Inca mummies in Arequipa

Sarita was found sitting cross-legged in the sun, just north of here on Sara Sara mountain. She's more than 500 years old and one of eight of handful of children found in this region, frozen in ice, all of them sacrificial offerings to ancient gods.

Sarita is a little different from the other children. She's a little older, probably in her late teens. She sits cross-legged, the others lie in a foetal position. She's in the worst shape, exposed to the sun for much longer than the others before she was found. Despite this, her hair long dark hair is shiny, her fingernails and teeth are in tact, and skin still covers most of her body.

Sarita is not normally the main attraction at Museo Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa. She shares the spotlight with Juanita, a teenage girl hidden by the Ampato Volcano for more than 500 years. Juanita has been better preserved than Sarita. Her mummified body was discovered in 1995, when an eruption from a nearby volcano melted Ampato's ice cap, allowing expeditions into its crater for the first time.

Both girls have large cracks in their skulls, caused by a blunt object just moments before their bodies were wrapped in blankets and left on the mountain. It's widely believed that they would have climbed the mountain, aware of their fate, clad in ceremonial dress and woven flip flops which offered little protection against the cold and snow. Small figurines, pots and momentos were found with each girl. Like Sarita and Juanita, these have been carefully preserved and help us understand their story, their culture, and the reasons why they gave their lives willingly to the mountains.

The sacred valley of the Incas

Waz and Carl and the slowest cab driver ever

We're nothing if not ambitious. Before setting out on the Inca trail, we'd hatched a plan to cycle around the Sacred Valley. We'd even gone so far as to source bikes and plot a route. But things change, right?

After two days partying in Cusco with our Inca trail buddies, we were in no state to bike anywhere so we booked a cab, dragged ourselves out of bed before noon and set off in search of the Inca secrets hidden outside Cusco.

Stop one: Pisac
The site of an Inca fortress, set high above a small bustling market village and surrounded by curved terraces, almost entirely unbroken by steps. Across the gorge at the back of the site, the cliffs are pockmarked with holes left by grave robbers looking for treasures in ancient Inca tombs.

Pisac

Stop two: Ollantaytambo
Another large Inca fortress protects the town of Ollantaytambo, one of the best surviving examples of Inca city planning. This is where Manco Inca fled after his defeat at Saqsaywaman and where he successfully fought off Hernando Pizarro before retreating further into the jungle to Vilcabamba.

Stop three: Moray
Some suggest Moray was a giant petri dish which allowed the Incas to determine the best climate for growing different crops. It consists of three large round terraced amphitheatres, each one producing various micro climates.

Waz in the largest amphitheatre

Now, we´re on an overnight bus again, heading to Arequipa. We´ve said goodbye to Dave for the last time, but we´ve still got Waz. He´s revelling in his first ´full cama´ experience - fully reclining chairs, dinner and movies, he´s like a kid in a candy store. Wait till he feels the pleasure of flying out of your seat while the driver speeds like a madman around mountains in the dead of night.

Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas

Carl eats his sandwich and looks smug (he got cheese with his and we didn't)

We're looking smug again. We're watching busloads of tourists pile into Machu Picchu and we're wondering which ones are going to complain about the walk uphill from the ticket gates to the entrance. And we're preparing what we'll say if they complain within earshot, none of it nice but then we reckon we've earned it.

We reached the Sun Gate at about six this morning. Carl, Dave and Waz were among the first to get there in a testosterone-fueled race to the top, but we were all rewarded with a clear morning and perfect views over the entire site.

Emma reaches Machu Picchu ... finally

We're knackered now, that's for sure. The boys are using all their reserves to race up Wanya Picchu, a steep mountain at the back of the ruins. I'm taking the opportunity to rest my weary legs on a terrace with spectacular views to the valley below.

Llama Path, our tour agency, have given us t-shirts as souvenirs of the trek, but we don't think they effectively convey how we feel this morning, having conquered Machu Picchu and the ancient path of the Incas. We've decided we want our t-shirts to send a clear message to daytrippers: "We walked four days to get here, now get the hell out of our way".

We don't want to be rude, but we do want right of way today. Step aside, trainos.

So much testosterone ... the boys conquer Wanya Pinchu

More photos from day four

Happy birthday Carlos! (and day three of the Inca trail)

We could have learned a lot from the Incas. After 500 years, their buildings are still standing, their aqueducts flow freely, and their terraces bear lush crops.

Winay Wayna, the most impressive Inca site so far

Winay Wayna is the final Inca site before Machu Picchu, and it's one of the most impressive. We spent a couple of hours exploring it this afternoon, debating its purpose. The most popular theory is that it was giant open-air laboratory, where the Incas tested their agricultural methods. Others believe that it was some sort of ceremonial site based on its proximity to Machu Picchu. For us, it is the beginning of the end. The only thing standing between us and Machu Picchu is a little guard post and one final mountain. In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, we'll make the mad two-hour dash to the Sun Gate to see the sun rise over the lost city of the Incas. Let's hope the clouds haven't followed us this far.

This is also as far as our porters go. Tomorrow we are on our own. There'll be no cold drinks waiting for us when we arrive and no 'happy hour' popcorn, but it's no time to be sad. It's Carl's 29th birthday and the sun is shining.

Beers all round!

More photos from day three

If only ...

Today has been a day of ups and downs: up to Warmiwanusca (dead woman's pass), the highest pass on the Inca trail at 4200m; down to Paqaymayo at 3500m, a bone-jarring and treacherous descent in wet weather; up to the second pass at 3950m; and down to the ruins of Phuyupatamarka and our campsite at about 3500m.

Waz on the ascent to dead woman's pass

There was a point in all this when we thought it was all over for Waz. We were halfway up dead woman's pass. Getting to the top seemed an impossible feat for all of us, but Waz looked particularly rough. He was sweating rivers and had turned a deathly shade of white. Carl and I discussed whether we were morally obliged to head back down with him if things went totally pear-shaped. We decided we weren't. We'd chuck him on the nearest donkey and send him on his way. We'd come too far and endured too much pain to turn back now. He'd have to go it alone.

Luckily it didn't come to that. He made it. We made it. And the clouds made it. They cloaked the valley below robbing us of the satisfaction you get when you look back and marvel at how far you've come.

Carl celebrates at dead woman's pass

But there was another point in all this when we thought it was all over for Waz. We arrived at our lunch stop with wobbly legs and aching joints after walking down slippery steps for nearly two hours. He arrived with grazes and bloody knees, but had thankfully stopped short of throwing himself off the side of the mountain to the valley below.

If only the Incas had built tunnels through mountains rather than paths over them. If only.

More photos from day two

Don't be fooled!

Carl took this happy snap at the start of the Inca trail, before we fully realised what we'd gotten ourselves into. Seven hours of uphill hiking later and things look a little different. We've climbed from 2200m to our campsite at 3000m. It wasn't a steep climb, just constant, and a little tougher than we'd expected on our first day. We're knackered, our limbs are stiff, and we're dreading tomorrow's ascent to dead woman's pass.

Our guide, Wilbur, says he's impressed by our level of fitness and normally we'd encourage this kind of flattery, but we know he's lying and lies aren't going to get us to 4200m tomorrow. All we can hope for now is good weather and some dogged determination to get us through. Unfortunately, at this point, neither look hopeful.

More photos from day one

Cuzco takes its toll

Okay, I'll admit it. Our preparation for the Inca trail has been less than ideal. Our nights in Cuzco have been long and messy, and our days devoid of strenuous activity. Physically we're in bad shape.

Today's trip to the Inca ruins just outside Cuzco could be a bad omen. We got a cab to drop us at Tambomachay, the site of a ceremonial stone bath known as El Bano del Inca, and walked downhill to Saqsaywaman, a large Inca fort made of massive stones that was used as a base in the fight against the Spaniards. The sites themselves were pretty cool - those Incas were clever little buggers - but the 6km walk hurt more than it should have.

One stone in Saqsaywaman weighs 300 tonnes

Yesterday's wander around the old town was a little more positive. We took in Qorikancha, which was once the richest temple in the Inca empire until the Spaniards built a church on top of it, marvelled at the 12-sided stone of Hatunrumiyoc, and strolled through the narrow cobblestone streets of the San Blas district. But following it with a massive bender was not a good idea.

We've behaved ourselves tonight. Is it enough to get us over Dead Women's pass in two days time? I highly doubt it.

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Tacky Titi Tours

One of the local women on the Isla Flotantes

We like the way they settle disputes in the Isla Flotantes (floating reed islands). It's simple really: remove the anchors from your neighbours island so they drift away in the middle of the night, or saw your island in half and rid yourself of any problem family members.

That's the way its been for the Aymaran people of Lake Titicaca for centuries and they see no reason to change this aspect of their lives. They've changed so much already. For example, Hugo, the president of this island, shows us the solar panels which have brought them electricity and light. That means no more candles, which can only be good news on an island made of dry reeds. Synthetic rope has replaced the straw used by their ancestors because it lasts 10 years longer. And, unsurprisingly, tourism has surpassed fishing as their main source of income.

Today, unfortunately, we were tourists not travellers. A lack of time had forced us onto one of those horrible day tours that make you feel like you've regressed to childhood and need to be told where to go, what to do, and how long to spend there. We tried to minimise the damage by choosing a company which:

• guaranteed there would be no more than 15 people on the tour
• didn't provide lunch
• was dirt cheap

But we were sorely disappointed. There were 25 people on our tour and too many sock-and-sandal combinations. The multilingual guide told bad jokes in Spanish and English, and at the end of our visit Hugo's family lined up and sung songs in Aymaran and Spanish. At best, it was cringeworthy. At worst, degrading ... and sad that people like Hugo believe people aren't going to be happy simply learning more about their culture.

A local Taquille woman rests in the main square

Stop two on the tour was Isla Taquille. Named after its Spanish founder, the Isla Taquille is as beautiful as the Isla del Sol and thankfully remains relatively free of tacky tourism.

The locals still make their living from agriculture, but they are known throughout South America for the quality of their textiles. They still wear their traditional dress, including the children at the local school, which makes us think its not just for our benefit. The men wander through the main square knitting, wearing short waistcoats, colourful cumberbunds and woollen hats that denote their marital status. White hats for single men, red hats for married men, and colourful beanies for the leaders elected each year by the community.

You can only buy Taquille textiles on the island. The prices are set by the community and each item is numbered so that the money goes back to the family that made it.

Of course, the tour agency tried their best to hijack this visit as well. Lunch wasn't included but our ever-helpful guide steered us to a restaurant. All the restaurants on the island serve the same food, he claimed, so we might as well eat at this one. Plus the family were going to perform ... surely we wanted to hang around and see that? Surely not.

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Bordering on stupid

I forgot that I'd only been given 30 days to see Bolivia. That's nowhere near enough time, which could explain why we've stayed an extra four days without realising until half an hour ago, on the way to the Peruvian border. In fact, we would have stayed longer if:

• Liverpool wasn't playing Arsenal. We'd planned to stay on the Isla del Sol for one more night until Carl realised there was no television on the island. Instead, we wound up back in Copacabana getting ridiculously drunk with a couple of crazy Londoners. (I know I can't believe we travelled all the way to Bolivia to watch football with Londoners either)
• We didn't have a date with the Inca trail in five days, and weren´t meeting Warwick and Dave in Cusco for some drinking ... um, I mean training.
  

Anyway, an extra four days in Bolivia is usually enough to earn you a fine and a bit of hassle at the border. But I didn't hang around to plead my case. Before the immigration officer knew what had happened, I was gone, across the border and into Peru. Next stop: Puno, the largest town on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca and the jump off point for the famous/infamous reed islands.

Inca creationism on the Isla del Sol

Walking in the footsteps of the first Incas

This is it. The Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). The place where life began. Or at least, that´s what the native Quechuan and Aymaran people will tell you. It´s the story of their ancestors that has been passed on for centuries - creationism, Inca-style. Pre-Inca people believed that the island was the birthplace of the sun and the god-king, Viracocha. The Incas believed that the first Incas, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, mystically appeared here and decided they needed an empire. And, would you believe it, a hundred odd years later they had one.

Of course, nothing that exciting happened here today, but we can see why the Incas believed the island was special.

We left the shores of Copacabana this morning in an overloaded and completely unseaworthy wooden boat, which sputtered it´s way across Lake Titicaca in three long hours. The island is on the Bolivian side of the lake, hence the unseaworthy boat. In any other country, you´d at least have the choice of a giant ferry or a fast boat. But this is Bolivia, so the only way is the local way. It´s part of what we love about this crazy country.

If it wasn´t for the llamas, you´d be excused for thinking you were in the Mediterranean

Lake Titicaca itself is really just a big lake at altitude. It´s 3280m above sea level, but from what we´ve read the jury's still out on whether it's actually the highest navigable lake in the world. Regardless, it´s high enough to make breathing difficult and close enough to the sun to make you fry.

The Isla del Sol is home to 2500 permanent residents, ancient ruins, spectacular hiking tracks, and beautiful vistas. We took the high path across the island, from the Temple del Sol in the north to the growing village of Yumani in the south.

House-building in Yumani is a community event

It took us about four hours, although I wouldn´t say that we exerted ourselves. Everything happens slowly at altitude and the Isla del Sol is no exception. We ran into some people we´d met in Argentina, deliberated at length over the Rock of the Puma (couldn´t see it!), thought about picnicking on an Inca table until we realised it was originally used for human sacrifice, dodged llamas, donkeys and a man walking his pigs, and eventually were greeted in Yumani by local kids touting cheap accommodation and hot showers.

Now we've got a bottle of wine and have settled in to watch the sunset. Yep, life is tough.

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