After a great evening at our Ollantaytambo hotel, we packed up and got ready to jump on the bus for the big one. Today was the day we started hiking the Inca Trail.
Day 1 on the Inca Trail
Bags packed, geared up, on the bus. I was genuinely nervous — I hadn't trained specifically for this and wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but there was no changing my mind now. We reached the start and took the obligatory group photo under the "Camino Inka" sign, then walked down to the checkpoint to show our passports. We were through. The trek had begun.
Hiking the Inca Trail
Day 1 wasn't bad at all — a steady incline most of the way, nothing too strenuous. At our lunch stop, the porters had already set up camp with a full kitchen tent and dining tent. Genuinely surprising — water to wash our hands, coca tea, then lunch: soup followed by rice, meat and vegetables. Basic but delicious. Our guide Cho Cho made it clear early on that we were glamping, not camping. We understood exactly what he meant by that evening.
We continued on and reached some extraordinary ruins — completely different from the tourist-packed sites the day before. We had the whole place to ourselves while Cho Cho talked us through everything we needed to know.
That evening's campsite sat behind someone's house, and the kids who lived there came out offering drinks, including everyone's favourite Peruvian beer, Cusqueña. We sipped beers, cleaned up, and at 5pm had proper afternoon tea — teas, popcorn, biscuits, jam, and more. Glamping in full effect. Dinner at 7pm was another soup and main, and we quickly learned there were no seconds — so sharing whatever was left over between us became the norm. We were one big family for the trip.
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Tested on the classic 4-day trek to Machu Picchu.
Day 2 — Dead Woman's Pass
Up early as usual, ready for the toughest day: Dead Woman's Pass. Our chefs carb-loaded us properly — oatmeal, then pancakes (mine were a delicious corn-based version) — since we wouldn't be getting lunch. This day is strenuous enough, and the altitude makes eating mid-hike a genuine risk for getting sick, so lunch gets skipped entirely. Thankfully, vendors along the trail sell snacks and sweets — slightly overpriced, entirely worth it. I ate three Snickers bars that day.
Our group split, and I ended up with the faster team, nicknamed the "Speedy Llamas" — though the altitude quickly humbled that nickname. We stopped constantly to catch our breath. Day 2 was essentially stairs. Stairs, more stairs, and roughly 1,200 metres of elevation gained almost entirely via stairs.
View from the top of Dead Woman's Pass
The air thinned, breathing got harder, and the group scattered further. Told we were 30 minutes from the top, it took us closer to 45 — that's what altitude does to your sense of time and effort. This was the exact moment I found my Snickers bar crushed in my backpack and genuinely cried about it.
Finally reaching the peak felt like a real accomplishment. From there, an hour downhill to camp — every downward step felt like a gift as breathing got easier again. I left the Speedy Llamas behind and basically hopped rock to rock as fast as my legs would allow, arriving at a campsite perched on two rocky steps, greeted by our porters with a round of applause. That welcome, after a brutal day, is one of the best feelings the trek gives you.
Dinner around 5pm, card games, ghost stories — a genuinely good evening, even after a strenuous day, knowing the hardest part was now behind us.
Day 3 — The Original Inca Trail
Excited for this one. Today we hiked the actual original Inca Trail — still some stairs and slopes, but manageable knowing we were on the home stretch.
Walking in the footsteps of the Incas
There's something genuinely magical about walking the original path — spiritual, oddly relaxing. The pace was more individual today, our group spread out, and at points I walked entirely alone. It felt special rather than isolating.
Lunch stop was in the clouds — you're normally supposed to get a first glimpse of Machu Picchu here, but ours was fully obscured. Soup, chicken and rice as usual, plus a surprise cake for a honeymooning couple in our group. I got a berry custard dessert that was equally welcome.
Downhill Tip
The steep, slippery downhill sections are where trekking poles genuinely earn their place in your pack. Watching porters manage the same terrain in simple sandals is humbling — borrow or bring poles if you have any concerns about your footing.
The group scattered again, and I ended up walking with one other woman from the group, well ahead of everyone else. We talked about everything — things I'd never told anyone else, and she did the same. We both cried when we reached the ruins ahead.
Our view on the last full trekking day
When the rest of the group caught up, Cho Cho read coca leaves for people. It was genuinely strange to witness — he described details about one woman's mother that she insisted she'd never mentioned to him. The two of us who'd just had our own emotional walk exchanged a look neither of us could quite explain. Whatever it was, it felt like the mountain had gotten to us both.
That night a few people in the group started feeling unwell, so dinner was excellent but sparsely attended.
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Tested on the classic 4-day trek to Machu Picchu.
Day 4 — En Route to Machu Picchu
Up by 4am. Breakfast, then the porters packed everything by 5am to catch their train out — leaving just our two guides and the group, a few of us still feeling rough from the night before. We walked the final stretch slowly to keep everyone together.
We reached the Sun Gate expecting the classic postcard view down to Machu Picchu. Instead: rain and cloud. We continued down and passed the first ruins of the site itself.
It was beautiful, but after four days of hiking to reach a genuinely touristy site, part of it felt anticlimactic — everyone else fresh and dry, snapping photos, while we arrived exhausted, soaked and smelling exactly like four days on a trail.
Made it to Machu Picchu
I wanted that perfect postcard shot of myself having conquered the trail. Then I realised I didn't need it to prove I'd been there — the journey, the hidden sites along the way that day-trippers never see, that's what actually mattered. We headed down to the entrance gate, found genuinely clean toilets with actual seats, ate, and regrouped.
The sun came out briefly and Cho Cho gave us a proper tour of Machu Picchu itself. Genuinely incredible — the precision of the stonework, the layout of the whole site, still standing after everything. If I ever make it back to Peru, hiking Huayna Picchu is firmly on the list.
We got our photos eventually, had our passports stamped, and took the bus down to Aguas Calientes, then the train back to Cusco. Saying goodbye to our guides and most of the group, all leaving at different times the next morning, was harder than expected after four days together.
Our Inca Trail family
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Tested on the classic 4-day trek to Machu Picchu.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Genuinely tough — it's the highest point on the trail and involves climbing roughly 1,200m of stairs at altitude, which makes breathing considerably harder. Most groups skip lunch on this day specifically because eating at that altitude tends to make people sick. Snack vendors along the way sell overpriced but very welcome treats.
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