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- Aug 14, 2017
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“Wonderful, fabulous” Inca Trail Deluxe Trek
MM Trekker Barbara Gessaman shares her latest trekking experience — our Inca Trail Deluxe.
The Inca Trail Deluxe trip was fabulous, as are all of the treks I have taken with Mountain Madness (six in all). This trip was my grandsons’ first trip at altitude, and they did well — the trekking bug has bitten. Our guide, Julio, was wonderful. He knew and relayed to us so much about the history of the Incas and Machu Picchu. He made our trip especially meaningful; we learned a lot. I really appreciated Julio’s knowledge of the flora and fauna, since I am interested in gardening and native plants.
Our tour of Cuzco was so fascinating. The stone buildings and their construction methods were amazing. Seeing the old cathedrals and Inca temples — WOW. And talk about deluxe, the hotels were certainly that! Julio also took us to really great restaurants where we could get an authentic taste of Peruvian food. We all tried guinea pig and alpaca, not bad — actually quite good.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=c6e763e06328620ae181f680ea742945 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=2902cbfac7eac39d2b58c0b66be33401 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=32ee863cfba3d8b32d93f54ca1f86171 600w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=24201e0b22e3b6785201a2cd5955ea17 600w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=58f3f935d7bd69beeedfd73aea22379b 600w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=09d3ba7182561203a90c6512b6494c11 600w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=0815ba5b86a1bd42e100f3428ad1f9ad 600w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FInca_stonework.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=90d1d5e741d3a784fe5ba2d257229fd9 600w)
Inca stonework. MM archive photo
The trek to Machu Picchu was fabulous. It rained almost every day, but why not — we were in the cloud forest. I mentioned to our group that if the sun was shining while we were trekking, we would be so hot we would wish for cloud cover. To our delight, the sun did come out when we got to Machu Picchu. As we trekked, the Inca history began to unfold. Seeing the irrigation system the Inca people created was unbelievable. When we arrived at Machu Picchu, we were all in awe of the stunning ruins. Julio gave us a wonderful narration of what we were seeing.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=91656f4f54aa0fac3c43fb66d292ada6 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=048bf061c7c64802ed4e1d7450dffb26 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=2f2bd7c799c1bfdf0da929163373e1d0 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=d6668fab6f11f35244c0af3ea1df6c5c 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=cc5d632c853abcf36cba6e17732e88e1 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=6dbcf4dc1f84902da10f146d42e83096 1200w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=1fe47a688f3aaa41f320386c19c241ef 1400w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2F0012-14-50_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=90419bc2c7250c7015b951a151d9af72 1600w)
Machu Picchu from the gate. MM archive photo
Our lunches along the trail were delicious and gave us a nice respite. All of our trail meals were delicious, thanks to our very talented cooks. They even made a birthday cake for one of our group! The porters were so kind and helpful. After carrying all of the gear up and down the trail, they always had a smile and cheered us as we arrived at our camp site each day.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=fd2be024d2e8f63673de09a41adc798e 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=da1a8258194bfc7b05655110dab19936 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=47269d5fb54b7dac0a5bd54fb0eedc07 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=64b8e40e8c410579da1a1986a34d7c97 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=67cab55b164d7c8fc5188fbe54913bbf 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=b89b53b4cefc35ea18a60199cd4909a5 1025w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=c74f846b9d6e2c51cf0481275a9e67ea 1025w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FPorters_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=09c16153195fa536b900b1f71cd1bc3c 1025w)
Inca Trail porters. MM archive photo
Finally, let me say that our stay at the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel was exquisite. The grounds of the hotel were lovely and very relaxing. We took heavenly showers, and all made appointments to have a massage. The hot water bottles placed in our beds while we were eating our dinner was a welcomed surprise. The train ride back to Cusco was so relaxing; we were able to look out at the scenery, and yes, take little naps.
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=99728b23adda299da722d5f51821ba02 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=cae489a94d45749fa6ae2d4be551e318 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=62f29475fef6644af290a78ce6bbcb6e 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=e3d24963b1c726bff3bbf2dfc73867ed 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=9f60f584b2bff4472c0c9fdb2bdd60d3 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=33a3c05e0bd6dbd20dd9f36ff6baef40 1200w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=09148ec8f830d2176566d954fd58aec8 1280w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FGroup_up_high_2048.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=cb90339096f98250ca1c90e246e59c9c 1280w)
Inca Trail Deluxe group with trail switchbacks in the distance. Barbara Gessaman (right) photo
Thank you Mountain Madness for putting together such a wonderful, fabulous trek. You never disappoint.