The trail was fairly straight forward, including the second day which took us back up to 4,200 meters again, to cross the Dead Woman's Pass. Along the way we saw numerous Inca terraces and buildings, and lots of flowers, plants and birds. Marco identified them all.
He even took us to a couple of un-restored Inca sites which, to us, was probably the highlight of the trail. These are off the trail and, in fact, Marco had only been to one of them twice before. First you have lots of jungle and then, suddenly, under the jungle you see terraces, and houses, and store rooms, and temples and fountains – all grown over by trees and vines. Just like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’! It does make you realise how much restoration it takes to bring a place like Machu Picchu to the condition it is now in.
He even took us to a couple of un-restored Inca sites which, to us, was probably the highlight of the trail. These are off the trail and, in fact, Marco had only been to one of them twice before. First you have lots of jungle and then, suddenly, under the jungle you see terraces, and houses, and store rooms, and temples and fountains – all grown over by trees and vines. Just like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’! It does make you realise how much restoration it takes to bring a place like Machu Picchu to the condition it is now in.
