Inca Trail Hiking with Zephyr Adventures

This past week I have been communicating with our Cusco-based Peruvian partners about our upcoming Inca Trail tour scheduled for October 17-25. This trip will be our first ever trip that uses the Royal Inca Trail path.

Most people think the Inca Trail is just that – “the Inca Trail”. In reality, the Inca people built a whole network of trails and the four-day trek commonly called The Inca Trail is just one of those paths.

Interesting enough, the Inca Trail path that most people use to hike from near Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley to the ruins of Machu Picchu is likely not even the original path created by the Inca rulers. This common trail goes high up into the mountains, up and over Dead Woman’s Pass, a long and arduous journey. The original trail built by the Inca was most likely a trail that still exists and follows the Urubamba River, rising only at the end to leave the river and rise to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

It is this Original or Royal Inca Trail our group will take in October. The altitude is essentially not an issue, the hills are not laborious, and – best of all – there are almost no other tourists on the trail.

Why then does everyone take the “traditional” route up and over the mountain? Well, the trail itself and the views in particular are spectacular.

In short, what people don’t know is there are two options to hike from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. One is dramatic and beautiful but also well visited, strenuous, and high in altitude. The other is mostly unknown to tourists, easier on the knees, and a non-issue as far as acclimatization.

Take your pick.

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

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.