Today we start our hike with another mountain to climb and everyone jokingly complains. Our first stop is during this initial ascent is an ancient control site, used by the Inca to monitor the flow of people who used the trail.
Looking down on the Inca ruins
We take a short break at today first mountain pass.
A view from the pass
Hiking up to the next ruin to explore.
My favorite section of the Inca Trail has to be the cloud forest. It is my favorite not because of the fewer hills or more level path or the cooler temperatures, it's because of the abundance of vegetation and the absolutely breathtaking views. The trail takes us through tunnels of trees and stone. We hike the edge of mountain cliffs where blow us is a lush green forest canopy. It is this section of the trail that I wanted to share with my parents. My dad loves to camp, my mom... not so much. They both love breathtaking views and the trail does not let them down.
Entering the cloud forest The kids making their way down stairs in the cloud forest Samuel petting a llama
Our final campsite is located at the highest elevation of any of our campsites. Off in the distance we can see the "Sun Gate", if we squint. The ladies decide to have a mini spa, uncle Bill is off to take pictures of birds and Samuel and I go explore some unrestored nearby ruins.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
2 months ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
3 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.