Our plan was to cross the Vilcabamba range in Peru, possibly a little ambitious given that we weren’t hikers, trekkers or even walkers. Sure, we had done the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and Tiger Leaping Gorge in China but we had never set out on an expedition like this before. Especially not by ourselves. 

As the magnificent peak of Padrayoc loomed to our right, and the Apurimac River roared below we felt the rush of adventure in our veins. It was this that kept us going for our bodies certainly weren’t equipped for the tough trail ahead of us! The idea for this trek had come four years earlier, when a Peruvian friend and I were out in a remote village and had met an old gnarled farmer on our trail. He had struck up a conversation with my friend in Quechua, the language of the Incas. 

The old man had pointed at the path and said it lead to fabulous old Inca sites and crossed the Vilcabamba ranges. It was a chance conversation, but planted a seed that was to lay dormant for several years. 

In the intervening period I learnt more about the Qhapaq Nan, the 3000 kilometre Inca road network that linked all their cities and towns and ran from Chile to Colombia. Today, the famous Inca Trail is the most publicized and traversed, but not the only remaining part of the ancient Qhapaq Nan, with its central city - Cusco (the Belly Button of the world). 

Finally, we were back in Peru. We planned to hike from Cachora to Choquequirao, onto the ruins of Vitcos and others in the Vilcabamba valley, before ending at Espirtu Pampa, deep in the jungle and the last capital of the Incas. Visiting many travel agencies around the delightful Plaza de Armas (Central Square) of Cusco, most agencies simply said it couldn’t be done. Others had a vague idea it was possible but wanted to charge us a fortune! 

In the end, we went with a Peruvian friend to act as Quechua interpreter - most of the people in the remote high Peruvian Andes still only speak this old Indian language.  We later hired muleteers to carry the camping equipment for the expedition, which we calculated could last as long as 25 days. We found that not only did they know the route, they did it frequently with their mules, carrying supplies through to remote communities that didn’t even exist on a map. 

The ruins of Choquequirao were discovered by Europeans in 1819.  They whetted the appetite of American explorer Hiram Bingham, and eventually led him to reveal fabulous Machu Picchu to the world! At 3500 metres, perched high above the raging Apurimac River,  the Choguequirao ruins are mysterious and extremely hard to get to. After a two day trip down to the river at 1600 metres, and back up to the village, we finally caught up with the young hiker who has been relishing having the ruins to himself. He claims to have hiked all around the world and says he has never before arrived at such an inspiring place.   He added that the hike is tough – even by his standards – though this consolation didn’t ease our screaming muscles!

Condors glide on currents in the canyon, as the sun set over a truly breathtaking scene. The next day, as the young hiker waved us off into uncharted territory, he smiled, “I’m jealous – what you are doing is a real adventure.”

As we descended to another river valley and then climbed for 12 hours straight up we wondered about this adventure business. It just felt like pure pain. We camped just below the snow line, with magnificent snow capped peaks so close we felt we could touch them. Above us, the stars were almost within reach in an incredible night sky. We talked with our muleteers about the stars and they told us stories that had been handed down in families since Inca times. 

If you asked us to summarise this trek in two words it would be “up” and “down” – as we continued onwards, almost stumbling into villages of stone houses with thatched roofs. People were friendly and excited to see us, clasping our hands and offering greetings in Quechua. 

Whilst hiking, life seems to slow down. There are no responsibilities; there is nothing but your body and nature. Overloaded with the intense stimulation of the modern world, it took us several days to wind down and begin to really see what was around us. Wild and wonderful plants and their abundant flowers; small birds flitted from tree to bush and even insects began to gain our attention. 

The sight of an Inca road winding up the Choquecatarpo pass excited me more than one would imagine – it was as if we have discovered it  - and we speculated on its construction and that hundreds of years ago Inca feet trod on that very path.  Were they alone, like us, or was this a busy route. I guess we will never know! 

We visited Vitcos where, after the Spanish conquest, the Incas retreated deep into the jungle where they built their last capital at Espirtu Pampa. 

One night we camped close to the ruins of Puncuyoc where a little old lady lived in a mud hut – she said that the last foreigner that had passed through was modern day American explorer Vincent Lee.  A tiny building, perched in the cleft between two mountains, the Puncuyoc ruins are indeed little visited and the Spanish never got there.  Most other ruins, like Machu Picchu, are actually heavily restored, but these are said to the most perfectly preserved ruins of the Inca empire.  We were certainly blown away by the tenacity of its builders! 

We have gone from the highest peaks of the Andes to the Amazon jungle and followed ancient Inca trails; we have shared snowstorms at 3,500 metres and torrential tropical rains. The sense of achievement is inspirational; as we sat around our campfire on our final night we reflected on what we had done.

We had followed in the footsteps of explorers – and we had challenged ourselves beyond what we thought imaginable.  And we still didn’t know if we were hikers!
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