Nine Days Through the Andes
I don’t know what I was expecting. Falling in love with you was like falling into quicksand. The deeper I got the more I learnt to love the sand between my toes as I stared out at the sky. Watching millions upon millions of miracles shine their light so bright the night felt as if it were a kiss.
It held me with such tenderness, I almost forgot I was sinking.
This is going to hurt.
The details:
9 Hike through the Andes, Peru
Cost with our team (Inka Trail Explorer) will set you back around $990USD
All inclusive - tent, mattress, sleeping bag, horses, assistants, all meals, an insanely talented chef and your guide
Covering over 100km with rough traversing of 1000-2000m up/down daily
2 x high passes over 4000m back to back
There’s something incredibly humbling about hiking where the air is thin. A particular kind of healing, each step ricocheting through the bones, if you’re not careful it can break you.
We always knew that hiking through the Andes would be a non-negotiable part of our trip here. Toying with the idea of moving through the Inca Trail and Saltankay as classic 4 day options seemed nice, but not nearly as adventurous and expansive as an epic 9 day journey, over 100km traversing roughly ascending and descending 1000-2000m daily taking us through Choquequirao and Machu Picchu.
I thought I had broken in my new hiking boots in the Amazon only to find on day one I would need to settle into a new routine of popping 4 monster blisters at the end of each day. Juicy.
Crossing mountains covered in wildflowers, hidden artefacts and life in bloom is a beautiful way to forget the pain of blood swell which was all too prominent after descending from 1500m to sea level, and then doubling our ascension to reach a 3000m campsite in the same day. At one point Luke had asked what I was listening to, it must have been all too prominent that hard hikes and historical podcasts that centre around beheadings and injustice are not a great match.
Australia’s tallest mountain stands at 2228m. Glorious. I have been asked many times about how we ‘trained’ for this unsure of how to respond, mainly in part because there is no way to train for altitude in a country that is without it.
What I would recommend is a baseline level of fitness, becoming familiar with steep climbs and a light pack and crafting a banger playlist that can get you through some tricky situations. But in all honesty if you are hike fit, enjoy a long walk and don’t mind some discomfort I would imagine it possible for almost anyone with grit to complete - it is very much a go at your own pace situation and the guides are incredible.
When we had booked our rip with Inka Trail Explorer we opted for a group option excited to meet some new friends along the way. Apparently there aren’t too many feeling wild about taking on Peru’s most difficult route which meant our small party of two was it, and with us an epic crew of four horses, a horseman, an incredible guide, an assistant, and a personal chef who picked native plants along the way and weaved them into our meals.
It was the most luxurious hike experiences I could ever imagine without having stayed in cabins or hotels at the end of the night - under the night sky will forever be my preference anyway.
The majority of our belongings (7kg in a supplied duffle bag) was carted by horse which meant we only needed to carry a small day pack with water, snacks and our camera while on the trail.
Our only mission was to be. To take each step as it came and sink into what the Andes in Autumn had to offer. We were met each day with our tent pitched, warm water for sponge baths and a three course camp meal that went well above expectation every time.
The baseline height of this trek danced between 1500-4650m each day with campsites residing at heights ranging from 2000-3600m giving little space for rest. It’s a strange sensation being mindful of breathing when breathing has always felt easy at rest.
Crossing into Choquequirao, Machu Picchu’s sacred sister was a beauty to behold. A pristine archaeological site on top of such steep mountain with barely any people meandering through its walls. There is much to be learnt about Inca history - the chosen girls, or Virgins of the Sun, being one of the most shocking to me.
Imagining a beautiful girl aged 8-10 having been plucked from her family to grace royalty and hike as a sacrifice to the highest peak above 5000m, whilst journeying with Ayachuasca, wild. Interestingly enough we would find later in Argentina the Museum of High Altitude showcasing three mummified children, frozen in time in the same way they passed hundreds of years ago. Something so morbid that at the time was the greatest honour one could receive.
The trail encompassed two back-to-back high passes at 4200m and 4600m in between snow-capped mountains and wildflowers in bloom, the views were just as breathtaking and dizzying as the altitude.
I’ve since found that anytime I’m at 4000m and beyond my body goes into a state of shock; often relying on the wind to carry a nervous laugh or silent cry.
If there’s anytime you want to be able to truly breathe it all in, it’s standing at the top of giants. It’s a cruel torture to traverse something so beautiful while grappling with burning lungs and whether you’re about to vomit, faint or self-implode. And still, there’s nothing that can take away the feeling that comes when you’re met with these views. A feeling that easily eclipses any hardship by throwing it to the sky.
I deeply feel that there is medicine in hiking. Every step, every slip, every fibre of the body stretched to its limits and back again like a dream. It gives so much time for reflection and acknowledgement that is often so hard to come by in the busyness of everyday life. The stories we tell, the people we think about, the resolutions we come home to, the ideas of what we want for the future and the ability to reconcile with the past.
This trail encompassed a myriad of elements from high altitudes; sacred sites; small regional communities; cable cart rides that we’re literally a small metal cart with no sides mainly used to transport food that you pulled yourself across a river to reach the other side; a hot spring that looked like an out-of-place tourist trap in the middle of the mountains; horseflies with vengeance and then, the staggering shock of a modernism reaching Machu Picchu township.
After spending most days giving ourselves sponge baths with our washer/towel instead of opting for the freezing showers at camp it felt grandiose to be here and experience our first night back in a real bed, in a hotel, with water that had enough pressure to wash the dust away and enough warmth to make you want to stay.
Our final night. And a welcome rest before closing out the nine day adventure by exploring Machu Picchu.
The pure magnificence in a site like Machu Picchu lies in how expansive it feels. A massive finding, a city full of ceremonial temples, homely dwellings, astrological centres and farming infrastructure gives incredible insight; and room to speculate; back to a lost time and place of knowledge that seemingly disappeared.
Perched high Amongst the mountains at over 2430m it is a place that will leave you in awe just because of the sheer size of it. I think the most beautiful thing about it lies in the speculation - what mysteries of life were left here. Who were the people who lived here and why did they leave?
Our final climb was to the top of Huayna Picchu. Legs like jelly and absolutely exhausted we considered forgetting about it and heading back. Thankfully with my lungs still burning, an uncontrollable dry cough sputtering and rush of new energy from day trippers we made it up the small climb to see Machu Picchu in full form from above. Miraculous. And worth it. But how could it not be?
The thing about long trails is that eventually your body gets used to the grind. If there’s a view, there’s a way and lulling it into taking one step at a time isn’t necessarily easy at times, but definitely attainable. It makes me wonder what life would be like if we were to always live life like this - the way I imagine we’re meant to.
Feet on the earth. Traversing our great landscapes. Reflecting on who we are. Eating from the land. Sleeping under the stars.
Falling in love with just how simple and beautiful life is.
