Day 3:
The third day of the trek contains the second and third passes, as such, for much of the day you're still at a high altitude, going up a bit and down a bit, but never as steep as Day Two. Much of this day follows the original Incan road and passes through two Incan tunnels carved into the cliff. Part of the day is a decent over an Incan Staircase lovingly called "The Gringo Killer." I thought I survived alright, but the next day my left knee was so sore! Throughout the day we were walking through a cloud forest, along steep precipices, and over steep stone embankments. As with the other days, we were surrounded by beautiful mountains. Again, mountain streams and waterfalls appeared, trickled and rushed all around us. Several varieties of orchids thrive in this section of the trail, but it must have been the wrong season for them, as we didn't see any.
Also on Day Three, we were able to visit several smaller Incan ruins along the way, and Max presented at each, teaching us more about Incan culture, architexture and religion. Probably most impressive to Eric and I were the Incan aquaducts, which you could still see carved into the tops of walls along the city, and the fountains to which they carried water. These lessons were very useful in understanding and appreciating the city of Machu Picchu when we arrived on Day Four. I think it would otherwise have been way too much to soak in. Plus it provided more context: The Incan can't just be summarized in this one well-known city. They were are empire, and understanding how different sites worked together in the network of religion and communication helped provide some context of what that meant.
One of the sites was a rest stop most likely for the king and his army on the way to Machu Picchu. The other was likely a religious site with a obersvatory, which once contained a mechanism, which, when aligned properly with the sun revealed the Solstices and dictated the seasons for planting and harvesting. A final site could be seen at a distance from early on in the day. At first, it seemed quite small but clearly contained several terraces along the mountainside. It was the last site we passed just before arriving at camp that evening, and to stand inside and below it revealed it's great size. Imagine, constructing massive terraces up the side of a steep mountain!
Gray clouds threatening rain hovered over us in the afternoon, but thankfully never followed through on what they seemed to promise. Though we took our chances traveling during the start of the rainy season and saw an afternoon rain almost every day in Cusco, out four day hike along the Inca Trail stayed completely dry and about a perfect as anyone could hope for when it comes to weather.
Our final campsite was the largest we stayed at. Along the way, most campsites were staggered so that the full throng of hikers were't piled on top of one another. But the final morning hike to the Sun Gate overlooking the city creates a fervor, and everyone wants to be as close to the ranger station as possible to get a head start. At our final meal we were introduced to our porters and learned a little about their families and the village that many of them are from. Most of these men were in their mid twenties, but one was in his fifties! We headed to be early, as Day Four would begin at 3:34AM.
Day 4:
Why so early, you ask? As I indicated above, everyone want to get to Machu Picchu first. The ranger station that opens the site to trekkers doesn't open until 5:30, but you want to get in line as a group as soon as you can. Our porters tapped on our tent and then went back to work taking down camp. We had a quick breakfast and were rushed down the path with instructions that we could come back up to use the toilet and brush our teeth after we were in line. Our group was second in line, only behind the other Peru Treks group. Eric and I were stuck near to some guy in the group behind us listening to some soft rock ballads on his radio.
The hike from the ranger station to the Sun Gate is about 45 min to an hour, and it's probably the sketchiest bit along the trail. The path just isn't as wide, most of it is along steep precipices, and there's a fair amount of steep Incan stone stairs. Nonetheless, everyone thinks they need to be first and rushes as much as possible. I gritten my teeth and committed to staying right behind the person in my group in front of me. I would not fall behind and hold my group back today.
We did pretty well until we reach the final staircase: 50 steep & narrow stone steps. We waited a bit while the people ahead of us made their way up. There was one young woman in the other Peru Treks group who had twisted her ankle two days before the trek and still did it. We're pretty sure her boyfriend and guide carried her up these steps. When we finally got to them and were picking our way up, so impatient people behind us decide to blow past, practically running up the stairs. They nearly stepped on Eric's hand as he was climbing up and certainly caused me to wait for the choicer steps.
The truly obnoxious thing in all of this is that it was cloudy out. So even when we all reached the Sun Gate ahead of everyone else, winded because we practically ran the whole way, we had to wait a good 15 mintues for the clouds to dissipate with the sunrise. We're still not sure why the guides encourage this crazy making rather than assure people that we'll all still get there before most buses from Aguas Calientes and long before the throngs on the trains from Cusco.
Nonetheless, the view from the Sun Gate was stunning. Watching the clouds fade to reveal the city was like watching a photograph develop in a darkroom, just a shadow of an image at first, and, somehow, suddenly, an entire breathtaking landscape just in front of you.
We walked down from the Sun Gate to the Watchmen's Hut, which was in the city of Machu Picchu but still overlooking it. We were allowed a few photos here, before we had to decend to the entrance gate to properly check in. Large bags aren't allowed at the site, so we dropped Eric's bag off at a bag check. After a quick snack and bathroom break, we regrouped for our tour of Machu Picchu.
Max led us through of the important buildings. Machu Picchu is a massive site, and without a guide I don't think I would have made heads or tails of it. We noticed a bit at the smaller sites along the trail and at Machu Picchu that the Peru Treks guides seemed to kind of be hotshots among the other guides. It seemed like we got priority at any location we wanted to be at, and Max clearly knew some of the rangers at the site, which can never hurt.
Honestly, writing about Machu Picchu now is a lot like when we visited it: There´s so much, but I'm just so tired! I think the Temple of the Condor was the most impressive building. Two large natural stones were left as they were, looking like the V of a bird's wings. At the base, another natural stone was carved into the shape of a body and head of a condor and was used as an altar for sacrificing llamas and guinnea pigs. A small corridor cuts under one of the wings to a small altar room.
The Incas believe the world was divided into three sections: 1. The heavens or realm of the gods, embodied by the condor, 2. The earth or realm of the living, embodied by the puma, and 3. The underworld or realm of the dead, embodied by the snake. These animals are represented throughout Incan culture. Machu Picchu is believe to be shaped like a condor (much of the mountainside is un-excavated, but likely contains many more ruins) and Cusco was designed in the shape of a puma.
After our tour, Eric and I explored some other areas and sat on one of the terraces for a bit. The sun was inescapable, the waves of train-tourists from Cusco were starting to roll in, and Eric had picked up the cold I started out the hike with, so we decided to head out sometime around noon. Of course, with a 3:45 rise and shine time, we had already had a full day.
Our group met for lunch at a restraunt reserved by our tour company. For most of us, our train didn´t leave Aguas Calientes (the city at the base of Machu Picchu) until 7:30PM, so we had some time to kill. Quite a few people went to the hot springs, but we skipped that. By most reports, we only missed a big crowd of people. Eric and I hung out around the restaraunt and meandered toward a plaza and market in the afternoon. Then we played really mindless cardgames (like War) until it was time to head to our train. We took the train for about an hour and a half to the city we had breakfast in on the first day, and then Peru Treks bused us back to Cusco from there. I think that was 2 hours, but I slept through the whole thing.
We arrived back at our hostel, retrieved our items from storage, and crashed. We slept most of the next day, and then headed out of Cusco the morning after for Puno.
For a rundown of the hike from the professional perspective, you can visit Peru Treks summary at: http://perutreks.com/inca_trail_04d_itinerary.html
