Inca Trail and the Sacred Valley

If I had to list out my Top 3 bucket list items, it would be 1) Hiking the 4-day Inca Trail 2) Go to Rome 3) Visit all 7 new wonders of the world. Safe to say, I have officially crossed off my #1. This adventure isn't something you can plan weeks out. You have to go through a reliable travel agency and submit payment and passport information 6-9 months in advance to secure your spot. The reason being that there is a certain allocation of tickets per day, and the agencies compete with one other to obtain these tickets. I was set on visiting Cusco in May (in my opinion, the best month to do it because as they get out of the wet season) so I submitted my application around October of 2016. Furthermore, it is recommended to get to Cusco at least 3 days before you start the Inca Trail so you can get adjusted to the altitude. After much research, I went with Peru Treks because it was reasonably priced, operated by Peruvians, and they stress the importance of paying a fair wage to the porters ("chaskis"). See link here: http://www.perutreks.com/index.html.

I stayed in two hostels, the Pariwana Hostel Cusco and the Ecopackers Hostel. They aren't huge party hostels, but you can definitely meet people due to events they put up for the dwellers.

The 4-day adventure on the Inca Trail

I recommend spending the extra $80 USD to hire a 1/2 chaski because it will pretty much save your life. A 1/2 chaski can carry about 12-13lbs of your belongings for the duration of the trip. All I carried was my backpack and my camera, although there was a couple who opted to carry their 50L bags (they ended up paying chaskis to carry it later on) because it's extremely difficult to do it without proper training. On our second day, we started off with coca leaves placed in front of our table along with other tea selections. The coca leaves help with headaches and other types of pain; it also enhances physical performance. Day 2 is suppose to be the most challenging; we hike up to Dead Woman's Pass, which is the peak of the trek at about 13,770 feet.

This portion was literally all uneven steps upward, and a huge quads killer. However, the view at Dead Woman's Pass was worth the trouble; our tour guide even gave the whole group tequila shots!

In terms of the ambience and the environment around you, Day 3 will be the most enjoyable because you get to witness different climate zones. It started raining during the latter half of our day, so it made it tougher to go up and down the trail because of how slippery the rocks had become. It was our longest day due to the fact that we had two options near the end: to go straight to our campsite or go to a ruin with the possibility of seeing llamas and alpacas. My 5 Canadian friends and I opted to take the longer route to see this archaeological site. Frankly, I made the right choice even if it extended our trek longer by an hour. The views were breathtaking. I was a wee bit disappointed I couldn't get to this spot earlier because the sun had already set below the mountains.

Our wake-up call for the last leg of the trip was around 3am, mainly because our guide wanted to be one of the first groups to get on the trail from Wiñay Wayna to Intipunku (aka the Sun Gate). The adrenaline kicked in right off the bat as we ran most of the way. You will come to a vertical flight of 50 steps leading to the final pass to the Sun Gate, and once you reach the top this is the view you will see:

Forget doing the 1-day tour to Machu Picchu. This view itself negated all the pain and suffering from the journey. The tourists that come by bus are not afforded this view at sunrise because if they were to check out the Sun Gate, they would have to spend about 30 minutes walking up to it and walk back to the entrance of the ruins. You can tell who hiked there and who took the train and bus to the ruins based on the attire and how rugged some of us looked. But personally I wore that loud and proud because the trek was more memorable than the ruins itself. Also, this is a huge moment for all the collectors out there; there is a kiosk by the entrance (and below this restaurant) where you can have your passport stamped with the Machu Picchu stamp! Always a great souvenir you can take home.

My recommendations for Cusco and the Sacred Valley:

1) If you can, try to do the Inca Trail trek. It is an once in a lifetime experience and taking the train to Machu Picchu does no justice. The following are must haves for Peru and the 4 day hike: a rain jacket, trail shoes/hiking boots, backpack with adequate back support and where they can distribute the weight on your hips, gloves, a packable jacket for your outer/middle layer.

2) Do not book anything in advance (besides the Inca Trail trek). TripAdvisor and Expedia overcharges and you have thousands of agencies that will offer you the same type of adventures and sightseeing for a fraction of the cost you see online.

3) Buy the "Boleto Touristica de Cusco" if you want to check out museums and ruins in the Sacred Valley. It was about $45 USD and it'll be worth the money once you visit 4+ sites.

4) Try to stay a night in Ollantaytambo. It is the town where you board the train to Aguas Calientes. The Tourist Pass can get you into the ruins in the town.

5) Always negotiate your cab fare. They will try and rip you off!