Joining the Peru crew

On a group hike to Machu Picchu, Sara Wallis finds a new kind of wonder

- NIGEL THOMPSON

Clinging on to the side of a vertical cliff, 980ft high, I tried desperately not to look too far up or down - either view was terrifying.

I'd not been in Peru for very long before I found myself literally on the edge, with my comfort zone far away on solid ground (ideally at a hotel spa).

Just below me, the 69-year-old Canadian lady in my group mused out loud that her travel insurance probably didn't cover a pensioner scaling an iron ladder up a rock face.

But here we all were, nearly at the incredible glass pod restaurant hanging off the top of the mountain, and a very long way from the bottom.

Having arrived in the stunning ancient South American city of Cusco a couple of days earlier, I was on a G Adventures group tour with like-minded travellers, all keen to tick Peru and the Inca wonder of Machu Picchu off their bucket list.

We had been lulled into a false sense of security on day one with a peaceful exploration of the Pisac ruins, taking in staggering scenery, a rich history and curious llamas.

But there is nothing more bonding for strangers than the Sacred Valley's Via Ferrata (iron path), which I assumed was a gentle incline but turned out to be a thigh-burning, stomach-churning lesson in "doing your activity research".

Grasping for the fixed iron rungs and at one point having to wobble across a tightrope "bridge", attached by a carabiner to a steel lifeline, it's no wonder G Adventures lists this as Your OMG Day. Video footage was immediately sent to my shocked kids. As a reward, we enjoyed a dizzying culinary experience at Skylodge, a transparent 1,310ft-high dining capsule.

Travellers can - if they have nerves of steel sleep overnight, but lunch was enough for me.

And we still had the small matter of getting back down.

"Zip line or rappel?" asked the tour guide, as if he was offering tea or coffee.