Travel: Machu Picchu, Peru

The Inca Trail is not for the faint-hearted – with a seemingly endless series of climbs and descents, altitude sickness, and the occasional downpour to weather – but the rewards are more than worth it.

Our group included a mix of Americans and Poles, one New Zealander and one Briton. Relatively young and fit, we took to the trail with gusto, typically completing each stage in half the allotted time.

At each break we would stop for a breather and lunch, and marvel at yet another 500-year-old ruin from an empire that stretched up and down the west side of the Andes mountain range, into modern day Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

The trail links the holy city of Machu Picchu with the formal capital of Cusco. In the days of the Inca, scouts would have raced along this route in less than a day to pass a message from one city to the next, warning of an attack or passing on information about farming.

Watching our own porters happily skip from rock to rock, carrying almost their own bodyweight in food and camping equipment as we trudged along at half the pace and with half the weight, it was not difficult to picture their ancestors making equally light of their surroundings.

The first day was a relatively straightforward six hours, largely uphill, but on a gentle gradient. The second day – we had been warned – was the killer. Dead Woman's Pass, at 4,200ft, is the highest point on the trail. When we arrived after a two-hour climb it was easy to feel optimistic about the day ahead; surely it was all downhill from there.

Well, not exactly – we actually went downhill, then uphill again, and then downhill once more. After eight hours of alternating ascent and descent, there was a final, mammoth staircase of rocks to take us up to Sayacmarca, an old Inca base and watchtower.

Some members took one look at the steep staircase and headed on to camp. A glutton for punishment, I climbed on up and, despite my weary body, blistered hands and throbbing knees, tried to enjoy exploring a series of former rooms from where Inca soldiers would have kept watch for signs of invading armies.

One of the glories of the Inca Trail is that the altitude and distance from any major city creates the clearest skies you will ever see. Like the ancient Cambodians who built Angkor Wat, the Incas were able astronomers and the Intiwatana observatory stands at the highest point of Machu Picchu, from where they would have gazed at the stars.

The third day was mercifully shorter. The six-hour hike took us past ruins, including the former Inca village of Winay Wayna, the largest and most complete Inca site on the way to Machu Picchu.

Made up of 90 per cent original stones, it also has the famous large steps that are found in Machu Picchu, which farmers would have used to grow different crops. The dozens of families who lived here would have had one room each in which to sleep, eat and wash, and through which tourists are free to meander.

Also like Angkor Wat, Machu Picchu was lost for centuries. The Incas were so keen to hide it from the invading Spanish that they destroyed many parts of the trail and left the city half-built. It was only in 1915 that history professor Hiram Bingham was led to the ruins by local farmers. What they showed him that day must have left him speechless – it certainly had that impact on me.

The sacred city of the Incas is a wondrous complex of temples and ruins, towers and steps, framed on all sides by steep mountains. We left camp on the fourth day at just before 5am, as the morning darkness gave way to milky pre-dawn light. At that time of day, the only sounds were the rushing river below and our creaking bones.

About a hundred weary bodies then started a two-hour charge to Machu Picchu, as tickets to climb the postcard-famous Wayna Picchu mountain are limited. We stopped briefly at the Sun Gate, which sadly failed to live up to its name as dense fog covered the ancient city stretching out below. However, as we completed the final leg, the mist lifted to reveal Machu Picchu like jewels beneath a blanket.

The famous giant steps, which resemble natural football terraces, were for agriculture and used to study failing crops and cross-pollinations. Built more than 500 years ago, they look as good as new thanks to the Incas' success in using mud and llama hair as an adhesive to hold the rocks in place.

Amid the thatched roof buildings the Incas would have used for storage, and water fountains where noblemen would have cleaned themselves before entering, are towers, temples, a sundial and several grazing llamas who look a lot less impressed by their surroundings than the hordes of camera-happy tourists.

In one corner Wayna Picchu pokes its 300m-high head above the clouds and looks down on the old city. It takes two hours to climb up and down the mountain, using steps the Incas themselves laid, but the spectacular views more than compensate for the effort.

The one downside to Machu Picchu is the number of visitors. We were one of three groups walking the trail, but we only passed occasionally and the ruins were largely deserted. However, a lot of tourists get the train across and the site itself is far more crowded. Trains go from the beautiful Peruvian city of Cusco – the Inca empire's capital – to Aguas Calientes, from where it is a short bus ride to the heritage site.

Staying overnight in Aguas Calientes, a town that gives the impression of being half-built because of all the bare brick buildings, but which is stocked with restaurants, souvenir shops and hotels, means you can visit Machu Picchu first thing in the morning, guaranteeing an option on one of the 400 daily places climbing Wayna Picchu, either at 7am or 10am. However, the town has little to recommend it and for those who really want to learn about the history of the area, and enjoy a challenge, walking the Inca Trail is the way to go.

Fact file

Gareth Rose's flights were organised through STA Travel (www.statravel.co.uk), which can provide flights from London Heathrow to Lima for 585 each way.

The trek was organised by Journey Latin America (020 8747 8315, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk) and its local partner Llama Path, which supplied guides and porters. The four-day trek costs 480 per person.

Journey Latin America specialises in group tours and tailor-made holidays to Latin America and also offers package deals. An 11-day tailor-made holiday including the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu starts from 1,420 per person and includes accommodation, transfers, domestic flights, excursions, permit to walk the trail, breakfast and full board on the trek.

This article was first published in The Scotland on Sunday, May 2, 2010