There are several ways to go from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The most famous is the Inca trail, a 4 day hike along the mountains and valleys of the region. The most popular is probably the 2 hour train ride from Cusco to Aguas Calientes and then a bus to the ruins. What we did was the Inca jungle trek, a four day tour with the last day being spent at Machu Picchu.
Day one started with a morning pick up from our hotel and a drive to the top of a 4000 metre high mountain. From here we would bike down to the valley below. After about a half hour of getting the bikes and gear prepped for the ride, the rain started to come down. At first it was light so we put our rain ponchos on and started down the mountain. In about 15 minutes, the rain got heavier and I was soaking wet and cold. I kept going saying to myself it will get better soon but there seemed to be no end in sight. I am not ashamed to say that I was the first to give up and end this wet, miserable ride and get back in the van. In about half hour or so, half our group had given up and joined me in the van. But there were still about six people who biked all the way down the hill in the cold rain. This would have been a great ride but the weather was against us on that day.
After the bike ride was lunch and an option to go rafting. The rafting wasn't included for Mareen and I but it was for most of the others in the group. We had a choice to pay $30 and join the group but after being wet and cold all day we opted out. Overall it was a good day but it would have been great if the weather was good. Unfortunately nobody can control the weather.
The next day was a full day of hiking, about 8 hours, along mountains and rivers. We got to see some interesting indigenous plants and learn about how the local farmers live. You hike along some portions of the Inca trail (there are about 55000 km of trails), cross a bouncy suspension bridge and get a ride in an old manual cable cart. We also rested at some farm houses along the way and got to see all the strange pets they had. Our reward at the end of this long day- relaxing at the hot springs in the town of Santa Teresa. It was the perfect end to a hard day of hiking. The was the first big hot springs that Mareen and I have been to but others in the group said that it was one of the best they have seen. So the second day turned out to be much better than our first.
Our third day began with zip-lining in the morning. Those who didn't want to do the zip-lining had another full day of hiking ahead of them. We went through a series of 4-5 zip-lines, which doesn't seem like many but some of these cables were really long. You had to brake manually by using some thick, padded gloves. This was interesting because it became obvious really quickly that you either knew how to brake properly or didn't at all. This was also what made it fun because some people came to the end a little too fast and others slowed down too much and got stuck in the middle. I think half the fun of zip-lining is seeing everybody's reactions to the heights and speed.
After lunch, we spent three hours hiking along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, the town near Machu Picchu where we would spend our final night. Aguas Calientes is a very small town that only exists because of tourism from Machu Picchu. You sleep, dine and relax here before heading to Machu Picchu in the morning. After two days of cold showers, we took a warmer shower, went out for some drinks, and relaxed with our new friends before heading to bed.
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