’re thin and you’ll feel a little chilly at first, trust me you heat up fast. I wore a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and fleece every morning to start and would lose the top layers throughout the day as we went (usually the fleece didn’t last long at all).

Dead Woman’s Pass is the highest point of the trail and this is what takes 5 hours to hike up. The views were great!! After that it was about 3 hours hiking down hill down stairs on the other side of the pass to our campsite waiting below. We arrived early at it again and had both lunch and dinner there. This time I really fell asleep so fast once we got there because I was exhausted from all the strain on my legs from the day. While going uphill is challenging and exhausting, going downhill can be more painful. I was so grateful to have our hiking poles going down as they really help to take some of the shock off the joints and feet on the steep downhill steps. We had such great views from our campsite on this night, and were very close to all the other hikers groups as well! But no noise to really worry about because everyone is in bed early, up early and very, very tired.