Most people hike the Inca Trail in 4 days. On Day 4, they wake up at 4am to rush the last leg of the trail, in the hopes of reaching the Sun Gate at sunrise. Now, if any of you have done this, please let us know if it was worth it. We gambled that it wasn't, and took the slow approach. It was very peaceful on the trail and we felt amazing when we reached the Sun Gate in the afternoon and saw our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Whew! All of the ruins along the trail were impressive, but when we saw how BIG Machu Picchu was, we understood the true power of the Incas.
It was all downhill from there. We hiked down to the bottom of Machu Picchu to catch a bus to Aguas Caliente for the night. On the way down we passed a dramatic rock formation that was...um, well...used for "sacrifices". We didn't linger there!
(Day 4 was also the only day we saw llamas on the trail!)
