After a 2 hour minibus journey and a breakfast cooked by our porters we arrived at the starting checkpoint along with many other groups at the altitude of 2,380m. Getting off the minibus we were completely mobbed and surrounded by women trying to sell us 'essential' wooden walking sticks and hats...they were like mosquitos and very persistent! When we finally escaped, we grabbed a snack pack and went through a few ticket and passport formalities at the checkpoint as the numbers allowed on the Inca Trail are strictly regulated. Following a photo under the 'Camino Inca' sign we began our trek.
The trek to the first campsite was very gentle and we were given a break practically every 20 minutes. This was not what we expected and made us a feel a little guilty when we saw our small but incredibly fit porters run past carrying 25 kilos of weight each! The trail was dusty and at regular intervals there were locals who had set up stalls selling chocolate bars, cactus fruits, soft drinks and a pink corn beer called Chicha which the porters drink... our guide referred to it as the South American Red Bull! It was a beautiful but hot first day as we wound our way up through the valley and past small villages alongside the Urubamba River (which flows into the Amazon), stopping in at our first Inca Archaeological site called Llactapata. 
After an explanation that had Bianca falling asleep (!) we stopped for lunch. The porters had set up 2 tents, one to cook in and one for us to dine in, and we were given a hearty 2 course lunch. We continued our trek to the first campsite point at 2,800m past the last small village of Wayllabamba. On the first day we walked a total of 16km and we found it to be a very easy day. 
On arrival at our campsite our porters had set up all the sleeping and dining tents and had hot bowls of water waiting for us to wash ourselves in, along with cups of tea, biscuits and freshly popped popcorn! We rested a little and in the evening had an absolute feast for our dinner, way beyond our expectations and rivalling any restaurant we have been to. We were woken early on the second day by our porters delivering a cup of sweet tea and hot bowl of water to wash in. 
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and a delicious quinoa porridge with banana we began the so called 'Inca Challenge' day, the hardest day of the trek and 16km long. We started our way up through a beautiful cloud forest that was rich in vegetation and birdlife. We continued upwards to the highest point on the trek Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass) at 4,200m where we waited nearly 1.5 hours for the rest of our group to catch up! 
With all of the trekking that we have been doing in the Andes we found it to be relatively easy, but of course our porters were carrying our 6kgs of luggage! We headed downhill for an hour, had another superb 2-course lunch and continued a further 2.5 hours to our next campsite at 3,800m via the Inca ruin 'Runkuracay' with views over the Pacaymayo river valley. It was a really cold and misty night, made easier by another slap up 3 course meal in our dining tent and a special tea given to us made from black tea leaves, lemon, orange, cinnamon, pieces of apple and pineapple, topped with copious quantities of golden rum. Ash and the other blokes indulged!
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and a delicious quinoa porridge with banana we began the so called 'Inca Challenge' day, the hardest day of the trek and 16km long. We started our way up through a beautiful cloud forest that was rich in vegetation and birdlife. We continued upwards to the highest point on the trek Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass) at 4,200m where we waited nearly 1.5 hours for the rest of our group to catch up! 
With all of the trekking that we have been doing in the Andes we found it to be relatively easy, but of course our porters were carrying our 6kgs of luggage! We headed downhill for an hour, had another superb 2-course lunch and continued a further 2.5 hours to our next campsite at 3,800m via the Inca ruin 'Runkuracay' with views over the Pacaymayo river valley. It was a really cold and misty night, made easier by another slap up 3 course meal in our dining tent and a special tea given to us made from black tea leaves, lemon, orange, cinnamon, pieces of apple and pineapple, topped with copious quantities of golden rum. Ash and the other blokes indulged!
The third day was nothing less than spectacular and the 10km we walked that day was our favourite part of the trail. We were again woken up with hot tea and omelettes for breakfast. We walked as a group along a trail with scenery that was straight out of Indiana Jones or King Kong... thick jungle, narrow stony winding paths with steep drops down the mountain-sides, with beautiful Inca ruins embedded in the slopes around us. 
We walked through Inca tunnels carved through the rocks and visited numerous archaeological sites including Sayacmarca, Huiñay Huayna and one of our favourites Puyupatamarca just beyond the final pass for the day at 4,000m and high above our campsite. The views were simply breathtaking. We descended through the cloud forest and arrived early in the afternoon to our campsite at Wiñaywayna (otherwise called the mini Machu Picchu) at 2,700m. 
We spent a couple of hours relaxing in our tent with the door opened to spectacular views over the valley beofre visiting the Wiñaywayna Inca Ruins situated next to our campsite. They were spectacular, the best we had seen at that point, with steep terraces, stone houses and temples, amazing hydraulic systems and more great views across the mountains. 
It was a treat that when we visited we had it all to ourselves. After our ritual of tea and popcorn in the late afternoon and another fantastic dinner that night we all retired early as we were to be up at 4am for our trek to Machu Picchu the following morning. No sooner had we zipped up our tents a torrential downpour started and we had the most amazing thunderstorm that ripped and echoed through the valley. We could feel the thunder claps vibrating through the ground as we tried to sleep, praying that we wouldn't be flooded out as the campsite was on a terraced slope!
By our good fortune the storm had abated by 4am the next morning and our tents were still dry. After a quick hearty breakfast we made our way in the dark along with many other groups to the final checkpoint on the trail. From here we climbed our way up to IntiPunku, the Sun Gate and entry to the city of Machu Picchu. It was a lovely walk traversing through high jungle with bamboo groves, over wooden bridges and steep Inca steps. Overnight the high mountains had been dusted with snow which made for a beautiful backdrop. At about 7am we passed through the Sun Gate and had our first view of the lost Inca City of Machu Picchu and the very steep mountain behind, Wayna Picchu which was all completely tourist free at this point. 
To be finally sitting in front of this hugely photographed Inca city was an amazing feeling and very exciting. It was a truly spectacular sight and finish to our Inca Trail which we captured in numerous photographs. We spent the morning leisurely walking around the ruined city and then rather energetically topped our visit off by climbing Wayna Picchu for a different view of the city. With only 400 people allowed up the mountain a day we just made it at numbers 389 and 390 respectively! The trail was exceptionally steep and narrow, almost vertical in places with cliff edges. The climb was hard, sweaty work but well worth it for the views.
At midday and having been at Machu Picchu for 5 hours we took a 30 minute bus down to the small touristy town of Aguas Calientes. This is where people who don't wish to (or cannot) walk the trail or were unable to get a place can take the bus up to the Inca city. We had several hours wandering through the town and saw the local Mother's Day festivities. At 6pm we took the PeruRail backpacker train back to Ollantaytambo (1.5 hours) and connected onto a bus back to Cusco (a further 1.5 hours). We were all very smelly, dirty and desperate for a shower having only washed with baby wipes for the past 4 days! The hot shower was blissful, and climbing into a clean, warm bed was heaven!
The whole trip was fantastic and a real memory to take away. The whole operation was flawlessly run and the porters were simply amazing. They did absolutely everything for us which was lovely but actually made us feel a little guilty that someone should have to wait on us in such a fashion. We tried to make up for it by being as undemanding, appreciative and 
friendly as we could, sharing our snack packs with them on the hills (which they gratefully took and in truth deserved a lot more than we did). One porter was 65 years old and running past us with a huge 25kg pack on his back. They really were exceptional.We now have 4 days relaxing Cusco as we await our 7 day trip into the Amazon Rainforest (our engagement present from Ash's parents). Tonight we are meeting up for a celebratory dinner with an Aussie couple from our Inca Trail. We are heading to the Inka Grill restaurant where Ash will be induging in a Roasted Cuy..... Guinea Pig in English!!!!!
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