Inka Jungle Trail

 This was not a "traditional" hike, but had lots of hiking as well as bike riding, rafting and ziplinging, all on our way to Machu Pichhu.
The first day we were driven to Abra de Malago Pass in the Andes. 14,271 ft above sea level. Here we donned protective gear and road bikes 55 Kms, down the mountain to Santa Maria, dropping about 6,000 ft in elevation.

Views along the road to Santa Maria.

In Santa Maria, we had the option of a class 3 raft trip on the Urubamba River before dinner. It was a fun trip!

The second day, was our longest hiking day. About 23 Km in the outer jungle, through coffee and coco plantations and up in the mountains and back down for several river crossings. All in the rain, a real jungle experience. There were stops along the way, to take a break, buy something to drink or eat, and sometimes there were fun animals to interact with. This hike sometimes went along Incan trails. There are several Incan trails that go to Machu Pichhu. The Incans developed 45,000 Km of trails from Ecuador to Peru and Bolivia and Chile.

  The trail went high up in the mountains, some places were steep and wet, we had to watch our footing.

We saw waterfalls and there were many different bridges crossing the rivers, in places the trail was covered in mud and rock slides. A great adventure!

 The final river crossing was in a "cable car", actually a large metal tray on a pulley over a rope.

  

A short hike after the "cable car" crossing brought us to a lovely hot spring, with 3 different pools. A great way to relax after a long wet day. We spent the night at Santa Teresa.

The third day, we had the option of ziplining or staying at the hotel and drying out in the morning. I choose to do the zipline. After gearing up, we hiked up into the mountain for 4 different lines. The longest was 1.5 Km across the valley. Lots of fun!

After the zipline, we rejoined the group and went to the trailhead, where we went by an Incan sacred ceremonial site.

Another large river crossing and after lunch, we hiked along the railroad route to Aguas Calinetes. It was fun to see Machu Pichhu montana in the distance.

We spent the last night in Aguas Calientes, before heading up to Machu Picchu  the next morning.

Incan Ruins Hike

 We needed to adjust to the high altitude and get some hiking in before our 3 day Inka Jungle hike. We took a taxi 7 miles out of Cusco up in the hills above the city to Tambomachay and visited four different Incan ruins on our 7+ mile hike back downhill to town.

 First site was Tambomachay, it sits on about an acre of land and was easy to walk around.

 Only 1 Km away, across the road lies Puca Pucara. This is another small site, easy to walk around.

 We then walked down the round about 2-3 Km to the next site. There were many interesting homes and lots of sheep to see along the way.

 The third site was Q'enqo or Kenko. This is another small Incan site. Interesting to walk around and

There is an underground chamber in the rocks, complete with a stone altar.

 The fourth and final Incan site along our hike was Sacsayhuaman. This is a large Incan site on the hill right above Cusco. It is well worth paying a guide for a guided tour. There were so many interesting features we would have missed if we walked around on our own.

 There was a cave with a very narrow passage and this lava rock slide among other interesting features.

















The main walled area is comprised of three terraces. The longest of these walls is 400 meters.

On top of the terrace area, lies the ruins of three different temples.

From the hill top, you can see the city of Cusco below. We finished our hike by walking down to our hotel in the city.