Inca Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

The Inca Jungle Trek

There aren’t many things in life that can successfully shut me up for a prolonged period of time. But I can tell you that the first time I laid eyes upon Machu Picchu, I was speechless. And it wasn’t because I was out of breath from the 2,000 steps.

Our 4-day adventure had taken us through a myriad of experiences.

We descended from 4,200m to 2,000m on mountain bikes in Santa Maria.

We rafted with a crazy guide who was determined to make sure that we felt like our lives were constantly in danger.

We hiked from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa through jungle terrain which involved significant heights, narrow paths and way too many bridges.

We tried everything that the jungle had to offer – delicious passionfruit plucked from the tree, not-so-delicious termites also freshly plucked from a tree, coca leaves, coffee beans, alcohol with a dead snake in it and saw some pretty cute animals.

We recovered from our hike in our first hot springs of the trip.

We zip lined from mountain to mountain, upright, upside down and holding hands.

We even crossed a completely unnecessary suspension bridge that literally brought me to tears.

But when day 4 arrived, we couldn’t contain the excitement. The wave of exhaustion immediately passed as we stood there, completely captivated and in awe of the beauty that was before us.

It didn’t matter that we were functioning on 3 hours sleep, or that the damn rooster kept crowing, or that despite our decision to hike up the steps to ensure we were one of the first there, the bus group still beat us to it. We couldn’t believe it. And honestly, no matter how many photos you’ve seen, nothing prepares you for it.

We were really here. Machu Picchu. And it was simply beautiful.

We highly recommend doing the Inca Jungle Trek if you have the time. But don’t just take it from us, visiting Machu Picchu is the top of every Latin America bucket list and is often listed as other travellers’ Top 10 Highlights in South America.

Want some extra reading:
Read about the hiking to Machu Picchu by 7 Continents 1 Passport

See more of our Inca Jungle Trek highlights here:

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