We really underestimated the difficulty of trekking the Inca Trail - and being at altitude made it much, much worse! The altitude affected us with headaches, tingling hands and feet, dizziness, feeling generally sick and exhausted.
The first day was 'easy' - going uphill, downhill, through small villages and on farmer's tracks. The scenery was breathtaking, although we were mainly too busy watching where our feet were going to really enjoy the full effect! The track was partly dirt, partly stones, partly steps. I always thought the Incas were little people, but some of their steps were huge! (how did they do it?).
Camp was set up by the porters. Even our lunch stops had a dining tent set up, and a 3-course meal, delicious. In the evening we were 2 to a tent and camped at designated campgrounds. What i was not expecting was so many other trekkers. Apparently they allow 200 trekkers PER DAY plus another 250 guides and porters. That's a hell of a lot of traffic on the trail.
Day 2 was very very tough: the first 5 hours were steadily uphill to an elevation of 4200m above sea level. I was struggling with dizziness and tingling hands and feet, it was exhausting, and also depressing to have to stop every 5m or so to get my breath back. I did not think I would make it...but I did. Another 2 hours of trekking downhill...down steep, uneven, stone steps. Thank GOD for my trekking poles!!
Overnight was quite cold, someone said it was -2C. I was just freezing, wore 2 sets of wool thermals to bed and was still cold. What a horrible sleep i had. Day 3 was a little easier, but I was just exhausted. I went to bed when we stopped after lunch, shivering and feeling horrible. I barely ate any lunch (and for anyone who knows me, THIS is a sure sign I am not well!!). I managed to get up for happy hour and it was a good thing too, the cook had baked a cake, and it was delicious.
In our group were 11 trekkers (Kiwi and Taiwanese couple, UK couple, Canadian couple, 2 19yo backpackers from the Netherlands, a Mexican/Dutch young backpacker, and us), a guide (Jimmy) and an assistant guide (Roland), and 13 porters and cook. The porters carry SO MUCH weight, it's unbelievable. Their packs are barely set up with proper straps and support, and on their feet they usually wear rubber sandals. Sometimes the ran on the trail, and we were always careful to keep out of their way. Just amazing.
The last day we got up at 4am to trek up to Sun Gate to see Machu Picchu at sunrise. Not sure where the sun was though, and it was a little bit of a letdown to arrive - so lovely (NOT) with heaps of other trekkers and guides, all snapping pictures and shouting congratulations to one another. Machu Picchu is quite beautiful but we did see quite a few other ruins along the trek, and the sheer amount of people at the site made it feel a little like Disneyland........
