Trip Dossier

The Inca Trail is deservedly the most famous footpath in South America. It has everything: gorgeous mountain scenery, cloudforest and lush sub-tropical vegetation with numerous species of flowers, a stunning destination (Machu Picchu) and, above all, the Inca remains that give the trail its name. There are Inca paving stones, Inca stairways, an Inca tunnel, and of course the ruins: Runkuracay, Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, Huiñay Huayna (Wiñay Wayna) and Machu Picchu itself.

The Vilcabamba range, approximately 85km long, is a really spectacular part of the Andes, located northwest of Cusco, between the Apurímac and Urubamba rivers.   Several giant snow covered peaks rise out of the Vilcabamba massif, often clearly visible from the Lima to Cusco flight (sit on the left side of the plane) and also from the drive between Cusco and the start of the Inca Trail. Salcantay (6,271m / 20,575ft) is the highest peak in the area, towering above all others. This mountain was highly revered by the Incas and is still very important to the people living in the Cusco area. Its name in Quechua means wild mountain. The other big snow covered mountain you see is Pumasillo (6075m), west of Machu Picchu and highest peak in the mini Sacsarayoc Range, seen from the second pass on the Inca Trail.

Typical of the region is the verdant cloud forest of the rugged eastern side of the Vilcabamba mountains and the deep gorges of the Apurímac and Urubamba. They’ve been gouged out of granite by centuries of torrents of glacier melt water forcing their way north and eastwards on the way to the rainforest.  The area is rich in Inca history: for nearly 50 years this remote region served as a hideout for their resistance movement as it tried to regain control from the Spanish invaders in the 16th century. The Incas left behind many ceremonial platforms, gate houses (tambos) and a network of beautifully constructed pathways linking their strongholds, the well known Machu Picchu, and lesser known but equally important sites such as Choquequirau and Espiritu Pampa. Please ask if you would like details of these or other treks.