Taking on the Inca Trail with Wheel the World

I’ve been based in Lima for the past eight years, but I fell in love with Peru much earlier, on my first visit back in 2001. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many parts of this beautiful country, creating incredible memories along the way. Nothing comes close, however, to what I experienced in November when Intrepid DMC joined forces with Wheel the World to trial an accessible travel expedition in Peru.

 Two wheelchair-bound travellers, Álvaro Silberstein and Isabel Aguirre, were to spend a week travelling around Cusco and the Sacred Valley, accompanied by a support team made up of family, friends, colleagues and Intrepid DMC staff. The highlight of the itinerary, which was designed by our team, was completing the one-day Inca Trail from KM104 to Machu Picchu. Álvaro and Isabel would be the first quadriplegic and paraplegic to attempt the trip.

Álvaro, who is co-founder of Wheel the World, had been to Machu Picchu once before: he’d come with his family by train when he was 16 years old, and was completely captivated by the Incan city. He vowed then and there that he would return one day, but not by train: he wanted to complete the Inca Trail, knowing that seeing Machu Picchu would be made even more incredible by having first conquered the challenging trek. Two years later, however, he was involved in a tragic car accident that left him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Like Álvaro, Isabel was also left in a wheelchair following a car accident at just 18 years old. She has since gone on to become a professional tennis player and mother of two beautiful children, smashing aside all the challenges that life has thrown at her.

Only Álvaro and Isabel can tell you about their struggles to overcome the impact of their accidents on their lives. What I can say, though, is that I’ve never met two more positive, passionate and enthusiastic people, who have both humbled and inspired me in equal measure.

Preparing for the trip

Since we started our business in 2007, Intrepid DMC South America has taken over 25,000 passengers trekking on the Inca Trail. Operating hundreds of group departures every year means our team know the route intimately, but only from the view of an able-bodied person. We had never attempted any portion of the trek with a traveller in a wheelchair, but this only encouraged us to do everything we could to make it a reality.

We had to overcome a litany of logistical challenges, such as coordinating in great detail the most suitable hotels, transport and activities, as well as having to convince the local government and national park authorities that they should 1) Let us attempt the trek at all and 2) Give us special access to Machu Picchu after-hours, plus a filming permit, so we could tell our story with a feature documentary. Above all else, we also had to ensure our number one priority: keeping everyone safe at all times.

A team of 16 people from Intrepid DMC including managers and staff from our Operations, Contracting, Reservations and Sales departments worked tirelessly for months to secure the required permits, find suitable accommodation, source locations for accessible biking and kayaking, and plan all transport including trains and vans. We also had to focus on every aspect of the Inca Trail section, including equipment, food and water, projected timing and contingency plans for the unexpected. Perhaps most importantly, we had to select the right team for this part of the challenge which included: myself; our Operations Manager, Fernando Rodriguez; our Deputy Operations Manager, Cesar Velasco; our Operations Assistant, Juan Chile; one of our most experienced lead guides, Victor Mogollón; one of our up-and-coming assistant guides, Vladimir Perez; and finally two of our most amazing porters, Hugo Ramos and Rode Mamani, who have overcome disabilities of their own (Hugo lost part of an arm in a farming accident and Rode is partially deaf) to become integral members of our Cusco porter crew.

When at last the team from Wheel the Word arrived in Peru, we couldn’t wait to finally meet them in person and embark on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure together.

Days 1 - 3: Cusco and the Sacred Valley

After an initial tour of Lima, the group started the main trip in Cusco with a gentle acclimatization day, given that the city lies at around 3,400 metres above sea level. They explored the area with one of our local guides, followed by a second day to take in the impressive archaeological site of Sacsayhuaman, as well as other Inca ruins located just outside the city. That evening we went for dinner at Cafe Daria, a superb new initiative set up by local NGO Manos Unidas (United Hands) to provide inclusive job skills training and experience for young disabled people in the local community.

Next up was a 10km bike ride in the Sacred Valley, with support from our local partner and biking wizard Carlos Unda and his company Habitats Peru. The specially adapted bikes brought by Wheel the World were perfect for the activity and everyone was in high spirits after an amazing day together. We settled into our hotels in the Sacred Valley for an early night’s rest ahead of the ultimate challenge waiting for us at dawn: the one-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. There was a mixture of nerves and excitement; were we about to attempt the impossible? To be completely honest, at this point my mind allowed a few doubts to creep in. But in my heart, I knew we would make it, no matter what it took.

Day 4: Tackling the Inca Trail

We boarded an early morning train from Ollantaytambo to KM 104, the starting point for the trek. After setting up the two Joëlette wheelchairs, special all-terrain equipment designed for reduced mobility trekking, we finally began our 11km mission to reach Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail is tough at the best of times. The altitude and terrain, including a soul-destroying number of ancient Inca steps, is enough to drain the energy out of you very quickly. Throw a couple of Joëlette wheelchairs into the mix and you’ve definitely got a hard day’s work ahead of you.

Despite all our preparation, none of us had quite anticipated just how difficult the trek would be. There were moments when most of us felt broken, unsure if we had enough left in the tank to make it, but also aware of the fact that we’d probably already made it far enough to mean that going back wasn’t an option either. Everyone in the team made superhuman efforts to keep going, with some – notably Álvaro’s brother Alejandro, his cousin Mattias and his best friend Lolo – putting in heroic shifts, carrying and guiding the Joëlettes for the whole day.

We were already exhausted on approaching the Wiñay Wayna Inca site, only to face a set of 320 near-vertical steps to the top. Having somehow made the ascent, it was then a last stretch and big final push up another brutal series of steps that lead to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate) and beyond it, to Machu Picchu. Ten hours after setting out from KM 104, we had made it.

As the team celebrated, several people broke down in tears. It was a mixture of total exhaustion, exhilaration and pure emotion, knowing what it meant to have helped Álvaro and Isabel achieve something that most people probably thought was impossible. It had been the most challenging and yet rewarding day in my life.

Day 5: Machu Picchu

The next day we returned to Machu Picchu for a more leisurely visit of the site with our expert local guide, Victor Mogollón. It was time to enjoy the fruits of all our efforts from the previous day. Seeing the smiles of Álvaro, Isabel and the rest of the team as we wheeled our way around one of the world’s most incredible wonders really drove home what we had achieved.

We returned to Cusco on an afternoon train back from Aguas Calientes and enjoyed another night in the capital of the Inca empire ahead of our final activity the next day: kayaking on Lake Piuray with local legend Alvaro Bedoya at his Piuray Outdoor Center.

Day 6: Kayaking on Piuray Lake

Kayaking was another magical experience, using specially adapted equipment to stabilize the kayaks for Álvaro and Isabel. Towards the end of the activity we did a breathing exercise and cold-water submersion, which Álvaro chose to extend by swimming around 20 minutes back to shore. Doing a double-arm backstroke without any help through the cold and rain, he showed everyone - and perhaps himself - what he was still capable of.

We took a couple of hours to warm up back in the sun beside the lake, learning about some of the local indigenous farming and weaving techniques, before heading back to Cusco for a final farewell dinner.

On reflection

Our expedition with Wheel the World was an experience that I will always cherish and never forget. Being part of that team and achieving what we did with and for Alvaro and Isabel will go down as one of the proudest and most meaningful weeks of my life. It’s exciting to look back and see how an initial idea and conversation can eventually lead to such an epic outcome. We brought two complimentary skillsets together - the operational and trekking expertise of Intrepid DMC plus the accessible travel knowledge and experience of Wheel the World - to create something that was unique and ground-breaking.

But most importantly, we have now established a superb itinerary in Peru for wheelchair bound customers who are looking for their own active adventure despite any physical limitations they may have. Wheel the World’s Cusco trip is already available here, powered by Intrepid DMC, and we are now planning other itineraries in a variety of destinations around the world for future expeditions and launches. Watch this space and Go Wheel the World!

The documentary on our Peru expedition, created by Chucao Films, is now available to watch online in full here.

With thanks to…

Álvaro Silberstein, Isabel Aguirre and the whole Wheel the World team.

Joyce Silberstein for the remarkable photos taken during the trip. 

Our entire team at Intrepid DMC in Peru, but especially Fernando Rodriguez, Cesar Velasco, Carlos Lechuga, Maritza Chacacanta, Hector Baldeon, Juan Chile, Liz Serrano, Norma Hancco, Maite Caceres, Fiorella Aliaga, Claudia Zakrzewski, Rossemary Marcos, Cecilia Pineda, Victor Valdiviezo and Gino Cacsire, our superb guides Victor Mogollón and Vladimir Perez, and of course our incredible porters Hugo Ramos and Rode Mamani, who despite their own disabilities have proven time and time again that they are capable of more than most.

All the local partners who supported us on the ground in Peru including Casa Andina Hotels, Inca Rail, San Agustin Hotels, Habitats Peru, Piuray Outdoor Center, Manos Unidas and Derlis Ramirez from Genius for all the transport and logistical support.

Additional partners of Wheel the World including Columbia, Misiones de Rengo and Jetsmart Airlines.