Machu Picchu & The Singing Bunnies
The most visited destination in Peru, half a million people a year, 2,500 people per day and heavily over photographed. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love Machu Picchu in the same way that I had loved more natural and less touristy spots that I had visited in South America. How could I, if I was potentially going be there with another 2,500 people? Like many of us, I don’t like heavily touristy places, and I like to avoid large volumes of people. But it was my love of history and interest in ancient civilisations, plus my obsession to visit the wonders of the world, that inspired me to go! And of course if you are in Peru it would be silly not to!
But, my experience of the 4 day trek along the famous pilgrimage of The Inca Trail simply - changed - my mind. Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail fast became one of my highlights of my South America trip so far.
The hidden secrets of the Inca Trail (Camino Inca)
There are many different ways to visit Machu Picchu. If you don’t like to hike you can simply get the train from Cusco, arrive at the entrance, buy a ticket and go in.
But for the more adventurous of us, you can put yourself through a gruelling hike for 4 or 5 days before stumbling across the hidden city itself. The Salkantay and The Inca Trail both offer an adventurous hike to Machu Picchu through the mountains, camping as you go. The Salkantay is slightly longer taking 5 days to complete, whereas The Inca Trail can be completed in 4 days. For me there was an obvious choice-The Inca Trail.
At the time I booked, which was 6 months earlier (I’d heard you must book in advance to secure The Inca Trail permit for the dates you are there), all I knew was that The Inca Trail was built and walked by the Incas themselves and at the end you get to enter Machu Picchu through the famous Inca Sun Gate. No other route offered this entrance. It seemed to me like the only way to go. And I was right, The Inca Trail also had so much more to offer.
I had chosen to complete this trek with G Adventures, who gave us all a thorough briefing the day before on what to expect and what to pack. Then the next day we set off from their office in Cusco to the start of the trail in a small Inca town called Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley.
This is where we met our lead tour guide and picked up our duffle bags. What was incredible about this trek is you did not need to carry more than a day pack on the hike itself yet the trail is not accessible by donkeys so can only be completed by foot. The remaining things for the 4 nights ahead were all to be carried by porters. We were given a strict allowance of 6 kilos to put in the duffle bag provided and this was because porters can carry up to 26k on their backs. My backpack for the whole trip was 20 kilos and I could barely carry this 20 metres and the porters were going to carry 26k for 4 days up hill! I was in awe at what they were about to embark on doing for us.
On the very first day of the trail we walked in the glaring sunshine, breathing in the fresh air of the Peruvian mountains. It was not long until we past the first of many Inca ruins. Nestled at the base of two mountains lies Patallaqta an ancient Inca site thought to have been used for agriculture and support for the main city of Machu Picchu.
As we continued walking, I was also blown away by the plants and wildlife that our tour guide kept pointing out to us. The trail was proving to be so diverse. Flowers of many shapes and colours, the parasitic cactus beetle known as cochineal and commonly used for red dye and an array of different humming birds.
The tour included all of our food, so when we arrived at our lunch site or campsite for the evening, the remarkable porters had already arrived ahead of us (carrying everything), set up our tents, and started cooking. They were amazing and it was humbling when they decided to clap for us every time we arrived.
Two of the porters were specifically the chefs and they prepared all of the meals for the whole 4 days on site. Each porter had a job to do, from carrying the camping equipment, to carrying the food, to carrying the waste.
Our tents each day were always set up with our sleeping bags laid out inside and our duffle bags neatly placed at the entrance. The porters brought us bowls of warm water to wash with.
In the camp on day one our tour guide Josep, not only learnt all 16 of our names but encouraged us to learn the names of everyone in our group too. We started to all get along like a house on fire. Our assistant guide’s name was Bad Bunny (if you haven’t yet heard of him, Bad Bunny is a highly popular regaton artist/singer in South America) for which we could not get a story out of them as why this was his nick name, but it spurred us to give ourselves a group name, ‘The Singing Bunnies’.
And what a brilliant bunch of people this was.
On day two of the trail, the climate changed. This was the day of the huge incline up and over Dead Woman’s Pass. The name was supposedly given to it because when seen from the valley below, its crests resemble the form of a woman's supine body.
Reaching an altitude of 4,215 metres at top, the climate changed from the roasting sunshine on day one, to clouds, wind and even snow on the ground. This was the most gruelling of the days, as most of it was uphill and although The Singing Bunnies usually walked together as a group, this day was to be done in our own timings, simply all meeting at the end.
At the camp that evening, we met each and everyone of the porters by name. Most of them spoke Quechua or a little Spanish so our tour guide translated for us. It was a very special evening to really get to know the people that were making it possible for us to be here.
A moment with the entire team- we say 'Sulpayke' which means thank you in Quechua.
On the third day, the climate changed again. Suddenly it felt like the jungle, tropical and humid. We were entering a cloud forest. Lush vegetation everywhere, misty white views and caves through the cliff sides. Wild orchids started to appear, some growing up in the trees and some growing from the ground.
There were many other Inca sites along the way to Machu Picchu, all of them built for a different purpose. A military camp or a resting point for Incas and their llamas, agricultural or an observatory to look at the stars. The Incas had a knowledge and a skillset way beyond their time. Their stonework and architecture was fully earthquake proof and lasting the course of time, literally unshakable.
It is important to mention that this trail is in fact perilous with shear cliff edges. One of our group lost his footing and fell over the edge of the pass. Our tour guide went after him in seconds. Fortunately, it was a sheer drop of only about 1 metre and he was brought back up from the vegetation a little shaken but fine. Thank goodness it was not part of the trail with higher drops.
For lunch on the final full day of hiking, we had the surprise of a buffet and the porters somehow managed to make the most incredible fully decorated birthday cake for one of The Singing Bunnies' birthdays. Quite how they did it using only camping kitchen equipment, I don’t know but here is the proof! It tasted delicious too!
Citadel of the Incas- Machu Picchu, Peru
The third and final campsite was just 6 kilometres from Machu Picchu itself and our start the next day, was going to be a super early one. 3am. We had to get to a small holding shelter to wait while the porters packed up and left for a very early train back to start for their next trail. It was not until 5am that we could set off on the final 6km of The Inca Trail. Our tour guide set us a 24 hour challenge to see if we could make it all day and out to a bar once we got back to Cusco that evening, staying awake for 24 hours. He briefed us, that this last 6km could be a busy one. Everyone would be trying to reach The Sun Gate and Machu Picchu for the sunrise but he was adamant there was no rush, we were to do the walk in our own time and if people wanted to rush and overtake on the trail we must let them. It was too narrow and dangerous not to.
The final 6km had some of the most treacherous stairs and when we reached The Sun Gate, although the immediate stonework was clearly visible, the rest of the view from about two metres away, was thick, heavy fog. It was therefore hard to get a picture but being at The Sun Gate was a moment to remember in itself.
The fog did mean that we began to worry slightly that we would not be able to see any of Machu Picchu. All this way and we would not even get to see it. It was time for some positivity and a sun dance! My speciality!
It was as busy as anticipated at the entrance but we had the added bonus of our tour guide handling everything for us and ushering us through the gates like VIPs, leaving some of the crowds behind. Once we entered Machu Picchu it was still thick fog but we could see the stonework around us clearly and it was remarkable. The precision of how each giant piece of stone was placed perfectly flush against the other was astounding, especially as this was all done by human hands, no help of animals to lift or move the stones back when the Incas were alive. Our tour guide told us the history and many stories while we casually explored and eventually sat down on one of the vast terraces. Slowly as we sat hearing stories of what Machu Picchu meant to so many that visited it, the fog started to lift, the sun was beginning to appear and we could then see the surrounding mountains of Wiener Picchu and the lush greenery. It was time to go to the famous viewpoint and take in the beauty and wonder of this unbelievable place.
Before the final train and bus journey back to Cusco, The Singing Bunnies celebrated our achievement of completing The Inca Trail over a final lunch together. The Singing Bunnies were not done yet however. After a quick pit stop at our hotels, we were back out to hit the town. It was a Friday night and Cusco was lively. Chango's in Cusco city centre was the place to be if we were going to last until 3am.
The Singing Bunnies party the night way
This was a tour organised with immaculacy and incredible leadership and part of the experience being so wonderful was simply down to our tour guide, who was exceptional.
And of course it cannot be mentioned enough, how utterly wonderful the porters are in making this experience possible for us. If you embark on this trail it is important to know that the porters deserve a hefty tip at the end.
For your consideration
It is perhaps not understood enough by tourists, but we cannot ever take for granted the fact that we are able to come to Peru and undergo an experience such as The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. From learning more about the porters and meeting the local people in Cusco and the surrounding areas, it became apparent to me that The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu simply are not easily accessible to those that deserve to see it the most - the locals. Some of the porters work so incredibly hard carrying tourist belongings along the trail and then have to rush off at the end to start another tour so they can make a living and take care of their families. It means so many never actually set foot in Machu Picchu itself. Many locals can’t obtain the permit do to the Inca trail as so many are allocated and sold to tourists and the price of getting there for local people is often far too much to afford based on local wages.
If there is one message I took for myself, especially after my initial thoughts of thinking I wouldn’t love this experience as much as others, it is this……
‘Never take your freedom to do these incredible experiences for granted, even just one tiny bit. It is simply not accessible and possible for everyone, and thank the stars for your good fortune. Be grateful everyday and aware of what others go through to make an experience possible for you’
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