A walk in the park (to Machu Pichu)
Trip Start
Dec 05, 2010
1
15
28
Trip End
Jun 22, 2011
Mollepata, Cusco, Peru
Saturday, March 26, 2011
I think that by this stage it is quite a well known fact that I live for adventures, type 2 fun. It is also a well known fact that in general, the more intense the adventure the better... the soft type just doesnt cut it. Lastly, i think that all of my family, friends and in general anyone who knows me fairly well can vouch for the fact that in general I like to have some degree of leadership in a group and generally dislike being told what to do and even more so what not to do. So I suppose it is no great shakes that as soon as I heard that it was possible to do hike to Machu Pichu without guides or rules that I jumped on the oppurtunity.
The route we chose was called the Sakantay trek and ran roughly 80km (roughly 20km per day) from Mollepata (near cuzco, peru) to Agua Calientes (in english `Hot water` named after the thermal springs that the town was built around... you are wekcome to check the route on goolgle if interested), possibly the most touristy town in the world located at the base of Machu Pichu. The trek ranked in National Geographic`s top 25 treks in the world definitely had a reputation for both beauty and difficulty and in the end stood up to both.
Walking 20km per day with 17Kg packs is for most an effort on flat ground. When the ground is not flat the effort increases pretty quickly. Therefore, when the 20kms that is walked each day includes roughly 1500m+ of altitude gain followed by the same if not more of altitude loss all at an average altitude of about 3000+m for four successive days, it is no wonder that by the end of each day physical exhaustion is never too far away. Along with the physical exhaustion is the hunger that comes with physically exherting oneself for so many hours a day. Luckily though my mates and I had thought this one through and had a two course meal of soup followed by either spag bol or stir fried rice each night one night even adding guinea pig to this menu.. definitely a unique experience!
Anyways the hike was in general awesome. On the bus the first morning we had bumped into two fellow explorers, one a French Canadian who looked remarkably like Jesus and the other a jovial and interesting Czech. So with those cultures adding flavour to our little group of me, the united nations and my two Israeli friends, locals got a long winded answer when they asked where we were from. One of the most interesting parts of the experience was the amount of variation in the terrain that we encoutered in the four days (plus one for Machu Pichu) we were walking. The first day actually reminded me a lot of many other parts of the world with large hills covered by strikinly green farmland and pockets of bushland, the path meandering up the slopes. As it turned out it was lucky that we were proficient in Spanish as the topographic maps we had failed to show the bazillions of little farm paths put in our way just to confuse us. Really just one big climb, the day ended in a semi alpine environment at the base of Mt Sakantay which pearced the horizon in front of us. Fortunately for us, shelters of a sort had been created for the trekking groups and so for one nght the rain did not bother us.
The second day was again beautiful and varied starting with a 1500m climb to 4600m to pass between Sakantay and another mountain. Leap frogging a couple of tour groups who had donkeys to their luggage we contiuned onto an alpine plain and into an alpine storm. Not being cold enough to snow, the rain came in sheets and only did not soak us as we managed to find shelter in a local's house. It really is amazing and awesome the kindness of many people you find in these countries and to me is one of the main reasons I travel. Being able to speak the language has been a real bonus in this respect as it becomes possible to create relationships that would otherwise be but a dream. Finally the rain slowed and we muscled the courage to leave our dry surrounds. Continuing on we dropped quickly until we stumbled upon Peru's version of a cloud forest (the correct term for a high altitude rain forest) sitting perched on the mountains at about 3500m! A shock to say the least. With fatigue setting in and our sense of urgency dulled by the realisation that really we were not in a rush we slowed our pace, meandering through the incesant mud baths till we made camp. Unfortunately this time we were not to be so lucky as all the cabins were full with the high paying customers.... we were to sleep in the rain. And it RAINED!!!!
Luckily for us the tents held up and though we walked through a muddy swimming pool all morning and had to wait till 10 in the morning for the rain to ease so we could pack up and leave, we were A'OK. After the rain the night before however, the path was really no longer a path but a puddle of mud. So, we got dirty. Shorter than the other days at only 16km, it only took us four hours to reach La Playa (literally translated to mean the beach, a small town where the walking track meets a dirty dirt road) a big decision and our next bout of local kindness. The big decision was whether to continue along the road to Santa Teresa and then walk from there to aguas calientes or to take one of the inca trails across the mountain range, a track which involved a loong walk up a rather large hill (about 1000m vertically). True to my nature, there was absolutely no doubt that the bush track up the mountain sounded not only a hell of a lot more adventurous but also more interesting and if I had any choice in the matter it would be our path. After a bit of convincing both by me and various locals we decided that going the other way would not only be a waste but would probably count as cheating, so the bush path it was! The only issue now was what to do about sleeping. As far as I could make out from the map and from the locals, finding an area to camp between where we were and 15km down the path across the mountains would be near on impossible to find there being only jungle and a small path. This is where the pleasant local lady comes in. Seeing our predicament she immediately offered a room behind her little local shop as accommadation for the night. Still slightly sceptical of local fraudsters we questioned as to how much this would cost and were quite taken aback when she said that we could stay free of charge only paying for whatever we wanted from her shop. So with a smile on our faces we accepted the conditions knowing full well that there was likely to be a storm that night and the room meant we would wake with dry tents... both of these turned out to be true. Spending the rest of the afternoon playing with her ever enegetic children and chilling out, we were stoked with our decision.
Leaving early the next morning after our specially prepared breakfast of eggs and rice (all for the equivalent of 70 cents) we smiled on our luck. The hill we had studied on the map the previous day turned out to be a little larger than we thought seeming to go up forever. Finally though we found ourselves near the top standing in front of one of the most amazing views of the trip. Sunlight streamed through the distant clouds illuminating the valley below us such that it appeared almost mystical. The roar of the river over 800 vertical meters below could only just be dicerned from the birds and sounds of the jungle. But, after some minutes standing in awe it was time to move on to the other side of the mountain. Walking over the ridge I was extremely surprised to find myself in dense PNG-like rainforest. Though we didnt have a machete I remember thinking that the one I had sitting in a box at home from Philippines could have been very useful at that very moment... I got this little feeling that we may have been the first people on that particular path for a while. Anyway we stumbled our way through the vines and brush until we stumbled straight into an opening and our first set of inca ruins. After playing on these for a while I found myself surveying both the wicked view of steep jungle covered mountains and the general landscape. While gazing out over the valley my eyes landed on a small section of a hill on the other side of the great divide. From where I was standing the area looked to be slighlty cleared with large rice terraces cut into the steep mountain side.. I was stumped. Then it clicked!!! I was looking at the famed Machu Pichu! Naturally I went a little bonkers yelling to my mates about what I could see. When they told me I was dreaming and that I could not in fact see MP I naturally became even a little more excited giving them wild directions as to the location of the mystical place. Finally one and then the rest of my mates saw it and became almost as excited as I was. It was then that Yoav (my Israeli travel partner) brought up one of the funnier quotes I had heard for a while saying "there are a few things that people must note here, the views are always better than the pictures show but there are millions of man eating mozzies ready to eat anyone who wants to see the views!" We got eaten alive!
Anyways after all that rambling we continued the next 6ish hours to agua calientes where we were abused by tonnes of annoying peruvians trying to sell us everything from rooms to massages and the incessant "Happy hour, four drinks for the price of one!" After having spent the last few days deep in the bush with only my four mates and the odd tourist group these mongrels were a shock to the system and I must admit that I had to hold myself back from physically hurting a párticularly annoying specimen. Then again what do you expect at the base of Perus most well known tourist attraction? Still, the realisation that we were in tourist town did not ease our frustrations at having to pay 25 bucks (a 50% discount for students) to enter Machu Pichu and then a further $35 for a train back to Cuzco particularly when the same train costs the locals $4!!!! My bad mood really just further evidence that I am a sucky tourist.
Getting over all those annoyances though, Machu Pichu was worth it. Refusing to pay the extra $16 for the return bus to the top of the hill, we set off at 4 in the morning joining a bunch of others to trek the steep stairs to the top. True to my competitive nature I couldnt help but race up the hill and along with my new Czech mate made it to the top of the hill just behind other mates who left at least 40min before us.
Then, there it was... Machu Pichu in all its glory. At first sight it really was spectacular perched on top of a massive hill smack in the middle of the jungle. Though only the shell of a city, I found myself imagining what it must have been like back in its day. Apparently a place for the hob nobs of inca society, Machu Pichu was said to house all the most important engineers, philosophers and particularly astronomers of the Inca Empire. One thing that is interesting about Machu Pichu and the Inca Empire that many people bring up is that it was only 600 years ago that this place was under construction, the same age that the Europeans had gunpowder and other inventions. While this could detract some of the glory from the place, I still argue that no European Empire managed to build a city in an area that remote. Furthermore, the Incas appeared to understand nature and its subtilties, they lived in harmony with Mother Earth and Father Sun... The same cannot be said of my ancestors. Unfortunately though this affinity with nature could not match the invention of gunpowder and so the Incas along with many other civilisations became but a part of history.
After doing the tourist thing and listening to a very interesting guided tour about the place and its ancient people, we made one last push up Waynapichu (a small mountain which provides the northern landmark for the city). Worth every step, the view was FANTASTIC! To me there has always been something special about sitting on top of mountains but when the view includes countless jungle covered mountains and one of the wonders of the world it is that much more amazing. Anyways even though we had plans to do Muchu Pichu Mountain (the southern point of the city and the reason that the city is now named as it is, the original name is long forgotten) my stomach and aching legs got the better of me. My time as a tourist was done, for now. To end this story I will cover a question that a number of people have asked me "how does MP compare with Ankgor Wat?" The answer... They are both interesting and amazing in their own right... they are different. Maybe an easy way out but to me I cannot answer this question for you, see them yourself!
Comments
I sat in that same spot. :)