One of the things we were most worried about during our trip to Peru was Day 2 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. It is the most strenuous hiking day as well as the day you hike to the highest altitude. From what we had read and heard from other people, it was the most challenging for those trying to complete this hike. Here is our experience from Day 2 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu including how hard we felt it actually was.
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Waking up on Day 2
We woke up at 4:00 AM at about 10,829 feet to a hot cup of coca tea bring brought to our tent. In Cusco you will find coca tea everywhere because it is believed to help with the altitude. If you have it in tea form it is hot water and coca leaves, however, along the trek many people simply chew on the coca leaves along with sugar. Waking up to a hot cup of tea was the best way to start our second day!
We had about thirty minutes to get dressed, brush our teeth and get our stuff organized. We kept our water bottle (I prefer this one because it’s easier to drink while hiking), snacks, jackets, ponchos, camera equipment, and a few other items in our backpacks. My 40L backpack was about halfway full and Dave’s 44L backpack had plenty of extra room even with our camera bag inside. Items we did not need until night time such as our toothbrushes, extra clothes and sleeping bags were put in the duffle bags. Those are brought to the next camp site with the porters. It is super easy to figure out because the guides explain it all!
- Since this was our first morning on the trek, one thing we weren’t sure about was brushing our teeth. We simply brushed our teeth normally, rinsed with bottled water and spit somewhere in the dirt. It is a lot more simple than we thought it would be.
- The other thing we weren’t sure about along the way were bathrooms. At our campsite was a bathroom tent with a toilet that was almost like a composting toilet. There was also a squat toilet close to this campsite that you could use.
Breakfast on day 2 consisted of Nutella pancakes, omelettes, fruit and coffee and tea. They were some seriously good pancakes too!
Starting to Hike
We started to hike on day 2 at about 5:15 AM. Immediately we started hiking up. It was mostly stairs so we were again thankful to have trekking poles to take some pressure off our knees. We hiked for about 45 minutes or one quarter of the way before stopping to take a break. We stopped and had an opportunity to use the bathroom (a very clean bathroom) and take pictures. It was also the last opportunity to buy something along the way such as gatorade or snacks.
- We brought a bunch of these packets that were so nice to mix with water when we needed a little extra something!
Around 6:45 AM we took another break to catch our breath and get some water. We took the opportunity to take some pictures as we now had a really good view of the surrounding mountains as we got higher and higher.
Read More: Day 1 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
The next 2 hours were spent huffing and puffing up stairs to get to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass which is the highest pass throughout the Inca Trail. The views throughout these two hours are absolutely stunning! You’re surrounded by mountains and get peaks of the valley and river at the bottom. The pictures don’t show nearly how high it was!
Dead Woman’s Pass
This was definitely the physically hardest part! The morning of day 2 we hiked from 10,829 feet to 13,779 feet and we absolutely felt it. Climbing that 2,950 feet was honestly pretty hard. We had been that high during our Humantay Lake trek so we definitely felt as though we were well acclimatized but the steepness of the hike was really challenging. We often had to stop to catch our breath and give our legs an opportunity to rest.
At 9:30 AM we reached the top of Dead Woman’s Pass! They estimate it to take 4 hours to hike to the top and our group actually did it a bit faster than that. Because of the steepness, everyone definitely found their own pace that day. Some were faster and some were slower and that was fine! Our guides were really good about never discouraging when one of us was taking our time.
We spent about 30 minutes at the top of Dead Woman’s Pass taking pictures and enjoying the views! We got very lucky because it was really clear when we were there and just as we were leaving the fog started rolling in.
Travel Truth: We all were pretty anxious for Dead Woman’s Pass on day 2. It’s steep and really high in altitude which means its just a little bit harder to catch your breath during those uphill stretches. But honestly it’s doable! Afterwards we all agreed yes it was hard but being nervous or anxious about it isn’t necessary. Take your time, catch your breath and remember to look around you because it’s beautiful! We did do training hikes beforehand (although not at altitude) as well as various bodyweight exercises to strengthen our legs. However, we did not do the stair master or much stair work. This is one area that could have been helpful but in the end it wasn’t necessary for us to get to the top!
Hiking Downhill
At 10:00 AM we started hiking downhill from Dead Woman’s Pass. We had a 2 hour and 2,079 feet downhill hike ahead of us. This was the first real downhill we had gotten to during our hike. The fog started to roll in along with a light rain making the pathway fairly wet. Hiking downhill on slippery rocks is not easy! We very slowly hiked down and again were thankful to have poles to steady ourselves.
We went from winter jackets, rain jackets and backpack covers in the rain to all jackets off in the sunshine during those two hours. Our guides kept reminding us the weather in this area is crazy!
Read More: Day 3 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Lunch on Day 2
We hiked downhill for just under 2 hours and got to our lunch spot, called Pacaymayu, at about 11,700 feet just before 12:00 PM. We were all thankful for a break after a long morning of both uphill and downhill. Lunch on day 2 consisted again of soup and garlic bread to start along with pasta salad, potatoes, vegetable salad, vegetable fritters and rice.
- After each meal we had the opportunity to fill up our water bottles with boiled water. Boiling the water is supposed to remove the bacteria, parasites, etc. that make it not drinkable normally. We then used our Steripen Ultra to filter it again just to be sure.
The reason day 2 is so strenuous is because after Dead Woman’s Pass you have to hike downhill quite a bit, followed by a second pass and another few hours downhill before getting to camp for the night. So while we were glad to be done with our first pass, the day was definitely not over yet!
First Archeological Site on Day 2
After lunch and a nice break we hiked uphill for about thirty minutes before getting to our first archeological site of the day. Rankuracay sits at 12,073 feet about a third of the way up the second pass of the day. We sat for about twenty minutes while our guide told us the history of the site. The Incan sites along the trek are all so impressive and one of our favorite parts of the whole experience!
We had to cut our stop a bit short as it started raining. We quickly put our rain jackets on like we had done a few times earlier that day. Only then it started absolutely pouring so we threw our backpack covers and ponchos on. A backpack cover is exactly what it sounds like, a cover to go over your backpack to prevent it from getting too wet. Our trekking company gave each of us one incase it started raining heavily.
Hiking in the Rain and Hail
It was now pouring rain and started hailing. Yes, large pieces of hail were hitting us as we stood and tried to protect ourselves about halfway up the second pass. It was honestly crazy! We all decided we just had to keep going as it was raining so hard and there wasn’t a spot to wait it out.
At 2:20 PM we made it to the top of the second pass and I think the adrenaline from the rain and hail made us all not even think about the incline we were hiking up. We were all concentrating on not stepping on our ponchos and not slipping.
- I bought rain pants at Rosly in Cusco for 25 Soles or 7.50 USD. All the other options we found in Cusco were at least 100 Soles which was much more than I was willing to spend.
- They felt like a trash bag but kept my legs a lot drier and warmer. I didn’t have a chance to put them on when it started raining. So at the top of the second pass I put them on and was so glad!
Check out my Female Packing List for Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for everything I brought with me!
The End of Day 2
We spent the next hour and a half hiking downhill still in the rain to our campsite. It was now raining so hard and had been for a while so the downhill was like hiking through a river. It was a mix of trying not to submerge our feet completely in water while also trying not to fall.
Our campsite, Choquicocha, sat at about 11,800 feet. We got to our campsite at 3:45 PM on day 2. Because of the rain our group skipped the second archeological site of the day, Sayacmarca. It was a steep staircase up and because it had been raining for so long our guides were worried it would be dangerous getting up and down. Plus we had now been hiking in the rain for almost 2 hours and were all completely drenched!
- We were disappointed to miss this site but the weather is unpredictable in this area and you just have to take it as you can!
The hardest part of day 2 was trying to figure out how to not make our tent all wet as we were completely soaked. It was a 3 person tent so we had extra space on either side of our mats and sleeping bags. But it was almost impossible to dry stuff because everything was so wet and it was so cold outside. We laid it all out as best as we could and put on all the remaining dry clothes we had from our duffle bags. It was so cold we were in our sleeping bags at 4 PM just to warm up!
We had happy hour as they call it (tea and snacks) at 5:00 PM which was an opportunity to warm up. We all drank about 4 cups of tea simply because it was so hot! Dinner quickly followed after and we were back in our tents to go to sleep by 7:30 PM.
Read More: Day 4 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Was Day 2 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Hard?
Day 2 of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was definitely the hardest day physically. We hiked for the most hours on day 2 which meant we were just more tired than the other days. It was another early wake up and two significant uphill climbs combined with two long downhill stretches. Add in a very rainy and wet day and we were exhausted!
The key to surviving day 2 is to simply not overthink it. Yes, its a hard day but you just get through it. Take your time on your way up to Dead Woman’s Pass, enjoy the views the entire time and use your poles to help you.
Need More Convincing? 100 Photos to Inspire You to Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
For us and our specific trek the hardest part of day 2 was ending the day so wet. It was really hard to dry everything and it meant wearing wet socks and hiking shoes to dinner because thats all we had. So while it was the dry season, remember that it can always rain and make sure you’re prepared!
- When you’re packing remember to think about what you’re going to wear once you get to camp. I brought a pair of running shorts and a short sleeve shirt but on such a wet and cold night I was really wishing I had sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt!
