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Chilliwack
Canada
244 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2007 : 4:41 PM
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A friend of mine and I are looking into backpacking Peru and hiking the Inca trails of Machu Picchu. I have one friend that has done this and highly recommends it...has anyone else out there completed this and can provide some tips?
thanks
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1128 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2007 : 5:04 PM
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I've been to Peru and didn't do the Inca trail. I was happy I didn't do it when I saw what terrain the trail covered and how many people were on it.
I did some hiking in the highlands of the Andes though, and really enjoyed it. The trip report is here on CT somewhere.
I still took a couple days to see Machu Pichu thoug, which is indeed highly reccomended. |
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Slo mo sno shuin' Great Wall trekkin' triathalon doin' pale ale drinkin' all Patrick, all the time, smoothie
2497 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2007 : 5:15 PM
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Highly recommended! The Inca trail itself is highly regulated - you have to sign up with a guide company which is $$$ and plan ahead as openings have to be booked. But there are other treks in the area with less restrictions. Several people have posted trip reports here on CT.
Heres' Mine:
http://clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19716&SearchTerms=machu
Here's on by Sarge:
http://clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13458&SearchTerms=inca
For a bunch of reasons, we did not do anything more than day trekking in Peru but did manage to find a way to get a day pass on the Inca trail (cheap) and walked back from Machu Picchu to Wiñay Wayna which is essentially the 2 day Inca trail hike.
Machu Picchu truly is amazing
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Edited by - Pathfinder on 11/12/2007 5:19 PM |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
7 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2007 : 9:38 PM
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I did this trip in the Fall of 2003. I arrange the trip with SAS www.sastravelperu.com The had an office at the main in Cusco. They were one of the best at that time. It was highly recommended by most poster on Lonely Planet's Thorn tree forum. The arrangement might be different now. Normally you have to give about a weeks notice to your start date as entry pass must be made in advance. If you want to do this classic trail, you must book tour with an agency. You cannot do this solo.
Most tours will have bus taking you from Cusco to trail head. You can choose to have porter carry your bag or carry your own. They will carry everything else including tent. The hike is great but I do not recall the scenery to be spectacular. It's more about the history of the area you are passing through.
You arrive at Machu Pichu at dawn. You have the day there. If you think you want an extra day, make arrangement in advance as the tour usually included a train ticket back that same evening or next morning.
Charles. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
475 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2007 : 10:19 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by maple_muse
I did this trip in the Fall of 2003. I arrange the trip with SAS www.sastravelperu.com The had an office at the main in Cusco. They were one of the best at that time. It was highly recommended by most poster on Lonely Planet's Thorn tree forum. The arrangement might be different now. Normally you have to give about a weeks notice to your start date as entry pass must be made in advance. If you want to do this classic trail, you must book tour with an agency. You cannot do this solo.
Most tours will have bus taking you from Cusco to trail head. You can choose to have porter carry your bag or carry your own. They will carry everything else including tent. The hike is great but I do not recall the scenery to be spectacular. It's more about the history of the area you are passing through.
You arrive at Machu Pichu at dawn. You have the day there. If you think you want an extra day, make arrangement in advance as the tour usually included a train ticket back that same evening or next morning.
Charles.
I agree with everything you said Charles! I was there in 2005, and also used SAS. They were still the best then. I booked a few months in advance.
n4cer:
Check out the Thorntree site for the latest news on permit availability etc. http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=22&iCountryId=241
If you are going to do any trekking at altitude in Peru (including Inca Trail), have plenty of time to acclimatise properly (meaning relaxing, drinking lots of fluids etc. - lots of tips in my TR). I loved MP, it was a dream of mine for a long time. Yes, lots of people but it didn't ruin it for me at all. I think it's regulated to around 200 people per day, unless it's changed (I think theyve have talked about limiting it even more).
I thoroughly recommend the Huayhuash Circuit if you fancy something longer (9 days), and much harder. Truly spectacular. There are other shorter, easier hikes in that area too, all leaving from the small town of Huaraz, about 8 hrs north of Lima.
Denise
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Edited by - Sarge on 11/19/2007 11:57 PM |
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362 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2007 : 08:13 AM
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What a very cool trip!
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Hope, BC
Canada
7098 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2007 : 08:55 AM
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They actually carry your stuff? Nice...
One carrying the beer, one carrying the steaks...lol
Funny stuff aside, gotta like that treatment though! |
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Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
797 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2007 : 11:45 AM
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I thought the scenery on the Inca Trail pretty damn gorgeous. A couple of snow capped peaks visible in the distance, crazy jungle-clad hills lurking in cloud. And the small knob above machu picchu (i forget the name) is awesome in shape and wicked to hike up.
And in regards to people carrying me stuff...it makes me sick! I couldn't bring myself to hike without my own stuff. So i carried my own tent and it looked amusing at night to have one purple tent amid a sea of matching silver ones.
The one thing that did spoil it a little is when i found out the whole of machu picchu itself is actually re-built to look like ruins. There are like 2 original walls still standing or something. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1128 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2007 : 12:26 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by booewen
The one thing that did spoil it a little is when i found out the whole of machu picchu itself is actually re-built to look like ruins. There are like 2 original walls still standing or something.
Whoever told you that was either not well informed, or lying.
There has been restoration over the years, but it's still nearly all original. |
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Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
797 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2007 : 07:45 AM
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It was actually the guide I had on the Inca Trail that told me that. Maybe rebuilt was the wrong word..he said there are only two original walls and everything else was restored.
What makes you think what he said isn't true? (not disbelieving you, just wanting to compare sources cos I'm interested now!) |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1128 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2007 : 08:41 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by booewen
Maybe rebuilt was the wrong word..he said there are only two original walls and everything else was restored.
That makes more sense. There are probably two walls that needed no work, while the others have had blocks replaced (from falls etc.) or other minor modifications.
I'm not sure why I cared so much yesterday. I probably just hadn't had my coffee yet! |
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Maple syrup lovin', tree huggin', face paintin' relocated Québécoise who is VERY serious about having fun
Vancouver
Canada
2637 Posts |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
475 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2007 : 11:34 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by SnowSeeker
And let's not forget some amazing pictures taken by TrailBum...
http://www.pbase.com/mlachance/perou
Too funny. I believe those pics are the ones I found online when researching Machu Picchu. And seeing those pics of Huayhuash is what made me say "I have to go there". No idea it was someone from CT.
Thanks TrailBum!
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Van, bc
Canada
636 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2007 : 11:42 PM
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we visited Peru this past summer (Peru winter). as we booked last minute the Inca Trail was all full so we did the Lares trek instead. the Lares trek was also 4 days 3 nights but much easier then the Inca trail. the rest of our gruop did the Inca so we were able to compare a fair bit. they saw wall to wall people. their camps consisted of dozens of groups and hundreds of people. the benefit of the this Inca trail though is the rich history, the many ruins along the way and of course it is the only trek that you can do right to the famuos ruins themselves. on our Lares trek we spent the final night in a hostal then took the bus (30 mins) the the ruins. our Lares trek also was much less total kms and our first day included lounging in rustic hotsprings. other benefits of the Lares trek was the incredible views, terraces, remote villages, adorable children in colourefull traditional clothes and many hreds of llama and alpaca. the inca trail had virtually none of that. also on the Lares trek we only saw a total of 4 other tourists in the 3 days.
so based on my experience.... neither is better... it just depends on what you are looking for. if you e are looking for tougher treks look in to the Salkantay trek and El Misti volcano; both appealed to me when i was there.
oh and make sure to look into what kind of civil strikes/unrest is going on. the protests and raodblocks were constantly interferring with our plans. we had flights cancelled, delayed, bustrips re-routed to 10 hour night trips on back roads instead of 6 hour daytime scenic drives. these protests were centered in Cusco and Arequipa. at one point the (only) train to Machu Piccu was pelted with rocks and tourists were unable to visit that day.... do your research...
sorry for the random disjointed info.... but it was an awesome trip well worth it. |
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Vancouver
30 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2008 : 11:16 PM
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Just don't go with Hilbert from SAS - a right pompous guy that one! I wouldn't trust him to save my butt if it needed saving. It was like he was the king of the camp and everyone else was under him (ate like a pig, sat the closest to the heater, drank a bottle of rum that was brought for us, thought he was all that because he studied archaeology, didn't care for our health and well being, and treated the porters like crap.) I've heard that their other guides are fabulous though!!!
:)
RG |
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Machu Picchu
