A hot and dusty hike winds past ancient ruins. Camp setup next to horse poo.
(Map this!)
The most common trailhead for the Machu Picchu Trek is at railway marker KM82, just outside the fortress of Ollantaytambo in the sacred valley. Ollanta, as it is called by the locals is best known for its huge stone monoliths joined together with amazing precision, and the restaurant ‘Kusicoyllor’ which is Quecheua for ‘Happy Guinea Pig’. Don’t know how happy guinea pig are to eaten but I must say they are pretty tasty!
By the Urubamba river we prepared our backpacks and hiked a flat and dusty trail along the river and past the Inka agricultural ruins of Pallacta. The train carrying tourists bound for Aguas Calientes chugged past and reminded Neena of the time she had read of Nancy Drew making the same trip.
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Terraces at Pallacta |
The porters scampered past us with their heavy loads to setup a mess tent and make lunch for us. In addition to doing all the cooking and cleaning they also carried all our gear so we could hike comfortably with day packs. In the evening we camped in a field littered with horse dung but we were too tired to let it bother us in any way.