Inca Trail Hiking with Zephyr Adventures

MACHU PICCHU. Huayna Picchu ("young peak") is the large mountain closest to the ruins

Machu Picchu is on the bucket list of almost every adventure traveler and even jaded travelers will find Machu Picchu one of the most incredible places they’ve ever visited …for good reason!  This “lost city of the Incas” somehow remained hidden from the Spanish conquistadors who overpowered the Incas, and remained virtually hidden until it was “rediscovered” in 1911 and became one of the best-known archeological sites in the world.   The architecture of the buildings and the engineering prowess it took to build them are jaw-dropping.  But the site has a stunning backdrop of steep mountains and swirling clouds that makes it all the more appealing.

Practicalities.

• Visit as early in the day as you can.  Why?  First, sunrise at Machu Picchu is something to behold.  Second, clouds (and possibly rain) tend to roll in during the afternoons and early morning offers the best viewing conditions.  Third, and most important, trainloads of day-visitors from Cusco will arrive late in the morning and the place will be crawling with folks shortly thereafter (concentrated between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM).  Alternately, visit late in the day when most people have gotten back on their trains to Cusco.  Sunset can be a great time for taking photos.
  

  The stonework created by the Incas has withstood the test of time -- centuries later, their finely crafted structures are still standing!

• You will not be allowed to bring your trekking poles and backpack into Machu Picchu, so try to fit everything you can into a small fannypack or purse. There are no bathrooms or drinking water once you enter the site – be sure to hold onto your ticket so you can exit and reenter if you have to use the facilities.
• Plan for all types of weather.  It can be brutally hot sometimes so pack sunscreen, a sun hat and water to make yourself most comfortable.   Weather in the mountains can also change in an instant so you should also pack a rain jacket.   Sturdy shoes are a must.  There are roughly 3000 stone steps in the main site (not including Huanya Picchu): plan on a lot of ups and downs!
• If you want to climb Huayna Picchu, the steep mountain adjacent to the ruins that you see in most of the photos of Machu Picchu, you need to sign in at the caretaker’s hut.   Get there as early as you can, because they limit the number of people  each day for this hike to 400.  You should allow two hours round-trip.   The view from the top is simply amazing!   It is definitely worth doing but not for the faint of heart.  There is a parade of people going up and down on a narrow trail that sometimes has steep drop-offs to the side.  If you are not in good shape or have a fear of heights you shouldn’t attempt this.

A Zephyr trekker contemplates the universe from Inca Trail, above the clouds and peaks

The answer to that question, for most people, is no.  Thousands of people hike the Inca Trail each year and most do not have serious issues.  However, you should definitely be prepared for the effects of altitude and know a little bit about altitude sickness ahead of time.

The highest point we reach on our Classic Inca Trail trek is 13,860 feet.   At this height you will likely have some symptoms of altitude sickness, which affects different people in different ways:  headache, nausea, loss of appetite, trouble with sleep, and lack of energy.   These are manageable effects and will generally go away when you descend to a lower altitude.  (Note: on our Royal (Original) Inca Trail trek, the highest point we reach is 11,220 feet – therefore, you should have much milder effects at this altitude.)

Why does altitude sickness occur? As you climb higher the air gets thinner.  At 14,000 feet elevation, each lungful of air gives you roughly 60% of the oxygen you would get at sea level.  Your heart and lungs have to work almost twice as hard to maintain a normal oxygen supply to your tissues.  What effect does this have on your body?  You breathe faster and deeper (immediately).  Your heart beats faster, increasing oxygen circulation to your tissues (also immediately).  Your body gets rid of excess fluid (this is why fluid replacement is so important) and creates more red blood cells (this can take up to a week or two, which is why acclimatization is so important).

If you have symptoms that are more severe (such as vomiting, mental confusion, or being short of breath even when not exercising) this may indicate the development of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and the solution is to get yourself to lower elevation as soon as you can.  However, severe AMS and complications are very unlikely on the Inca Trail if you follow a sensible plan.

What can you do to mitigate the effects of altitude sickness?   First and foremost, make sure to prepare for your trip by being physically fit.  Always remain well hydrated – because altitude issues are intricately tied to hydration, you should increase your fluid intake and limit alcoholic beverages, caffeine, and aspirin, which tend to dehydrate your system.  While on the trail, plan for three to five liters of fluid per day, most of it in the form of water.  Get plenty of rest.  Gradually expose yourself to higher elevations and go at a slower pace than you normally would.  Most importantly, you should spend at least two days prior to embarking on your trek in Cusco doing easy to moderate activity to begin your acclimatization process.  Some people also have good luck taking the prescription drug acetazolamide (trade name Diamox), which speeds up the acclimatization process and helps prevent AMS.

Early mornings in camp can be chilly, but a down jacket or vest (and hot coffee!) can keep you comfortable.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when packing for your trek on the Inca Trail is that you will not need as much “stuff” as you think.  The old guideline of laying out all your necessities on your bed at home and then removing two thirds (or realistically, half) is fairly accurate.   Packing light in Peru is especially important because there are weight restrictions for in-country flights as well as on the trail.

On our Inca Trail treks, we provide group camping gear including tents, stove, cooking equipment, sleeping bags, pads, food, and utensils.  The Peruvian government has placed restrictions on the weight porters can carry on the trail.  You are allowed a total of seven kilograms (16 pounds) of personal gear to give to the porters to carry for you (including your sleeping bag which weighs approximately four pounds).

In the mountains the weather can change drastically and quickly.  You should be prepared for cold, hot, rain, and sun.  Two theories crucial to your comfort are and “synthetic fibers” and “layering.” Synthetic fibers are vital when at altitude because they help to wick moisture away from your body.  Layering is the system which allows you to add and subtract layers as needed, before you get either too cold or too hot.  For instance, during the day, you might leave camp wearing a polypropylene tank top under a wicking t-shirt, under a long-sleeved fleece and covered with your waterproof and windproof jacket (with a hood) and pants (a material like Gore-Tex is great).  Throughout the day you might become warm enough to shed three of those layers!  At night, you might be most comfortable with a bottom layer of polypropylene underwear, topping that with a fleece or wool layer, adding a down jacket, and finally your waterproof outer layer.

When the temperature on the trail rises during the day, you will be happy to have a sun hat and shorts!

Comfortable hiking boots are essential.  You should wear your boots in advance to break them in!  Equally important are lightweight and comfortable sandals or shoes (we love Crocs!) to wear once you get to camp.

Other clothing to pack: hiking pants and shorts (zip-offs are nice because they are pants AND shorts!), fleece pants and top, socks, a down jacket or vest, a couple extra under-layers (these are the ones that will bear the brunt of your sweating, so it is nice to have a clean one each day), a sun hat, fleece gloves and a pair of warm waterproof gloves or mittens.

What else?  A headlamp with extra batteries is very useful for nighttime bathroom breaks or to illuminate the inside of your tent.   A camp towel or bandana is useful for taking “bird baths” on the trek.  A cheap plastic rain poncho will cover you and your pack in the event of a downpour (you can buy this in Peru right before we depart on the trek).  Although we provide a fleece sleeping bag liner for you, you might consider bringing your own lightweight silk liner.

Rubber tips on trekking poles help protect the ancient stones of the Inca Trail and also eliminate the sometimes-annoying "clicking" sound when the tips hit the stones.

We highly recommend one or two trekking poles!  Studies have shown these reduce muscle wear and knee strain and can help with balance.  You must outfit your pole(s) with rubber tips to bring them on the Inca Trail.

Finally, you should have a daypack that is comfortable and large enough to carry water, snacks, and extra clothing during the day.  Plan on packing at least 2 one-liter bottles that won’t melt when hot water is added.  Hydration packs (like Camelbaks) also work well.

Machu Picchu, Peru’s most famous historical and tourist site, reopened today, April 1st. This is good news for our Inca Trail travelers and our friends in Peru.

The Peruvian government is celebrating with a reopening festival of sorts, complete with local music and a visit by American movie star Susan Sarandon. What she has to do with Peru and Machu Picchu besides bringing star appeal, we don’t know.

The historical site itself was not damaged by the flooding in early February. However, the railroad to the citadel, which is the transportation method used by almost everyone visiting the area, was washed out in several places and closed for almost two months. Because of that, Peru’s government also closed Machu Picchu to visitors.

The railroad is now open, although only from Piscacucho (the start of the Inca Trail) to Machu Picchu. The railroad section from Cusco to Piscacucho is still closed, meaning travelers will need to use a combination of buses and the train to reach Machu Picchu. This is no problem and any of you traveling on our Machu Picchu treks will be taken care of by our local staff.

As you might know, the train to Machu Picchu was wiped out in half a dozen places due to rains and flooding in early February. Because there are only two real ways to reach Machu Picchu – the train and the Inca Trail – the Peruvian government has closed Machu Picchu temporarily.

However, the national rail system, Peru Rail, that runs the train line has now indicated the train will be open on March 29th. In response, the Peruvian government has announced that Machu Picchu will be open for business on April 1st and the Inca Trail will again be open to hikers.

There will be a few restrictions. First, there will be no Backpacker Trains, the cheap seats that many trekkers use. These trains are apparently much heavier (90 tons) than the nicer Vistadome trains (28 tons) and the track has not been approved for them yet. The Hiram Bingham train, a very fancy tourist train, will also not be available. Our advice? The Vistadome train is our favorite anyway. It is much faster and more comfortable at a reasonable price – our group tours always use the Vistadome.

Second, the train route between Cusco and Piscacucho is not yet repaired. This means travelers hiking the Inca Trail will take the train back from Aguas Calientes (near Machu Picchu) to Piscacucho, Kilometer 82 of the train line and the start of the Inca Trail hike. From there, they will take a bus 10 kilometers on a dirt road to Ollantaytambo and the rest of the way on a paved road to Cusco. This, too, is not a big deal. The train is quite slow reaching Cusco anyway as it has to climb a hill and go through many switchbacks. Because the bus is faster, our groups already return by bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.

In short, although it is not quite back to normal, Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail will again be open for business on April 1st.

On our previous post, we wrote about the damage the recent floods caused to our friends in Cachiccata, Peru.

Zephyr Inca Trail group - photo by Doreen Teoh

We made an appeal to readers of this blog. We are proud to say the following people donated a total of $1000 to the citizens of Cachiccata. All of them are Zephyr Alumni but, in a very generous gesture by a few individuals, some of them have not (yet) even traveled with us to Peru! With Zephyr’s $750 contribution, we will be able to purchase a new water pump for the village and have $250 extra to fund some other needed improvement.

Consider joining us this coming July for a Spiritual Trek to Machu Picchu or October for a trek on the Royal Inca Trail. You’ll meet these folks from Cachiccata who will be your porters, cooks, and camp staff! Thank you to:

Ann & David George
Kathryn Moe
Steve Gorman
Rick Otis
Cathy Erixon & Chad Krueger
Chris Binger
Chao-Ching Wu
Kelley Keogh
Janet Hoffman
Doreen Teoh
Marianne Dill
Ron & Madelyn Spencer
Marvonne Adams

There is a tiny village in Peru called Cachiccata that is near and dear to our hearts.

Our Cachiccata-based cook is recognized by the group as one of the fastest finishers of the Inca Trail Marathon.

It has only a few hundred inhabitants but is the home of all the cooks and porters who assist us on our treks in Peru.  These are some of the hardest-working people we have ever met.

These are folks who lug mounds of our gear on their backs and zoom by those of us on the steep trails who carry only a light daypack so they can get to camp ahead of us and make it perfect for our arrival.  These are folks who prepare and serve three delicious hot meals a day for us.  These are folks who dig a place for our toilet tent…and then pack out what we dispose!  These are folks who are quick to give us a dazzling smile when we arrive, exhausted, in camp each afternoon even though they have been working much harder than we trekkers have.  In short, these are people who truly make trekking on the Inca Trail such a stupendous experience.

These people are also, by our standards, dirt poor.  We were distressed to hear from our Peruvian contact last week about what had happened in Cachiccata after the recent heavy rains that have devastated much of the Sacred Valley near Peru.  Here is what he told us:

Cachiccata’s main water channel was semi destroyed, so we are seeking a motorized water pump to provide them an alternative water source for the dry season, as almost 250 hectares of land are in risk of droughts and the economy of this comunity is mainly based in agriculture.

When we learned how much the pump would cost ($1500 US) we thought, “That is not much to keep a village in water!” and quickly decided we could help with this project.   Zephyr will match every dollar donated by our travelers and their friends (up to $750) and purchase that water pump for the village of  Cachiccata!

Can you help Cachiccata? Please consider donating $50 to $100 and we will match it.  Any additional amounts will go directly to Cachiccata or other nearby deserving communities.  The easiest way to do this is to go to the BOOK A TREK page on Zephyr’s Inca Trail Hiking website and complete the “About You” and “Payment Details” sections of the form.

A group of cooks and porters from Cachiccata receives an official "thank you" at the end of the trek.

Be sure to put the amount you would like to donate in the “Comments” section.   We will send you a confirmation email so you know we received your donation.

You can also mail a check to Zephyr Adventures at PO Box 16, Red Lodge, MT  59068 if you prefer.  It is amazing how easy it is for all of us to make a huge difference in people’s lives through such a small act, isn’t it?

We at Zephyr Adventures have been planning for months to start a new blog connected to our IncaTrailHiking.com site. Because of heavy rains and flooding earlier this month in the Cusco and Machu Picchu areas, we felt that now is the time.

Heavy rains caused massive flooding along the Vilcabamba River (also known as the Urubamba River), which runs down the Sacred Valley, past Ollantaytambo and the start of the Inca Trail, and ultimately past Machu Picchu. The event that made front pages of newspapers here in the United States was the stranding of almost 1000 tourists at Aguas Calientes (now called Machu Picchu Pueblo), the small town at the base of the historic ruins.

That situation was solved several weeks ago when the Peruvian government helicoptered the tourists back to Cusco. However, the stranding occurred because Machu Picchu’s only real transit link, a railroad running to Cusco, was washed out in half a dozen sections. The railroad company, under intense pressure to repair the railroad, is working quickly to do so.

What does all this mean? First, Machu Picchu is essentially closed because no one can get in or out except by helicopter or on foot via the Inca Trail. (There is a road that runs to the area but it is also impassable.) The railroad is expected to be repaired by the end of March, meaning Machu Picchu should be open on April 1st.

Second, the Classic Inca Trail, which runs high up in the mountains away from the river, was not affected. However, the Trail is currently closed and won’t reopen until the railroad does, since this is how trekkers return to Cusco once they reach Machu Picchu.

Third, the Royal Inca Trail, which is the original (and easier) trail along the river, also was flooded in several places and will need to be repaired. Because this trail gets few visitors, the repair will not take high priority. We expect this trail to be repaired sometime in April or May, although it is probably passable now.

Finally, the real damage to the area occurred outside the tourist areas of Machu Picchu and the railroad. The Sacred Valley is an agricultural area; many fields were flooded and crops destroyed. As our Peruvian friends tell us, the best thing we as potential travelers to Peru can do to help is not to cancel our travel plans. At Zephyr Adventures, we had to cancel our April tour, since we were unable to be certain the railroad would be functioning in time. Our July and October group tours will run. And as an individual traveler, you can still book your own Inca Trail private trip at any time you wish – we just suggest you wait until April 15th, to give the railroad authorities a couple weeks to spare!

Our thoughts and best wishes are with our Peruvian friends.