In July I took a 12 night tour of Peru with Plotpackers which started in Lima and ended in Cusco. At the end of this tour, our group took a three day Inca Jungle Trail adventure to Machu Picchu. This is not your standard Machu Picchu hike like the Salkantay Trek or Inca Trail, but one full of adventurous activities with a guide from Machu Picchu Reservations.
All the activities are run by local operators who I would recommend if you’re visiting any of these towns on your way to Machu Picchu.
Day one: Starting the Inca Jungle Trail
On our first day of the Inca Jungle Trail we had an early start in Cusco before driving for a few hours to reach Ollantaytambo for a breakfast with fabulous views. After breakfast we began our first activity – mountain biking from Abra Malaga alongside the snow-capped Veronica peak.
We geared up in protective wear and warm clothing and biked a pretty easy 60km downhill over several hours, taking us from an altitude of 4300m in the Andes down to 1890m ending in the jungle in Huanmanmark. There were breathtaking views and stops along the way to take in the incredible scenery.
The road had a lot of twists and turns and the temperature got much warmer as we entered the jungle. I came off my bike when I took a corner too fast in last 20 minutes, I was fine thanks to the provided protective wear but my bike was in need of some repairs and I hailed the trailing driver to pick me up.
After lunch in Santa Maria (most of our meals over the three days were included in our package) we headed off to meet the team from the Peruvian Rafting Company to go white water rafting. The rafts were waiting for us at the river and we were split into teams and given lifejackets, optional extra waterproof jackets for warmth, and oars.
The safety briefing, rules and instructions were thorough. Our adrenaline filled white water rafting experience lasted two hours with a balance of crazy rapids and calm waters. We made a stop to do an (optional) mini cliff jump and were able to jump out of the rafts and float downstream at the end. Once we reached our finishing point our van and driver were waiting for us with towels.
We drove another hour to our accommodation in Santa Teresa for the night. Taking the road between Santa Maria and Santa Teresa was eye opening. It was basically a cliffside single lane with no barriers and signs of significant slips – I was grateful we were on the right-hand side of the road. The driver seemed to have great taste in music but no one wanted to ask him to turn it up for fear of loss of concentration!
Dinner (the best of our trip in my opinion!) and breakfast were served at the local restaurant across the road from our accommodation. We had the option of going to the Cocalmayo Hot Springs to relax however it was dark and we were all very tired.
Day two: Zipling and Hiking our way to Machu Picchu
After breakfast on our second day of the Inca Jungle Trail we drove to the zip-lining centre in Hidroeléctrica where we were harnessed up.
Once at the first zipline we were given a briefing and told how to use all the equipment before our two-hour adventure began across four different ziplines. After our first climb and simple zipline we were able to mix things up, flying across in pairs, upside down, and like superman, and the views over the Peruvian jungle were something else.
After lunch we began a scenic 11km hike along the train tracks from Hidroeléctrica to Aguas Calientes which is the main town before Machu Picchu. This was an enjoyable walk on a safe path alongside the train tracks used by one of the most famous trains in the world. A few trains even passed us.
The walk took around 2.5 hours and there were plenty of places to buy drinks/snacks/ice cream along the way. The hardest part was around five minutes worth of steps near the start, and I’d recommend covering up as the girls wearing shorts found their legs were heavily bitten by mosquitos.
Aguas Calientes is a very touristy town on a serious slope with few vehicles, where most people only stay one night in order to visit Machu Picchu. We purchased our bus tickets to Machu Picchu for the next morning which cost $24 return, had a group dinner in a restaurant where we were serenaded by a Peruvian band, and retired for an early night ahead of an early start.
Day three: Machu Picchu and the end of our Jungle Trek
After two adventurous days in the jungle we finally made it to Machu Picchu. On our final morning of the Inca Jungle Trail we were up at 4am for breakfast before either hiking up the steps to Machu Picchu which took the girls around an hour in the dark, or taking the 30 minute bus ride in time for our 6am ticket entry. Our Machu Picchu tickets had been booked well in advance but we did see queues of people hoping to get one on the day.
A 6am Machu Picchu entry means avoiding the big crowds and getting lots of time to get pictures with the iconic scenery. They still don’t know how Machu Picchu was formed but having a guide who told us all about the history, structures, and the Incas meant we learnt a lot we otherwise would have no idea about. I loved seeing the llamas roaming around mowing the grass.
Machu Picchu is only the second Wonder of the World I’ve visited of the seven – the Colosseum in Rome being the other but I definitely intend on making visiting the rest a life goal. We spent around three hours at Machu Picchu before getting the bus back down and walking the same 11km walk back to Hidroeléctrica by which point we were all very tired. Some of our group chose to take the train instead of walking, which goes twice a day and costs $37. It looked like a bumpy ride and some of the girls from the USA had never been on a train before!
We had a break for lunch before taking a six hour bus ride back to Cusco (taking the train directly from Aguas Calientes to Cusco would have been much nicer!). Everyone was exhausted and just wanted it to be over but we had had an incredible three days. On top of our Huacachina desert glamping experience this was definitely a highlight of my trip.
