We flew to Lima and then on to Cusco, which is in southeastern Peru in the Urubamba Valley of the Andes. Cusco is high at 11,200 feet and was the capital of the Inca empire. We spent three days in Cusco hiking and sightseeing while becoming acclimated to the altitude.

After becoming acclimated, we spent 5 days hiking the classic Inca trail into Machu Picchu.  Much of the trail consists of rock steps that constructed by the Inca’s. This can make the hiking more difficult as you need to continually watch where you step to avoid stumbling.  We celebrated Travis, Haley, and Cameron’s 20th birthday the first night on the trail.  The trail reaches 14,000 feet at Dead Woman’s Pass on the second day of the hike.  The trail terminates at the Sun Gate entrance into Machu Picchu.  We spent a day hiking around Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca’s discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.