Everyone knows this supernatural place in Peru as Machu Picchu. However, it is a bit misleading because Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain” and is rather the name of the mountain on which the lost Inca city was build. The original name of this tribute is unknown, and it was only named Machu Picchu 100 years ago in 1911, after the American Hiram Bingham was led to it by Quechan indigenous people that called the mountain on which it stands Machu Picchu. The Spaniards failed to discover Machu Picchu when they conquered Peru in the 15th century, which is probably the reason why it was left in such a good state over the last 500 years.
I attempted to visit this mystic place via one of the traditional Inca pilgrimage trails, as I think a visit of a place like this deserves some mental preparation and struggle. To walk “el Camino Inca” takes 4 days through the breathtaking Andean highlands of the region. It`s impossible to walk this trek on your own as it is part of the national park and requires high protection, therefor you have to walk with an official guide. I joined a trekking company which is know for their efforts for sustainability and their good treatment of porters. We were a group of 10 trekkers being guided by 2 guides and accompanied by 16 porters. It seems insane at first sight to have more porters in a group than trekkers, and indeed one could do with less porters and a more basic camping experience along the way. I also felt awkward first about having a porter carrying my personal belongings and camping gear. However, one has to acknowledge that the tourism of the Inca trail creates a lot of jobs in the region and those of the porters are a very important part of them, which is why you have to remember that you support a families’ life by engaging a porter to carry your stuff. We called our porters the “Ninjas” as their work was unbelievable and highly respected by all of us.
The total of the Inca pilgrimage is 45km with a total of ascends of more than 2000m and descends of roughly 2500m, with a variety of ups and downs spread over four days. The toughest trekking day was day 2, on which we walked for about 9h, crossing the “Dead woman´s pass” in the morning at an altitude of 4200m and a second peak in the afternoon at close to 4000m. The trail passed several Inca sites along the way each day, which was always a welcomed distraction to pause and gaze. We camped usually within gorgeous mountain settings, in which you could sit and contemplate, watch the mist rising and setting between the peaks. Every evening when we got to camp, we were expected by our red ninja porter army that welcomed us with a bowl of hot water and soap to wash, already set tents, and a happy hour with coca tea and popcorn. Three times a day we received luxury food , warm-hearty prepared by the cook of the team! The first time I could barely walk in the afternoon because I was so stuffed with delicious food, which is why we all had to restrain ourselves at the upcoming meals. Even the vegetarian options were a burner and I had no reason to envy the meat eaters. In the mornings we were always woken up with a cup of mate the coca (coca leaf tea) right to the tent, it was like breakfast in bed. You can see that the spoiling had little to do with camping, but the competition is high between the different trekking outfitters and all offer approximately the same value of treatment. But the difference is obvious in the quality of guides and the treatment of the porters, which becomes very evident along the way. Our porters were well equipped with functional sporty uniforms, shoes and backpacks, whereas we have seen others walking this 40km with 25kgs on their backs with bad sandals and a few plastic sheets tight together as a bag. It is therefor important to choose your company wisely. While we were huffing and puffing on the mountain to reach the peak, being short of breath and sore in our backs from carrying our little day pack, the porters would just run past us so they could get to camp a couple hours before us to prepare for our arrival and luxury treatment.
The last morning, we woke up at 3.30 am. It was the big day of the arrival to Machu Picchu. It had rained the whole night and was still raining; we were all a bit worried about the visibility. Unfortunately I also got drenched the evening before, when we visited an Inca site just off our camp site and I didn`t take my rain gear along, and my attempt to dry my clothing overnight between my matt and sleeping bag was only partially successful. So I had to put on my damp clothing and obviously felt very uncomfortable. Even at 4 am in the morning we received another luxury breakfast before we went to the last rancher gate at 4:30 am, which would not open before one hour later. However, we were only the 4th group in line, others had already been there by 4 and had their breakfast outside the gate. It is quite a spectacle being in line with close to 20 groups of trekkers (each of them holding about 10 people plus guides). You can image the attitude of walking when the gates finally opened. It was a 1.5 hour hike and most of our group managed it in about 45 min as we were running half of the way, which was actually fun with all the excitement in the air. The final stretch of the Inca trail winds around the back of Machu Picchu and at some point crosses the famous Sun Gate, a dent on top of the mountain which carries a small Inca temple area and from which you can gaze down to The Lost City. I can imaging that coming over the top of the mountain and finally seeing the ruins for which you have been sweating for the last 3 days must be an amazing feeling, however, when we got up there we were in the middle of mist and could barely see for 10m. So you can picture our disappointment. The trail then wound down along the side of Machu Picchu, arriving at top of The Lost City an hour later. Still when we got there we could feel rather than see the ruins but had no view onto the famous “Wayna Picchu” or the stunning landscape around us. So we went to have a snack break crossing the official gate of Machu Picchu were all the day visitors enter and that felt like arriving to the Universal Studios in Orlando rather than one of the New Seven World Wonders and we were all culture shocked and confused. We enjoyed our first proper toilet in 4 days and a first glimpse into a mirror (which once again reminded me how much better you feel about yourself when you don`t see yourself in a mirror everyday---an experience I had already made while living on the farm in Ecuador) and then set out for our guided tour within the ruins. Our trekking guide had traditional Quechan roots with which he bought a special flavor to everything he told us about the Inca cultures within these days. At each Inca site, we usually sat down on one of the characteristic terraces or in one of the temples, listening to his very picturesque lectures he gave us. At times, when we arrived to a magical place, he would play his wooden flute, making us all pause, gaze, wonder… The last one of his inspiring lectures he gave us within The Lost City. While we were sitting there listening to his story-telling voice, the mist slowly rose up Wayna Picchu, “poco a poco” revealing the superb peak and the ruins in front of it, until we had sunshine on our heads and the wonder lying in front of us in all its beauty and magnificence. We spent the next two hours wondering around the ruins. It is after all a whole town standing there with many secrets. There are the famous terraces for agricultures and others for gardening, there are temples and ritual baths, houses, palest, plazas and many more to admire. We were however not the luckiest as we had about 2-3 hours, before it started raining again. We finished this amazing journey at the bottom of the valley in Agua Caliente, a touristy town with restaurants and hot springs, in which we soaked our sore muscles a few hours, returning fresh and clean to civilization. We were all sad being back in today’s world after exploring these magical mountains for these few very intense days. The walking was like meditation; I guess for some more like for others; it was soothing, clearing, inspiring, healing, energizing. And obviously walking the Inca trail for 4 days only gave me a faint idea of what a real pilgrimage could be like. Certainly “The Lost City of the Incas” deserves the nomination as one of the New Seven World Wonders, but despite the doubtless immenseness of the construction, what makes the place that magical is the surrounding territory. It is easy to understand the spirituality of the Inca culture when the landscape around it so obviously screams for it.
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