Departing at 4:30 AM from "Inca Hostel", our guide; a friendly, great and young person, 24 years old, picked us up and then we headed to Mollapata (2 hours from Cusco) and then we had breakfast. Getting gears on and preparing to start off. Right away We departed from Mollapata around 8 AM. From a small town we suddenly entered into the mountain trail, a tropical surrounding, really common in central and south American countries. It was a long but exciting and beautiful way until Lunch. Going through uphills and so forth. We got to the Lunch station. On the way there were small houses on top of hills that I would never expect to see , to be honest, these houses were really far away from any type of market. People seemed to sustain all by themselves, in terms of basic daily supplies. Variety of animals and flora a long the way to the campground. We could see lamas and big empty fields that welcome our minds to peace and tranquility. Around 5:00 PM we reached the campground, a beautiful place surrounded by icy-top mountains that provided a good chance for a picture shoot :)
Second day: Reaching the top of the heights
Waking up at 5:00 AM, we had half and hour to get prepared to the toughest day of the trekking. We had breakfast and then departed around 6:30 AM. It was a really physical demanding trip the first five hours, going uphill and in zigzag motion, just crazy! but we got to the highest point (4756 meter above sea level). After taking a break there, which was not really a break because my head wanted to explode literally due to lack of oxygen, We started to descend. After three hours downhill we reached a tent in the middle of an empty field and we had lunch there, every member of the group was really exhausted. Around 1:40 PM we started heading to the camping side, it took around three hours, a long downhill walk. While this, I had the chance to have a more extended talk to one of the member of the group. He was from Israel. We talked a lot about the Israel-Palestine conflict, he seemed not to be really radical and stubborn Israeli regarding whether Palestine should be or not an Independent country. We finally made it to the campsite and had popcorn for snack, sitting a side of the river, hearing the melody of the water stream :)
Third day: Back to a hostel room?
A very long day, leaving a bit later, we departed at 6:30 AM, and beginning with an easy straight and plane walk, we started to go downhill, on the way down, we had the chance to pick Cranberries and Strawberries from plants on the side along the trail. We got to see a really typical tropical plant that has a trunk that can be used as flute, it was awesome, I got few but they got spoiled few days after :( Around seven hours of walking, we finally made it to Santa Maria, the last campground I was going to visit during this trip :( , but with a nice lunch over there, the group divided. But before this, on the way to Aguas Caliente (nearest town to Machu Picchu), we were on the bus and we almost crashed! it was hilarious, the group, we were all relaxed while the people in the other bus were yelling at us XD . In order to get to Aguas Calientes, an Australian and I decided to walk along the railroad towards Aguas Calientes. Many people along the way on the rail, it was amazing how many people go and explore the nature of Peru. After three hours we finally arrived to Aguas Calientes, and walk well rewarded with a nice dinner and a long-waited shower (after 3 days without one) nice experience :)
Fourth and Final day: Escalating towards the ruins of great warriors, Machu Picchu!
Finally!, Machu Picchu!. just unbelievable scene. However, on the way to the top was really though, it was around 1200 meters just stairs up. My legs hurt a little bit XD , but I finally made it, it was a really tiring walking, but once I got to the ruins, It was all worthy; it was just unbelievable! , a lot of people around 6:30 AM, people all over the world making the line at the front gate, some people with their tongues out, many of them stretching and few other security guards at the door. Entering to the Ruins is a bit costly, it costs around 65$USD , even though it is one of the wonder of the world, the name itself can reflect that it has become a huge tourist attraction, therefore it has been properly managed, however, some people would say that it has lost its real beauties over time due to massive tourism that has taken place for decades. We waited around an hour until the gates were open, and once opened it was all Art! , such a majestic place where the structure of the constructions, the raising of the sun and the fog mixed with the clouds, made this place mysterious and gave a unique sensation of nature. Our guide gave us a short introduction to some of the buildings and short historical details of the temples. After this we separated and we were allow to walk around the ruins. I decided to go to the Sungate, the main entrance of the Machu Picchu which the Quechuas accesed through. It was a fifty minutes uphill walk. On my last post I referred to a really inspirational scene I saw on the up to the Gate, check previous post ;) After being at the top of the this hill, where Machu Picchu temple seemed to be so far away, the sun above me just creates a perfect landscape. Once around this area,a tour guide mentioned that over time, the treks trip have lost their uniqueness and real challenge ,specifically physical challenge. He mentioned that tour were provided, but no mules were available to carry your stuff. Moreover the trails themselves lost their special surrounding due to the minister of tourism on maintaining these trails "beautiful". I could see some disappointment on his face, but as he said, it is how tourism has transformed places and affect place's uniqueness. After being at the Sungate. I headed towards the "Inca Bridge", oh my god!, Once there it was unbelievable! a really poorly constructed bridge that lied on the side of a gorge. It was really dangerous to pass by this bridge. It has been closed since years ago. After this, it started to rain :( people started to leave, but I decided to stay a bit longer and see how the rains covered the walls of the rocky bricks that these constructions were built of. These temples were constructed in such a perfect way, that every brick matched so neatly with each other, that explains the strength of this buildings. Around 3:30 PM, I decided to go back to Aguas Calientes walking; together with one of the Australian of the group we made it back around 5:30 PM, and then a well deserved Dinner waited for me ! , and around 6:30 PM.
It was time to leave this wonderful and amazing place that indeed conquered my heart, I would definitely come back in the future if I have the chance. It gave me such a new perspective of travelling and being also in touch with other travelers that have shared with me their experiences, have shaped my mind over time to be aware that travelling is in its pure definition being a local and embrace anything that it involves. It can be really challenging because we may need to give up many facilities that we take for granted, but it is the risk of exploring the unknown for us, and willing to expose ourselves and go out of our comfort zone. As my friend Dereck Lammer said: "The world was meant for those who take the chance in life and confront the unknown".
Here are some of the pictures :) I hope you like them!
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment :D
