Day 1.
We set off from Cuzco and made our way past Ollantambo and the Sacred Valley, where we stopped at Abra Malaga (4200m A.S.L) and set off downhill on our mountain bikes. Very similar to 'The Death Road' in Bolivia, it was an exhilarating downhill ride through amazing scenery.
The road was paved all the way and is much wider than it's Bolivian counterpart, but it was a great rush to scream down the mountain road. We finished four hours later around 1200m A.S.L and drove further on to the small dusty town of Santa Maria.
After a late lunch I changed into my 'beach wear' for a 90 minute attempt at white water rafting. Leading the way at the front of the rubber dinghy it was much more fun that I was expecting (I was told by other travellers not to get my hopes up) and trying to navigate the Level 2 rapids was great fun. By the end of the trip I was completely soaked, and we had descended another 200m. Great start to the tour.
Day 2.
The next stage was supposed to be a nine hour trek through the jungle and along the ancient Inca Trail. The next day we set off on a very leisurely walk, seeming to stop at expensive stalls (each complete with a monkey tethered nearby to the delight of tourists, disgusting) and rest more than we walked! I quickly grew impatient, I was expecting a decent walk but it was nothing of the sort. We did walk along 500m of the original Inca trail, and while the view was great it was only for a short while.
After a very long lunch we set off once again at a slow pace and stopped at a small stream feeding the larger river nearby, it was time for a refreshing swim after a day of hiking and sweating. It was ice cold but it was amazing to laze in the river and watch the sun turn the mountains to gold, easily the highlight of the day.
We stopped once again at some nearby hot springs, eventually reaching Santa Maria by catching to a ride in the back of a truck. Our guide pushed getting taxis but after our insistence on hiking he talked a local into giving us a lift.
Day 3.
A short drive from where we stayed was the next 'adventure' of the tour, zip-lining! After a brief safety lesson we climbed a nearby hill to the first zip line. A nice way to get started, the short ride gave a great view of the local mountain ranges and of the river below. The second line was over 1100m, 'one of the longest' in South America. Again it afforded a great view but I didn't get the adrenaline rush I was expecting. The last two lines were the same again, criss-crossing the river. We arrived at the end of the last zip line to a suspended wooden platform where we had to rappel back down to the ground.
We left in a van once more and soon arrived at a hydro-electric power plant near the town of Aguas Calientes. After lunch we walked along a still-used train line, past the gorgeous Urubamba river and in the shadows of the adjacent mountains either side.
We caught our first glimpse of the ruins of Machu Picchu as we walked three hours to the charming (but very touristy) town of Aguas Calientes. After dinner we had an early night, as the next day we were to awake very early in the morning to trek to our final destination, the epic Machu Picchu....
More photos here
