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Mondays are for dreaming: The Inca Trail with kids

By Mara

Machu Picchu from Wayna Picchu by Peter West Carey

I know lots of people who have hiked the Inca Trail including my father and stepmother who love to trek and have done so on almost every continent. But I’d never really thought about it as an option for a family trip. And then over the weekend I checked in with Wandermom (aka Michelle Duffy) who is two months into a yearlong world journey with her sons and husband and who just hiked to Macchu Pichu with her kids.

That’s what I love about the online family travel community – I’m constantly inspired by other bloggers to consider doing things I’d never thought of before. And so I’m fully into dreaming mode now, imagining taking in the views:

Morning mist on the Inca Trail by Peter West Carey

exploring the ruins:

Ruins at Machu Picchu by Peter West Carey

and maybe making some new friends:

Making friends on the Inca Trail by Peter West Carey

As Michelle points out in her post, completing the trek isn’t easy. First there’s acclimating to the altitude. Then there’s the fact that the classic hike (the one that most people do) takes four days, with three nights of camping. Portions are very steep and the charm of scenery and ruins can run thin when legs get tired and bodies get cold and wet. But as Michelle demonstrates with a lot of encouragement and a little flexibility, like allowing an occasional soda and candy bar and not insisting that children explore every nook and cranny of every ruin, a hike like this is completely possible and ultimately rewarding. I can’t wait to read her description of arriving at the Sun Gate, as awesome an experience as I’m sure most children ever have. (Update: it turns out that the Machu Picchu experience is perhaps a little less, er, spiritual with kids but still worthwhile in every way.)

Michelle’s boys are 9 and 13. That gives me four years to prepare and dream if we were to follow in her footsteps (and to convince Matt that this would be fun – no fan of camping he). I think that’s long of enough, and as of this Monday it’s officially on the list, so I hope you’ll check back to see if it becomes a dream realized. In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures in this post courtesy of Peter West Carey, who is yet to take his daughter to Peru (“maybe in a few years,” he says) but who will be back there again himself in a few months, taking more gorgeous pictures I’m sure. And if you’ve got your own Monday dream, feel free to share it below (just link back to this post please – see here for details).

All photos in this post courtesy of Peter West Carey. (Word to the wise: he sells prints and calendars and will even photograph your wedding!)

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Filed Under: Dreaming of, Peru

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Comments

  1. Anna Moffat says

    November 1, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    What a dream! And what an inspiration Michelle is to be travelling the world with her kids. Right, I have 8 years… 🙂

  2. Marina K. Villatoro says

    November 2, 2010 at 11:24 am

    I never thought of the Inca trail as a family adventure possibility but I guess it might be fun. Now I only have to wait for my 6 month old boy to grow a bit more 🙂

  3. Amy @ The Q Family says

    November 3, 2010 at 11:54 am

    It’s one of my dream but never thought about going with my kids. But Michelle’s post did make me think that it’s possible. 🙂

  4. minor catastrophes says

    November 4, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    Gotta think these are the kinds of adventures that would change a kid’s life. Gorgeous photos — makes me want to go!

I'm a family travel expert & award-winning writer who loves to eat. Explore this site and you'll find lots of stories about my adventures, and family travel tips. More about Mara

The Family Traveler's Handbook: Inspiring Families to See the World

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"packed with enough tips and vacation ideas that even a veteran traveler can learn how to plan, pack, or book their next trip smarter." Jen Leo, LA Times Travel Web Buzz columnist

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