I’m 4400m above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, trying to catch my breath after ascending the final 50m to reach the top of the mountain pass. 

In front of me is a sea of clouds, behind which lurks the snowy peak of Wakaywillque; the highest mountain in the Urubamba range. Applause erupts behind me as the final members of my group make it to the top, and we all settle down for a much-needed break to take in the view. 

My head is banging from the altitude, my legs are tired from all the exertion and there’s a definite chill in the air – but I’ve never felt so fulfilled.

I’m in the middle of hiking the Inca Quarry trail with Intrepid Travel – an adventure travel company which specialises in small group tours. Led by local guide Kleberth, me and 14 others are spending seven days exploring the Cusco region of Peru, taking in everything from the famous sights of Machu Picchu to the beauty of the Sacred Valley and visiting local communities along the way.

It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but it’s taken a lot of courage to get here. The prospect of travelling halfway across the world on my own was daunting enough, without my nerves about hiking and camping in a high-altitude, remote environment with complete strangers. 

It’s certainly a shift from my routine back in London, and while I consider myself a moderately fit person, I’m still unsure about what’s in store for my body as I pull up to my first hotel in Cusco.

Before I can worry about that, however, I need to meet everyone. Each Intrepid trip starts with a welcome meeting where you get the chance to introduce yourselves and meet your local guide, and while I’m initially nervous about meeting the people I’ll be sharing this experience with, I soon feel at complete ease. 

We go around the room sharing our names, where we’re from and why we’ve decided to come on this trip, before Kleberth talks us through what to expect from the coming week. Our ages range from 23 to 60+, but the ambition we all share – of enjoying new experiences, making new memories and challenging our bodies and minds – quickly brings us all together. 

In Quechua – the language traditionally spoken in the Peruvian Andes – there’s no word for friends or acquaintances, so this group is now our family, Kleberth says. 

It seems a bit cheesy at first, but there’s something about sharing this kind of experience that makes you skip over the awkward small talk. It doesn’t take long before we’re sharing snacks, chatting about our personal lives and laughing at inside jokes.

The trip itself begins with a walking tour around Cusco to learn about the history, before we set out the next day to begin our trip in earnest. 

We’re given a duffel bag to pack up to 5kg of belongings in; this is the bag the porters will carry when we’re on the trip, and needs to contain our clothes as well as a sleeping bag (you can rent one from Intrepid if you don’t fancy lugging it on the plane). 

The rest of our belongings either need to fit in our personal backpack or be left behind at the hotel in Cusco, where they’re stored securely until our return.

The hiking part of the trip starts on the third day, so we spend our second day visiting some of the local projects that Intrepid supports through its charity, the Intrepid Foundation. 

The first is a local community who create artisan textiles, and we spend the morning learning about how they process alpaca fibre and the natural ingredients they use as dyes before getting the chance to purchase some souvenirs. 

After enjoying a delicious home-cooked lunch (corn soup, vegetable fritters and potatoes) we head to a restaurant called Ama in Urubamba, a project which supports single mothers. 

Here, we enjoy a brownie and some hot chocolate while hearing more about the project’s mission before jumping back on our private bus to head to Ollantaytambo, the starting point for our hike. 

After a comfortable night in a hotel, the first day of the hike arrives. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a little hesitant at this point, but those nerves melt away as soon as we get started. 

On our way to the hike’s starting point we stop off at Ñaupa Iglesia, a sacred Inca site nestled inside a cave on the mountain’s side. It’s a quick, hard climb to get there, but the views and spirit of the place are worth the effort. 

It’s at this point when I start to feel a lot more confident about what I’ve gotten into – while the exertion is certainly taxing, the satisfaction of getting to the top and being able to enjoy the magic of such a sacred place is enough to leave me excited for more.

Our adventure gets underway about a 15-minute drive further up the mountain, where we chuck on our backpacks and follow Kleberth into the unknown. We also have another guide, Cesar, bringing up the rear, so no one needs to worry about being left behind. 

There are regular stops to allow everyone to catch up, too, and the guides make sure to remind us to drink water, take electrolytes and enjoy some snacks every time we stop (which is frequently). 

As we walk we pass authentic Incan tombs, stopping to look at skeletons and pieces of ceramics and hear more about Incan history from both Kleberth and Cesar. And before we know it, we’ve made it to our first lunch stop, complete with toilet tents and an appetiser of guacamole and tortilla chips ahead of our main meal.

Perhaps one of the most surprising parts of this trip was how incredible the food was. After a day of hiking, I would have been pleased with anything warm and edible, but the chefs managed to rustle up delicious three course meals with just a camping stove and some basic kitchen equipment. 

At lunch and dinner there was always some kind of soup, followed by a main course featuring meat or fish (vegetarian and vegans can be accommodated). I’m not just talking a bit of meat and some potatoes, either – on the second day, when we were sat enjoying lunch at 4300m above sea level, the chefs served us a full-blown spag bol. 

And on the final night, they even presented us with a cake decorated with fresh fruit and the Intrepid logo, which they made by rotating the pan every minute or two above the camp stove. The resulting cake was better than the ones I make with a fully-fledged oven.

Back to the first day, and after enjoying some lunch we continue our hike, passing by the breathtaking Catarata Perolniyoc waterfall, before climbing even higher to reach an Incan archaeological site known as Raqaypata. 

Here, Kleberth talks us through the history of the site and we get some time to take in the views, before we finish our day with a final 15-minute hike to the first camp site. I wouldn’t consider myself a keen camper, but the tent and inflatable mattress provided is clean and comfortable, and it doesn’t take long after dinner for me to nod off.  

Kleberth warned us at the beginning of the trip that the second day of the hike is the most challenging, and after just 30 minutes, I know he wasn’t lying. 

Once we get above 4000m I really start to feel the altitude – my head aches, my lungs burn and I have to slow down quite considerably to stop myself getting too out of breath. 

Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other certainly helps, as does having a laugh with the people around me and trying to soak in the views. After all, it’s hard to be completely miserable when you’re standing above the clouds.

Before long, we reach the first mountain pass at 4400m, before we head back down a little for lunch. Then, it’s back up again to the highest point of the hike – 4450m – before a sharp descent to the sun gate (Intipunku) above Ollantaytambo. 

The elation of getting the hard part over with is enough to make me want to do it all over again, and I spend the second half of the day stopping to take lots of pictures and trying to soak in the atmosphere. 

By the time we make it to the second campsite I’m tired and achy but can’t stop smiling – something that felt impossible just 12 hours ago is now an incredible memory that’ll last a lifetime. The trials of the day have also brought the group closer than ever, and we find ourselves in hysterics as we recount some of the drama of the hike.

The final day of the hike simply involves trekking back down to Ollantaytambo, where we take a scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes – the town below Machu Picchu. That first shower after three days of hiking really hits the spot, and dinner that night has a jubilant feel. There’s a sense that we’ve done something incredibly hard and now get to enjoy the spoils of our labour.

While our trip to Machu Picchu is a little cloudy, it’s still incredibly awe-inspiring – and it’s made even better by being able to share the experience with my newfound family. 

As the clouds clear and we see the famous view over the city, I feel almost emotional about how far I’ve come over the last couple of days. The anxieties I felt before the trip – of meeting new people, travelling to a new country and hiking at altitude – have melted away, and I’ve never felt so proud of myself.

Adventure group travel isn’t something I’d considered before, but I’d now recommend it to all my friends. It gives you a taste of solo travel while also allowing you to meet new people alongside the security of a planned itinerary and qualified guide. 

As an anxious person, I really struggle not to overthink every little thing; having someone there to do all that for me made it much easier for me to get stuck in.

If one thing’s for certain, the memories and connections I made on this trip will last a long time. I’ve already got plans to meet a wonderful couple I met on the trip – two New Zealanders who took a year off work to travel – for a drink in London when they come in August, and I spoke to several others about paying them a visit if I’m ever in their neck of the woods. 

These relationships – paired with the experience of pushing myself out of my comfort zone – have given me a newfound sense of confidence to tackle the things that scare me, and I’m already itching to plan my next adventure. 

Taking travellers around the globe and connecting people from all walks of life since 1989, Intrepid Travel has been visiting new places and old friends, and creating countless, unforgettable moments for over 30 years. As one of the world’s largest travel B Corps, its aim is to be the best tour company for the world, through responsible travel that respects people and places. Intrepid Travel is also the Which? Recommended Provider for Escorted Tours, December 2024.