{"id":14895,"date":"2016-05-02T11:52:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T01:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=14895&preview_id=14895"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T11:18:07","slug":"what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"What it’s really like trekking the Inca Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s get one thing straight: Dead Woman\u2019s Pass<\/a> is as awful as you fear. It\u2019s called \u2018Dead Woman\u2019 for god\u2019s sake. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, so the name comes from the shape of the pass, like a woman lying down, not from actual deaths. But still. It\u2019s a phrase that incites terror. And as I was slogging my way up, willing myself to just reach that next rock, that next bush, and as the snow line reached ever closer and the sun burnt ever stronger, I looked up at that reclining woman and cursed her and the Incas who had named her.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s back up, to why I was huffing up the pass in the first place. I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail<\/a> during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s. In the span of a few weeks, I had registered for my first half-marathon, broken up with a guy, and decided to hike the Inca. The race because, well, why not. The guy because, well, meh. And the trail because it had been my dream since I first learned of Machu Picchu in high school Spanish class. And dreams are a dangerous thing. Abandon them and they haunt you forever. Follow them and you end up hiking to an altitude of 4,200 metres and wondering if dreamer you is actually a sadomasochist.<\/p>\n

\"inca-trail---tammy-burns\"<\/p>\n

I had arrived in Peru a week prior, on Intrepid\u2019s Sacred Land of the Incas<\/a> adventure. Even though I was lugging hiking boots and enough protein bars to feed a herd of llamas, it all seemed surreal. \u2018One day\u2019 had turned into next week and my brain couldn\u2019t make sense of it. (Also, side note: the protein bars were totally unnecessary \u2014 the porters supply you with so much food that your belly barely has time to register a grumble before it\u2019s time for a meal stop. For what you SHOULD bring to hike the trail, check out this<\/a> packing guide.)<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that I had caught a stomach bug while I was in the Amazon, mere days away from heading to Ollantaytambo<\/a> and the start of the trail. For three days I shivered in the sweaty, sticky heat while my travel mates went off in search of anacondas and tarantulas. The Andes (and the strength to hike them) couldn\u2019t have felt further away. On the morning we departed for the trail head, my stomach was still flipping \u2014 but this time not just from nausea, but from nerves. Reality had set in.<\/p>\n

ALWAYS WANTED TO HIKE THE INCA TRAIL? BROWSE OUR TRIPS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"inca-trail-Peru-Machu-Picchu---tammy-burns-2\"<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the trail eases you in on the first day, leading you over Peruvian plains \u2014 undulating hills that are the closest you\u2019ll find to flat in the Andes. It\u2019s the teaser of what\u2019s to come, when the hills get steeper, the steps higher, the air thinner. It\u2019s the day when you learn how things work, like how the porters run past you, carrying packs bigger than you and weaving up and down and around staircases. It\u2019s the day you learn that Inca steps are nothing like the stairmaster you trained on.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also on that first day that you realize what it means to be an Inca Trail trekker. Permits are given out<\/a> to 200 trekkers (and 300 porters) daily, so even in moments when you feel tired and sore and totally alone, you\u2019re never far from someone who\u2019s able to give you a friendly nudge. Sometimes I was someone else\u2019s cheerleader, and sometimes it was someone giving me a push.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On day two, as I struggled to move myself up the final 200 metres to Dead Woman\u2019s Pass, I could hear hikers at the top calling down, urging me on. As I staggered the last few steps, a trekker from another group congratulated me by name. Because that\u2019s the thing about the trail: you see and talk to the same strangers again and again, until they\u2019re not strangers any more. You bond over everything from sore knees to altitude belly, and sometimes there are celebrations thrown in. Like on our second night, when we snacked on banana cake for two trekkers\u2019 wedding anniversary \u2014 a surprise dessert made by our porters with nothing but a camp stove.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: WHAT IT’S LIKE DOING THE INCA TRAIL AS A SOLO TRAVELLER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"inca-trail-Peru-Machu-Picchu---tammy-burns-4\"<\/p>\n

Over the days, you battle steep climbs and steeper descents, lost toenails and broken blisters. You\u2019re guaranteed to curse yourself at least once for not opting to take the train instead. After all, the vast majority people who visit Machu Picchu don\u2019t take four days to get there. So why suffer the trek?<\/p>\n

Well, because like with so much of travel, the reward isn\u2019t the arrival but the journey. Machu Picchu<\/a> gets all the fame and glory, but there are hidden treasures to discover along the trail, too \u2014 and unlike the finale, they\u2019re only accessible on foot. Yes, hundreds of people trek the trail every day, but when you turn a corner and see the glorious ruins of Sayacmarca perched on a clifftop in the distance, or peer down and find Qonchamarka peeking out from beneath a jungle canopy, you\u2019ll be forgiven for feeling, just for a moment, like you\u2019re the next Hiram Bingham.<\/p>\n

INSPIRATIONAL READ:\u00a0THE ROAD TO MACHU PICCHU STARTS AT 385 LBS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"inca-trail-Peru-Machu-Picchu---tammy-burns-10\"<\/p>\n

On our last morning, we reached the Sun Gate early enough that there was still mist draped over the mountains. By the way, all those photos you\u2019ve seen of people standing before Machu Picchu? Those aren\u2019t taken at the Sun Gate, no matter what their Tinder profile says. The Sun Gate is much higher, and gives you a view that stretches far beyond the ruins. It\u2019s the first glimpse you get of Machu Picchu<\/a> and it encompasses views of the surrounding peaks and the valley leading down into Aguas Calientes. You can spy the buses coming up the roadway and congratulate yourself for getting here the hard way.<\/p>\n

After four days of hiking, I sat there, my aching feet dangling over a ledge as I watched the mist move in and out. I cried. Dammit, that sounds so clich\u00e9, but it\u2019s true. I sat there with my back to everyone and dripped tears down my dirty face because dreamer me totally deserved this.<\/p>\n

Ready for a proper challenge? Hike to Machu Picchu with Intrepid Travel.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Words and images c\/o Tammy Burns.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15808,"featured_media":18661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[455],"tags":[57,37,38,285,473],"class_list":["post-14895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-inca-trail","tag-peru","tag-south-america","tag-trekking","tag-walking","ipf_theme-walking-trekking","ipf_region-peru"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat it's really like to trek the Inca Trail | Intrepid Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What it's really like to trek the Inca Trail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s get one thing straight: Dead Woman\u2019s Pass is as awful as you fear. It\u2019s called \u2018Dead Woman\u2019 for god\u2019s sake. Okay, so the name comes from the shape of the pass, like a woman lying down, not from actual deaths. But still.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Good Times by Intrepid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-02T01:52:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T11:18:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tammy Burns\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Intrepid_Travel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tammy Burns\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/\",\"name\":\"What it's really like to trek the Inca Trail | Intrepid Travel Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-02T01:52:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T11:18:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/7822db277c34b7643d22f5b0201d486b\"},\"description\":\"I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What it’s really like trekking the Inca Trail\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/\",\"name\":\"The Good Times by Intrepid\",\"description\":\"adventure news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/7822db277c34b7643d22f5b0201d486b\",\"name\":\"Tammy Burns\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a4af2fe1bc6cd8a9feefacc2696c8dcb014fd676b16038a23c7fe2626c60b21?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a4af2fe1bc6cd8a9feefacc2696c8dcb014fd676b16038a23c7fe2626c60b21?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tammy Burns\"},\"description\":\"Global Content Manager @ Intrepid Travel. Writer, editor, traveller, runner, wine & craft beer taster.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/tammy-burns\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What it's really like to trek the Inca Trail | Intrepid Travel Blog","description":"I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What it's really like to trek the Inca Trail","og_description":"Let\u2019s get one thing straight: Dead Woman\u2019s Pass is as awful as you fear. It\u2019s called \u2018Dead Woman\u2019 for god\u2019s sake. Okay, so the name comes from the shape of the pass, like a woman lying down, not from actual deaths. But still.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/","og_site_name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intrepidtravel\/","article_published_time":"2016-05-02T01:52:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T11:18:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tammy Burns","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_site":"@Intrepid_Travel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tammy Burns","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/","name":"What it's really like to trek the Inca Trail | Intrepid Travel Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-02T01:52:53+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T11:18:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/7822db277c34b7643d22f5b0201d486b"},"description":"I had decided to tackle the Inca Trail during one of those life reassessments that every human experiences in their mid-30s.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/what-lifes-really-like-on-the-inca-trail\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What it’s really like trekking the Inca Trail"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/","name":"The Good Times by Intrepid","description":"adventure news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/7822db277c34b7643d22f5b0201d486b","name":"Tammy Burns","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a4af2fe1bc6cd8a9feefacc2696c8dcb014fd676b16038a23c7fe2626c60b21?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a4af2fe1bc6cd8a9feefacc2696c8dcb014fd676b16038a23c7fe2626c60b21?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tammy Burns"},"description":"Global Content Manager @ Intrepid Travel. Writer, editor, traveller, runner, wine & craft beer taster.","url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/author\/tammy-burns\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Machu-Picchu-Peru-Intrepid-Travel.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4OQMK-3Sf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15808"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14895"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83261,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14895\/revisions\/83261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}