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Location:Peru
Unlike many, Walk the Walk
limit their tours to just 16 people so that we can create a small but intimate
group of adventures all wanting to share this experience. Your journey will
begin in Cuzco. Once the centre of the Inca Empire, here you will have the
opportunity to explore the city and enjoy ‘Inti Raymi’ – The Festival of the
Sun. This is one of the largest and most important Inca festivals in South
America and a wonderful experience.
After taking in the celebrations you will white water raft along the Sacred Valley to the start of your unforgettable four day adventure. The Inca Trail is a truly breathtaking experience and a stunning combination of unforgettable views, magnificent mountains and exotic vegetation. As you walk you will be visiting the ‘city above the clouds’ and sleeping under the stars.
This years journey...
WOW!!!
What an adventure - what a 'Super Group' (as our Peruvian guide called us)!!!
We arrived in Peru full of excitement of what was ahead of us! After a quick one night stop in the capital of Lima we flew to Cuzco to acclimatize to the altitude and get our first glimpse of what the great Inca Empire was all about! The first few days were spent touring various 'archaeological sites' and local places of interest along with a few hard earned hours of shopping!
The real adventure started in the village of Ollantaytambo where the locals found out what Walk the Walk was really about as we had our official start by walking around the town square in our decorated bras - singing all the way around! We really were raising awareness - even the mayor came out to wish us on our way!
From Ollantaytambo we set off to start the trail (via another archaeological site') where our passports were officially marked with an Inca Trail stamp. And then we were on our way singing the theme tune to the Indiana Jones films as we spent the first day trekking on the 'Peruvian Flat' (little hills to us!!). We arrived at our first campsite to find all the tents set up waiting for us - what a fantastic team of porters and cooks we had - the meals that were made for us throughout the trail were INCREDIBLE!!
Our second day on the trail
was our 'up' day - climbing hills and up steps pretty much the whole day but the
views and the scenery were breathtaking - we had to keep having moments where we
stopped to take it all in otherwise We camped at just under 13,000ft so it was
a cold night but the sky was so clear that stars were shining like little lamps
which lit up the whole campsite.
The third day was our longest but and possibly the most emotional as we reached the highest point on our trek at the top of 'Dead Women's Pass' (named so because the mountain looks like a woman lying down - don't worry!!) There were tears in all of our eyes (and on some of our cheeks!) as we looked at the spectacular view in front of us and looked back on the trail where we had come from (and where we were heading!). We carried on along the trail (which became actual stone slabs laid by the Incas) and passed though more high passes and entered the cloud forest where the vegetation changed into a tropical paradise where we spent the last night camping.
Our final day started with the team getting up early to watch the sunrise over the clouds and a celebration ceremony for our porters and cooks. After they received their gifts it was time for us to head out on the trail one last time, although we knew that at the end of the day's walking we would reach our end goal - Machu Pichu was in our reach! One final stop for lunch and a quick tour of the spectacular Winay Wayna ruins before we climbed the last part of the trail to Inipunktu or the 'Gate of the Sun' where we had our first glimpse of what we had come all this way for - Machu Picchu. We caused quite a stir in our bra t-shirts and even more of one when we stripped off to our decorated bras - everyone knew why we were there and what we were doing!
We descended down the mountain
from The Gate of the Sun to Machu Picchu itself where we had a team ceremony
lead by our amazing guide, Juan where we left offerings to the Mother Earth (we
each left a stone that we had carried all the way along the trail) before
getting on the bus to take us to our hotel (and the first hot shower we'd seen
for 3 days!).
The following morning we
got up early so that we could explore Machu Pichu before the millions of
tourists descended on it! We were there on the 21st June which coincided with
the winter solstice where we were able to see an extremely rate architectural
and astronomical feat of the Incan where the perfect alignment of the winter
solstice window with the altar of the Sun Temple at sunrise. After taking our
photos it was time for our tour - Juan knew every little detail and really
brought the story of Machu Pichu and the Incas to life.
The following day we took
the train from Machu Pichu to Cuzco where we were able to gather our thoughts
and view parts of the trail from a distance (as well as rest our legs!). We
arrived back in Cuzco to a party atmosphere as all the locals were gathered for
parades through the streets with the lead up to the Inti Raymi parades.
Bright and early the next
day we were up for our next adventure - white water rafting down the Urabamba
River in the Sacred Valley! The rapids weren't as wild as we were expecting
however that didn't stop us all from getting soaked and the view and the
surroundings were unforgettable!
The following day was spent at the Inti Raymi festival, the celebration to honour the Sun God. The celebrations started in the town square at Cuzco where hundreds of brightly dressed actors and dancers gathered to perform a re-enactment of a ceremonial reading of the sacred coca leaf to decide the future of the empire in the next year before we followed to the procession to Sacsayhuaman where the main event took place. Here we watched as to honour the Sun God and make an offering to Mother Earth for a good harvest, a re-enactment of a sacrifice of a llama took place. It was an amazing experience to watch.
We spent our last day on a
tour of the capital city of Lima and visiting local cathedrals and the Gold
Museum before heading back to the airport for our long flight
home.
A huge hug and thanks goes
to the whole team who made the trip an unforgettable one with a special thanks
to our guides Juan and Milton! The Inca Trail is one of the most amazing
experiences you will ever be a part of and a trip of a lifetime - definitely not
to be missed!!!
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