In the lap of Incan gods
By Penny Watson | theage.com.au | 30 May
One great conundrum when camping is the psychosomatic need for the toilet versus the lack of motivation to leave a warm sleeping bag as a thunderstorm drums on the tent. The problem makes for a restless night sleep even after three exhausting days' trekking.
But that was last night. This morning, the clouds aren't the grey ominous variety; they're white and fluffy. What's more, they are beneath me, bobbing dreamily around the ancient walls of Machu Picchu like iceblocks in a pisco sour.
At 2400 metres, Machu Picchu isn't the highest point on the Inca Trail. Even so it's high enough to have your head in the clouds once you clap eyes on it. It's also rather breathtaking. Again, this is more to do with its infinite beauty than the altitude.
This most ancient of cities, with walls and buildings so meticulously crafted they have withstood five centuries of earthquakes, is hugged by misty-topped mountains. An ethereal golden morning light covers its tiered grassy terraces and roofless buildings, illuminating the dark stone walls. It is serenely empty save for a circling bird and a lonesome llama.
From here at the Sunrise Gate, the penultimate stop on the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu must appear much as it did when explorer Hiram Bingham stumbled across it in 1911: a place where the earth meets the sky, where mountains kiss the clouds, where the gods are within reach.
In a couple of hours, the serenity will be replaced with tourist fervour. The S-bend road from nearby Aguas Calientes will be bumper-to-bumper with coaches. But for now I am content to have glimpsed into the past, a just reward for the hard yakka that is the Inca Trail.
The "classic" Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is one of many criss-crossing paths conceived by the Incas for an easier passage through their Andean empire. It covers about 40 kilometres rising up and over three steep passes. The descent can be as tough as the ascent, the nights cold and the trail seemingly never-ending. But traversing the Inca Trail is a fulfilling journey.
Over the years this sentiment has tended to ebb and flow with the tide of tourists. The experience has been dismissed as a tourist trap, another overpopulated, overrated stop on Peru's so-called "gringo trail" (the well-trodden tourist route that inevitably takes in Lima, the Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and Cuzco).
Would-be trekkers on travel blogs and in hostels and cafes have been prompted to ask, "Is it worth it?" Alternative Inca routes have even been proffered as the "real" Inca Trail experience.
For my group, the Inca Trail came towards the end of a three-week Peru Encompassed trip hosted by Gecko's Adventures. The mystical Nazca Lines and the spectacular condor-inhabited Colca Canyon were remarkable.
But the heavily touristed nature of other places planted seeds of doubt about our coming Inca trek. Would it be overrun with trinket-selling locals dressed in traditional outfits for our benefit? Would it, as some guidebooks warned, be strewn with litter? Would we be party to a country ruining its greatest asset?
The real answer was yes and no. Is it all of the above? No. Is it worth it? Yes. Definitely.
The walk begins at Piskakucho or kilometre 82 of the railway line from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. Tickets are collected and passports stamped with an officiousness that would be off-putting if it were not so important. Limited access means tickets must be booked at least a season in advance, paving the way for a Peruvian experience relatively free of crowds.
There are 10 of us, accompanied by three guides and a dozen or so porters: a motley bunch of Peruvians with sinewy torsos and powerful legs. According to regulations, walkers must be accompanied by guides and porters who are employed by registered tour companies. This ensures locals are not only employed, they're also fairly paid.
The four-day, three-night trek might only be 40km or so but it is height not distance that brings the most experienced hiker undone. The trail climbs three passes, Warmiwanusqa (4189m), Runkuraqay (3950m) and Phuyupatamarka (3700m). If you are not acclimatised, altitude sickness (symptoms include nausea, nosebleeds and breathing problems) sneaks up on you like a pushy poncho seller in a market. Trekkers are advised to spend a day or two acclimatising in nearby Cuzco beforehand.
The trail unravels like a ribbon: up steep climbs, down vertiginous steps, across mountaintops and through woodlands. It is surprisingly diverse terrain with varied flora. From the river flats near the railway line it continues, rising steadily, through grassy plains and undulating valleys to the tiny village Huallambamba.
On the first night we camp on the bare side of steep hill. Our two-person tents are pitched a few metres from a ravine separating us from mountains shrouded in mist, a scene that promises a cold night. We are left to admire the view while the crew cooks a hearty dinner. My only wish is for a cold ale. It materialises in the form of a villager carrying a bucket tinkling with beer bottles.
But the party ends there. The second day trekking is infamous for its difficulty. From the campsite we are immediately climbing thigh-burning steps through humid woodlands, where tree roots have turned the rock paths into an ankle-breaking minefield. The tree canopy is our only respite but soon that too ends when the path opens onto bare hillside.
From here, the steep ascent to Warmiwanusqa, ominously known as Dead Woman's Pass, is daunting for the inexperienced. Once at the top, the view of the river Pacamayo and the ruins of Runkuraqay would be reward enough, if only the second pass, to be traversed the same day, weren't also in view.
For the rest of us relief comes with the amazing archaeological sites dotting the trail. Some are at least as impressive architecturally as Machu Picchu, and perhaps more interesting for their unkempt appearance and isolation.
Just before the second pass is Runkuraqay, a small circular building with an inner ring of rooms. It was the Inca version of a roadhouse, a trackside stop known as a tambo where travellers sought lodgings or supplies. Similar ruins have been found in Bolivia, Chile and Colombia.
On the other side of the second pass, Sayaqmarka sits atop a mountain promontory. The slight detour - up short steps carved into the rocky hillside - is enough to deter weary walkers.
It is their loss. The engineering of this set of stone chambers, tiered down the hillside, is said to be related to the worship of water and rain. But the Incas surely built this edifice with a thought for the view, which stretches over the valley to the snow-capped distant mountains of Salcantay (6180m) and Veronica (5750m).
Further along we will pass the ruins of Intipata, testament to the Incas' advanced agricultural methods, which meant they could live on food grown in difficult terrain. Its 48 agricultural terraces are divided by stairways so steep and narrow we have to lever ourselves down, feet first, then hands, then backsides.
From here we follow the so-called Inca Causeway to the third pass, discovering different terrain along the way. The Causeway is a level mountain ridge path, with valleys dropping away on either side. It is dotted with rare orchids and fairytale fungus native to the colder highlands and takes in a narrow 20-metre tunnel, carved through the rock by the Incas. At the top of the third pass we are rewarded with a direct line-of-sight to tomorrow's destination, Machu Picchu.
In the evening the thunderclouds bring an early end to the daylight. As the rain starts to pour, fellow campers, wearing flimsy yellow plastic ponchos, run between tent and bathroom. Little do I know that the distance to the toilet during the night will seem greater than the morning dash to the Sunset Gate, where we will catch the sun rising over that once-in-a-lifetime view.
Penny Watson travelled courtesy of Gecko's Adventures.
Fast facts
Getting there
The nearest international airport is Lima. LAN Airlines flies there from Sydney via Auckland and a change of aircraft in Santiago (Melbourne passengers fly to Sydney and back with Qantas). Fares start from $1975 from Sydney and $2075 from Melbourne. Aerolineas Argentinas flies from Sydney for $1665 via Auckland with a change in Buenos Aires with Melbourne passengers having to pay a separate fare to Sydney. LAN Peru flies from Lima to Cuzco from $81.
Touring there
The Gecko's Adventures' 20-day Peru Encompassed tour includes a four-day trek, Ballestas Islands, Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, Arequipa and the Amazon jungle. It departs monthly and costs $1915, plus internal flight ($290) and a local payment of $260.
First published by TheAge.com.au on May 30 2008
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