Cusco – Machu Picchu Trek

Its one of the new 7 wonders of the World, its a symbol of South America, its an engineering feat that no-one understands, its significance is unknown, it is also at the end of a one of the most fantastic and spectacular 3 day treks you can do! So like 1000's of others who come to South America each year it was high on our to-do list. We set off 5 days before Christmas with our fellow group of excited trekkers, well 16 of us in all, 1 American, 4 Icelandics', 10 Australian's (a group of 5 very loud yet very funny girls from Melbourne and a group of 4 friends from Sydney so the 2 groups instantly hated each other) and us :o)

From Cusco we headed out on a bus, through the Sacred Valley, to the starting point of the walk…no fancy buildings, no signs, no shops, just a small check point and a little hut in the middle of nowhere with a few locals selling wooden walking sticks – we bought ours after haggling over the price for 5 mins! We set off down through the valley, backpacks on, bounce in our step and playing sword fights with our new walking sticks. The first day was quite a gentle breaker, nothing to stressful to climb or overcome just a lovely walk past other ruins set amongst the stunning mountains of the Andes. We reached our first campsite set in one of the few settlements along the trails. When we arrived the porters of the company we were trekking where busy playing football with the villagers but had already set up 8 tents for the trekkers, 2 big tents (one for dinner and the other for them to cook in) and they even had a cold drink, biscuits and pop corn waiting for us…this treatment carried on all the trek, the porters were amazing and the food they cooked was fantastic! Day 2 is the day everyone talks about as being the 'hard' part, a climb of around 1200m reaching a pass at around 4,100m. Yes it was hard work because of the altitude but the views made the hard work worth it, so if the altitude hadn't already taken your breath away the views did. The problem with going up a big pass is you generally know that the other side has a big down! This was no different, a 1000 stairs cut into the mountain and built with stone led the way. Day 3 started with another small climb and a fantastic walk across a mountain top with valleys laid out beneath you in every direction you looked, apparently this is the first point, if you are lucky, that you may catch glimpse of Macha Picchu, we weren't lucky! The final part of the trek heads past an amazing ruin built on the edge of a steep mountain with huge terraces running down the side, we sat there alone for 10 mins just enjoying the tranquility and views. The 4th and final day starts early, around 4:30, this is to try and see the sunrise over Macha Picchu from the entrance called the sungate. This is what the 3 days walk had all been for, so we set off eagerly, after a short trek we climbed the last few steps and then suddenly laid out in the distance in front of you is Macha Picchu, it sits impressively shrouded in cloud in the middle of a valley surrounded on every side by mountains. After another 2 hours or so walking, oh and not seeing the sunrise because of the cloud you finally arrive at the actual site. The size of the site, the walls, the stones, the scale of everything amazed but you still cant help but think 'why?', why here? – is it sacred, is it a temple, is it just a stone city built in the middle of nowhere…no one really knows! What ever the reason, and there are many theories, it an amazing place to see made even better by the trek to reach it. We explored the ruins for a couple of hours, thankfully before the main hordes of visitors, who cheat and take the easy and lazy option of coming by bus – so not only are they greeted by the sight of Macha Picchu they are also greeted by the sight and smell of a group of happy trekkers who have worn the same clothes and not washed for 4 days! By mid afternoon its time to reward the last few days work with a much deserved beer or 2, well it was Christmas eve after all, before getting the train back and enjoying the rest of the celebrations Cusco had to offer which included a huge street market, fireworks at midnight, hot chocolate distributed to the needy and a huge midnight mass in the main cathedral with people entering the church on their knees. The celebrations carried on into to Christmas day with a carnival parade through the streets…. and we even found a little pub that did a traditional Christmas dinner – fantastic!