Our Great Adventure: Inca Trail/Machu Picchu Day 272 17/06/2015

It was another cold night although Diane was warmer thanks to wearing less clothes allowing the sleeping bag to warm up and snuggingly up to Simon. Unfortunately Simon had a less pleasant night. We woke before dawn, planning to walk the short distance to see the sunrise over Nevado Salkantay which at 6271m is one of the highest peaks in the area. There was a bit of lack of communication and Wilfrado and Nick headed off with the two American families leaving Ann, Ted and us behind. We soon caught up and enjoyed a wonderful sunrise and panoramic views. Back in camp we had breakfast al fresco, pancakes and honey. The cook team and porters were leaving us today so we said our goodbyes, took the customary group photos and finally set off. Karen and Nick headed off first in an attempt to cover some ground before we caught up. Not far from camp we passed the well restored ruin of Phuyupatamarka. From here the trail descents into the cloud forest down hundreds of Inca steps. We passed through another tunnel and eventually reached Intipata where we stopped for lunch, al fresco. The food on the trek has been excellent and we weren't disappointed with our last meal, Lomo Saltado for the meat eaters and mushroom Saltado for the vegetatians. The only minor diversion was when a leech dropped on the table! Karen and Nick arrived just as we finished eating and we waited for them to have lunch before continuing to Winay Wayna, another spectacular site set on steep terracing. From here the trail contours through the cloud forest where various species of orchid grow that Wilfrado pointed out to us. After a lung busting very steep set of steps we arrived at Intipunku, the Sun Gate and entrance to Machu Picchu. The view was stunning, not only the citadel itself but the spectacular location perched on the mountain top amongst magnificent scenery. We waited for Karen, Peter and Nick to arrive enjoying the serenity and taking in the views, the benefit of arriving late in the day was that there were few people at the gate. Infact despite 500 people (including guides, porters etc) being allowed on the trail each day we saw very few fellow trekkers outside the campsites. From the Sun Gate it's a gradual descent to the ruins. By the time we arrived the sight had closed and we were lucky enough to witness it with no visitors, an amazing and truly memorable experience. Unfortunately we didn't have time to linger as we had to catch the bus down to Aguas Calientes where we were staying the night. The views as we drove down the series of switch backs were stunning. To our surprise we weren't all staying at the same hotel and despite best efforts to arrange to meet for dinner it soon became evident that this wasn't feasible as the others had dinner included. It was disappointing that we weren't able to have a celebratory last meal together. We walked the short distance from the bus stop to the Hutan Samay hotel, collected our kit bags that which had been dropped off earlier in the day, showered and headed for a cold beer to celebrate. We had dinner with Ann and Ted in a nearby restaurant before heading back to the comforts of a bed!