This summer, we had the incredible opportunity to embark on a trip that would take us to the magical Machu Picchu through 43 kilometers immersed in the Andes. Despite experiencing altitude sickness during our stay in Cusco, where we spent 2 or 3 days acclimatizing, I can't help but remember what I felt when planning a 4-day hike with my family through mountains, natural stairs, ups and downs to a remote and wonderful place. The Inca Trail awaited us: we would sleep in tents, far from toilets, drinking water and the comfort of a clean bed to rest at night. My curious children asked me again and again why they should be part of this adventure. Furthermore, we would be without an internet connection for 4 days, without access to the Wi-Fi that we are so used to.
However, once we began our journey, and were given our walking poles and water backpacks, all uncertainty disappeared. After only 4 hours on the road, peace of mind and the certainty that we were doing the right thing returned to my heart. I remembered why I wanted to take this trip with my children so badly, as I had traveled the same path with my husband 5 years earlier.
To say that we walk together step by step would be a big lie. With a difference of three decades, the pace of hiking in the mountains is very different. However, the experience itself is simply unique. Is it the landscape? The locals? The immensity of nature? The accumulated fatigue? Meeting other tourists, some running and others going slower? The presence of the Apus? The mountains who are asked permission to chew coca leaves? The stories of the guides, who not only share their knowledge, but also their own experiences of taking thousands of tourists with different motivations?
It's all that and more. It is the infinite presence of the Milky Way on a clear, starry night. They are the steps carved hundreds of years ago by a civilization that extended from Chile to southern Colombia. It is having witnessed the amazement of my children in front of the imposing snow-capped mountains of Vilcabamba, while they enjoyed freshly harvested and juicy fruit, just what we needed to regain energy. It is exploring the ruins of the tambos, places of rest and planting, among the mountains, and finally arriving at the city of Machu Picchu. There, we learned more about their history and customs, while the walls told us about their existence. We admire the skills of the sculptors and architects as we see the walls of the apparently religious enclosures with a perfect finish and fit.
Machu Picchu, also known as a great energy portal, is much more than a tourist place. It is an experience that everyone should have at least once in their life. It is a trip that connects you with nature, history and the essence of an ancient culture. It is a reminder of the greatness of humanity and our ability to stand in awe at the majesty of the world around us.
Machu Picchu through the Inca Trail is more than a place, it is more than a destination, it is an experience immune to boredom, a family experience that must be lived.
