Machu Picchu & Waynapicchu – Dec. 10, 2013
I woke up on Dec. 10, 2013 and took a shower and had a small
breakfast before I walked to the bus to ride up to the entrance of Machu Picchu
where I looked for my tour guide from “Kosmos Tours.” The tour was a good pace for me and allowed
me to catch up to the rest of the group when they’d stop every so often for
pictures. Even though I was often
behind, I still had time to snap some pictures before the group continued to
the next stop on the tour. Most people
that are in “average shape” would not struggle with the tour at all. The ruins and the terraces that surrounded us
(built by the Incas) were amazing. After
the tour I continued on to the entrance of Waynapicchu.
I knew that hiking to the top of Waynapicchu would be a
challenge for me as I am quite out of shape after a couple years of some health
issues that set me back and then another year of simply being lazy after
that. Because of that, I planned ahead
to make sure my trek to the top of Waynapicchu was with as light a load as
possible. This is how I prepared myself:
1)
I left my backpack behind at my hostel for the
day (the bus was in walking distance of my hostel so it was easy to return and
pick up the backpack after I finished my day on the mountain),
2)
I brought 2 small bottles of water (I purchased
little souvenir bottle straps from Sacred Valley the day before so it was easy
to sling them over my arm/neck and not have to hold them while trekking),
3)
I brought a collapsible walking stick (I also
purchased this in Sacred Valley the day before – and while there were parts of
the mountain trek up Waynapicchu that required me to use my hands and feet at
the same time while I was climbing therefore I couldn’t use the walking stick,
I simply let it hang on my wrist by its strap during that time),
4)
I brought my camera (w/o the case), and lastly
5)
I layered my clothes as the temperature at the
top of the mountain can be significantly colder and/or hotter than at the
bottom (I wore a tank top with a sweatshirt and a light jacket over that – as I
was climbing up it got really hot and I had to take off my top 2 layers and
hike with just the tank top on and the jackets tied around my waist but once I
got past the ¾ mark it started raining and it got cold real quick so I had to
put my layers back on – NOTE: If you get cold easily, I suggest 1-2 extra
layers, which you can take off and tie around your waist if needed).
Despite the efforts above, by the time I got to the landing
that was about 85% up to the top of the mountain (right before you hike up some
really steep narrow steps and climb through a small cave to then continue up
the last steps to the very top of Waynapicchu), I realized that the items I did
carry were still weighing me down. I didn’t
feel like they were heavy at all until a “rescue hiker” that worked for the
mountain saw me slowly trekking to the top and it was right before the landing
and I told him I was going to quite there and he basically said, “nonsense, let
me carry your water bottles, your camera and your 2 jackets and I’ll get you to
the top” and as soon as I handed off that handful of items to him I felt so
much lighter which made the last additional 30 min. hike to the top easier. Along the way we picked up several other
stragglers and helped them reach the top as well.
When we got to the top we were literally above the rain
clouds and it was very mystical. Both
Waynapicchu and Machu Picchu were covered by the clouds which were slowly but
surely parting ways and before you knew it the sun peered back through and we
were able to see the magnificence that surrounded us. I truly don’t believe that words nor pictures
can do justice to explain the sheer beauty and awe of the breathtaking view
around us (but I will share quite a few pics nonetheless, to give you a taste
of what you could experience too if you trek to the top of this mountain one
day).
It took me 2 hours to trek to the top of Waynapicchu and
another 2 hours back down. That did not
include the 20-30 min. trek back down from the Waynapicchu entrance to the
Machu Picchu entrance (plus the additional 30 min bus ride back down the
mountain). I spent approx. 7.5 hours
between the treks, bus travel and 1.5 hour tour of Machu Picchu before I was
done for the day. I started around
8:30am so I had no time left to get over to experience the Aguas Calientes (hot
springs) before I had to take my train back to Cusco (which had I known, I
would’ve booked it even later in the day and would’ve started my trek much
earlier, to leave time for the hot springs as well. What a treat that would’ve been after a long
day of trekking. Of course, if you were
to actually trek from the bottom of the entire mountain (in Aguas Calientes) to
the entrance to Machu Picchu, you would have to add another 3-4 hours onto your
total trek time for the day).
Here’s a link to some great reviews on Trip Advisor re the
hike to the top of Waynapichhu (a/k/a Wayna Picchu a/k/a Huayna Picchu. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294318-d548890-Reviews-Huayna_Picchu_Wayna_Picchu-Machu_Picchu_Sacred_Valley_Cusco_Region.html
It’s always best to budget more time than less for the entire
trek, site seeing and round trip travel time.
Here’s a list of
the pictures I’ve posted on Flickr for you to view through the link below:
1)
Dinner –
yum, I love the green sauce (the meat is alpaca, btw),
2)
Playing Jenga at our dinner table (with the guys
I met on the train),
3)
The moon,
4)
Why did the chicken cross the road… the dog
pondered? (this was the road I walked from my hostel to the bus),
5)
Denny’s House (my hostel – I had a private room
with private bath, which was included in my tour package),
6)
View on walk to bus,
7)
River flowing between buildings,
8)
The bus,
9)
Driving up the mountain (2 pictures),
10)
Hiking up Machu Picchu with tour group,
11)
The magnificent view (2 pictures),
12)
The ruins,
13)
Me and the view of the ruins,
14)
Another picture of the incredible view,
15)
Walking thru the ruins (with a view of
Waynapicchu ahead – the highest mountain top by Machu Picchu),
16)
Building structure, terraces and view,
17)
The view,
18)
The mysterious clouds are forming over the
mountains (2 pictures),
19)
The structures and the little house above us,
20)
Amazing view,
21)
A view thru a “window” in one of the structures,
22)
Me in front of the view,
23)
The amazing rock formation that was aligned with
the rock on the ground (2 pictures),
24)
Walking to Waynapicchu,
25)
Llamas that roam the land to “cut the grass”
(graze),
26)
Gorgeous llama sleeping,
27)
Entrance to Waynapicchu (2 pictures),
28)
My entrance ticket and passport,
29)
The fork to get to the top of Waynapicchu,
30)
The trek begins,
31)
The point of no return,
32)
Up to the heavens,
33)
Beginning of the view,
34)
The narrow path,
35)
Me and Philipe (the Colombian I met on the hike
up to the top) – at the platform about 85% up to the top,
36)
The cave we had to squeeze through (3 pictures),
37)
We made it to the top!!! (2 pictures),
38)
Being careful while striking a pose (the clouds
are moving in and it quickly got chilly),
39)
Lost in the heavens,
40)
The descent begins…. Oh my!,
41)
Oh yeah, I have to go all the way back down
that!,
42)
Altitude 2693,
43)
I’m ready to do this (lucky for me, I’m not
afraid of heights – one of the ladies on the trail had a panic attack &
started crying when she saw this),
44)
Check out the path below me,
45)
OMG! I have to hike back down all this,
46)
Check out the way the people below me are hiking
back down (the steps are so narrow I had to step on them sideways),
47)
I can do it!,
48)
I’m coming down sideways while the boys are
resting,
49)
Me and Myriam (she lives in Lima, so we met up
again when I went to Lima a week later),
50)
Me and Myriam’s aunt (the 66 y/o who kicked all
our asses going up and down the mountain with complete ease) – AMAZING WOMAN!,
51)
Me and the “rescue hiker” who convinced me to
trek all the way to the top (right before I was about to stop at the 85%
platform (so worth it!),
52)
Can you see the path we just came down? (there
are people still on it in the middle of the picture),
53)
View of the top of the mountain,
54)
Signing out (I was hiker no. 334 that day),
55)
Machu Picchu stamp – proof I did it (the stamp
was in my passport – just 3 days after I entered Peru),
56)
Souvenirs,
57)
Bark Thins (the BEST snack ever!!!),
58)
The train back to Cusco (Peru Rail), and
59)
The view from the train.
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjUXL2KH
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