Peru Diaries 3 - Hiking in the Andes

If you are visiting Peru you MUST hike the Andes. Yes it is tough and the altitude will get to you but it is all worth it. The food that you devour as you lick the last morsel off your plate, the scenery that you see on your way up the mountains and the locals you will mingle with; will all be worth it. It is a truly unique experience.
We were picked up by Ruben our tour guide at 5:30 am in the morning; along with him were 2 ever eager helpers - the porter and the cook with their horses. We trekked from 6 am till 7 pm that night. In those 13 hours we crossed 10 mountains, saw the most beautiful valley that was covered with purple flowers and tested our limits as far as altitude sickness goes; but it was all worth it.
It was just us, nature and of-course ever eager Ruben prodding us along when we felt we could not go any further. We camped in Huchuy Cuzco which was where the Inca's first settled. We slept like babies that night. The next morning we woke up to see the sun rising over the beautiful mountains - it was magnificent. We continued to a small town called Lamay from where we would make our way to Aguas Caliente - which is the town that rests in the foothills of Machu Pichu.