Well, maybe not all their footsteps... When we arrivied in Cusco, we had not booked anything for Machu Picchu. Mostly I was worried that I would not be able to cope with the walking, so we figured that we would do nothing and see what happened. Luckily we were coming in the rainy season (apparently less busy, but still pretty busy...) so we were able to organie what we thought was the ¨Old Ladies¨version of the Inca Trail, a 2 day ad one night affair. We were so very wrong about the level of intesity - although I am sure that it was no where near a difficult as the 4 day hike (the has altitude issues thrown into the mix!)- it was still one of the hardest walking experiences I have had. We got off the train at km104 and then climbed to Wiñay Wayna - pretty much a 3 hour climd from the river involving many stairs. Oh, so many uneven stairs! From Wiñay Wayna we walked to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate which gave us a fantastic veiw over Machu Picchu. From there we walked downhill, past Machu Picchu to the village of Aguas Calientes (Hot Water) after the hot water spring located in the town. We spent the night in a guesthouse in Aguas Calientes, and were up at 5am the next morning to get the first bus to Machu Picchu in order to avoid the day trippers who arrive at about 10:30. We did a tour of Machu Picchu and then decided to climb Huayna Picchu, yet more stairs good views from the top. We were up on Huayna Picchu at about 11am and we saw the change - from a few bus loads of people, to and absolute crush - and this is the low season!
We were worried, so often a place that you have always wanted to visit does not meet expectations. But Machu Picchu met and exceeded all our expectations, and even though I could barely stand as my legs were shaking from exhaustion, I am so glad we did the walk. For those wary of a 4 day hike, the 2 day option is a good one. Machu Picchu is every much as beatiful and awe inspiring as all the postcards!
