inca trail, part 2

More stories and photos from our time on the Inca Trail (part one here).

Our homes each night. We slept in sleeping bags on the ground, but they were warm and cozy. Behind the sleeping tents is our dinner tent where we would have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our porters would set it up at each resting point along the trail. 

All along the trail to Machu Piccu are other Inca sites. Most of them are considered check points. They were used as places for travelers to stop and rest and spend the night on their way to Machu Picchu. The Incas wanted to know who was coming and going at all times. Here we take a rest on one of the Inca walls made of rocks and mortar.

Anders and I with the Andes as our backdrop. 

Stairs, stairs so many stairs. We climbed up and down stairs for days and days. On the third day, we started heading into the Amazon jungle and everything became very lush and green. We are getting closer to Machu Picchu!

At the end of day 3, we made it to one of my favorite Inca sites called Winay Wayna. It had the best view of the Urubamba River, and it had a ton of terraces that went like steps down the side of the mountain. These terraces were used for farming, but what I loved about the Incas is that they respected the earth and built all of their sites around the shape of the mountain.

Tears of joy! After a 3:30am wake up call, we made it to Machu Picchu! This picture was taken from the sungate. It was a foggy morning, but every so often the clouds would clear and you would get a shot of the famous site.

Happy to finally be here! It's the largest and most impressive Inca site yet.

Llamas at Machu Picchu. They are one of the Inca's most important animals. They were used for food and sacrifice.

If a building was important or religious, the Inca's made it out of stones instead of rocks and mortar. It could take a few weeks to make just one of these stones, and they fit together so tightly that they wouldn't fall apart in an earthquake. 

The Incas were so advanced for their time. They built these terrace for farming, and they had an irrigation system for watering the terraces. The system was so well made that it works even today. There is still running water at Machu Picchu! They planned for erosion, built their sites around the land and had everything perfectly placed to follow the solstices. I learned so much on our trek and have such a respect for these people and this time. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who is physically able to make it, and if you want to learn more about the Incas and Machu Picchu, I recommend the New York Time's Best Seller Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams. It has all the information you could ever want and more!

Up next, photos from our time at the beach!