Magnificent Machu Picchu

By Trish Gau, The Hive Overland Park

A recent goal of mine has been to use my accumulated credit card points to fly outside the country in business class. I finally came across an American Airlines low point flight to Lima, Peru (Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a long time), got my husband's buy-in to plan a trip and got to work. I only had about 3 weeks so I quickly figured out our itinerary, determined I could use some points for a few of the hotels and picked the tours and cities we would visit. We were very excited about the whole thing when I sadly realized that my credit card wasn't a transfer partner with the airline I was booking! At that point we were too emotionally invested in the trip so we bought the economy tickets and went anyway. Point fail but still a travel win!

Our first stop was Cusco, Peru, located in the Andes mountains at an elevation of 11,152 feet. The altitude proved to be rough on us so we were happy that we started taking prescription Diamox a few days prior to help with altitude sickness. (Another tip is to avoid alcohol and carbonated beverages.) We stayed at a little inn near the old town that had the cutest baby alpaca that hung out in the courtyard. The location of the hotel lent itself well to exploring Cusco's shops and restaurants (we loved Kusykay for dinner). We also went on a Cusco City Sightseeing and Sacsayhuaman Archeological Park Tour and had an excellent guide who was very passionate about the area and Incan history.

In the evening we met our Machu Picchu tour group and guide and had a debrief on what to expect during our short Inca Trail hike. We headed back to the hotel to get a little sleep before our 3am pick-up. A passenger van picked us up, we drove along windy roads for about an hour and a half to the town of Ollantaytambo and we took a train to Km 104, the starting point of our trek.

After a short uphill hike, we had a lovely breakfast prepared for us by the tour company chef. It is amazing how they carry all of the food and supplies up the mountains and have the meals ready for us when we get to different points. I tried to lift one of the packs when they were leaving for the next site and I couldn't lift it an inch. My husband and I (mostly him) alternated carrying one small backpack that held our water and that was a struggle! The scenery along the Inca Trail was breathtaking- what also amazed me were the plants and flowers - what you normally find at a nursery - wild geraniums and begonias, all of the "house plants" and beautiful orchids everywhere. The region was just entering the rainy season so we were lucky with the weather and had mostly sunny skies.

The last part (the "gringo killer") was steep steps up to the Sun Gate where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. The trek was so so hard! One of the hardest things we've ever done for sure but that view made it totally worth it. After getting our fill of pictures, we headed to Aguas Callientes to eat dinner and spend the night at a hotel. You may want to try the local delicacy of guinea pig if you go or even an alpaca burger (I tried not to think about Kiki back at the hotel). Also make sure to find Paddington eating his jam sandwich- you know he's from Darkest Peru!

There are many different Inca Trail hikes that you can choose. Some last up to 5 days or more and you stay in tents along the way, some let you stay in inns, and ours was a one day trek, hotel at night and Machu Picchu UNESCO World Heritage site the following day. We had also paid for another Machu Picchu mountain hike for the following day (you need permits to go into all of these places) but we decided that one day of hiking was enough for us! Our guide, Roseml, was so knowledgeable about everything Peru and also very patient and encouraging during the trek.

If you want to do any trekking in Peru my advice is do it NOW. . .I imagine it only gets harder as you get older, although there were many people older than us up there, but I feel like they must live in the Alps and were obviously in much better shape than us!

After exploring Machu Picchu on our second day, we took the train back to Ollantaytambo and stayed at a beautiful eco-lodge for a few days. I cannot recommend it enough. It was a wonderful place to recuperate, had excellent food and a relaxing little spa. And again the scenery in the Sacred Valley was amazing.

Many people go to Peru and only see Machu Picchu, but there are many beautiful places to see there. Stay tuned for another post about the rest of our trip including exploring Lima and the beach town of Paracas!