The Inca Trail

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An ancient highway in the Andes...

The Inca Trail is one of the longest trails in the World.

It runs in the Andes, connecting important spots of the region. Also known in Spanish as "El Camino Inca", the ancient road system has a length of 22.530 km (yes, kilometers, not meters!) and an average width variating between 1 and 2 meters. The trails stretch like veins across the western part of South America, starting from north of the city Quito in Ecuador, down through Peru and Bolivia to south of Santiago in Chile.

The trails reach heights above 5.000 m. It is hard to believe today how the chasquis used to run at such altitudes carrying messages. Even to experienced hikers, walking several km can be exhausting. A chasqui could run over 240 km a day.

Over 2.000 "tambos", sort-of inns were built along the trails to ensure food for those passing by, including the chasquis. 

What you'll find most often referred to as "The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu" is actually a small part of the road system. Many people mistakenly think that it is only that short part that's called "The Inca Trail". It is one of the most well preserved ones, the most frequented one by tourists, but just a tiny part of the roughly 23 thousand km long road system.

Let's take a deeper look at the Inca road system, the Inca Trail!

The trail was built by the Incas, primarily for communication purposes. The chasquis used to literally run from one city to another bringing codified messages. If there was danger in a region, the chasquis would run to nearby cities on the Inca road system, to ask for help. This messenger system was unique and its way of functioning is still studied by archaeologists, trying to understand more exactly how it worked. 

Basically a chasqui would run about 242 km a day and carry knotted-cords, called quipu to the destination. Different knots and different coloured wires had well defined meanings, this way the Incas could communicate without writing. Unfortunately almost all of these chords were lost during the Spanish conquest of Peru, when the Spaniards burned them. 

Except messengers, llamas were used to carry heavy weights on this road (let's not forget the horses were brought in by the Spaniards).  

At equal distances along the trails, the so-called "tambos" awaited the tired chasquis or other travelers. These were inns that provided food and water, shelter or military supplies.  

Stored provisions, such as corn, dried potatoes ensured food for the thousands of travelers and their animals who stopped by the tambos. Fruit trees were planted along the roads and watered by the irrigation systems.

Today, this road system still exists and pretty much looks as it looked many centuries ago. It's not a sand-covered road, but one covered with stone blocks, in some places it even has steps. In some places it is covered by dust and pebbles only.

The Inca Trail is a roughly 1-2 meters wide trail, cut into the sides of mountains and hills in the Andes.

Rope-suspended bridges run across valleys and rivers connecting the two sides.  

The trails converge around important spots, like Cuzco city, for example. It was therefore quite easy for the conquistadores to reach the Inca capital. Like they said in ancient Europe, during the time of the Roman Empire, "All roads lead to Rome", well indeed, in this case too, all trails lead to Cuzco and that contributed to the end of the mighty Inca Empire.  

The ruins of Machu Picchu are located near the Urubamba Valley, where part the trail network runs. It can be an interesting adventure to go trekking on the Inca Trail all the way to Machu Picchu. One can pass high peaks, like the Punasillo (6.245 m), Salcantay (6.270 m), see snow-capped mountains, agricultural terraces, foaming waterfalls, deep jungle, forests covered by clouds, lush meadows, fast running rivers... One can see spectacular views. Butterflies can often be seen around the track.

But hiking the Inca Trail requires strong health, good preparation, careful trip planning, even for those who are experimented. The trail that leads to Machu Picchu goes as high as 4.200 m! And takes about 4 days to reach up there...

The biggest test for your organism will be right at the beginning at the so-called "Dead Woman's Pass" (Warmiwañusca). That part of the trek brings you at a height of 4.200 m. After that it gets "better" at heights of "only" 4.000 m max at the Runcuracay Pass and then slowly going down to Machu Picchu (down? yes indeed, down to 2.400 m!).

The average height of the trail in the Urubamba Valley is of about 2.500 m (around 8.000 ft) from sea level. If you're considering going to Machu Picchu or visiting the region on foot, you should take these altitudes into consideration.

Many foreign tourists, especially Americans and Western Europeans go hiking on this trail. And few of them are really prepared to the rough conditions. Exhaustion and altitude sickness are the most common problems of those travelling unprepared.

High altitudes can cause nausea, headache, a variety of lung problems and serious illness to those who are untrained and physically weak. A trip through the Inca road network is no easy thing. Oxygen is rare, air is humid, the road is rough.

Even if you are an experienced trekker, keep in mind the high altitude, the rough roads. Less oxygen, bad roads can lead to exhaustion very fast.

Walking on the Inca Trail close to Machu Picchu requires some training and knowledge of the area. One has to be resistant, strong, used to extreme atmospheric conditions, variating temperatures. During daytime, the Sun emits stinging hot rays, while at night time it can be very cold. Myst and cloudy wet weather is frequent, it's good to have a rain coat, if you decide to walk on the trail.

Approaching Machu Picchu only through the Inca Trail is possible, but the access is limited to maximum 500 people a day. Until 2002, it was possible to travel alone, but since then only guided tours are allowed.

In order to enjoy the beauty of the landscape and get a taste of Andean mountain adventure, you have to book a package months before the trip, at a travel agency. Trips usually start from Cuzco, but you won't have to walk all the way from there to Machu Picchu. The walking distance is about 30 % of the whole Cuzco-Machu Picchu distance. Most trekkers start off from Km.88, where there's a train station (close to Ollantaytambo) and they arrive at Intipunku (Inti Puncu or Inti Punku), also called "The Sun Gate", the upper entrance to Machu Picchu. While most travelers take the easier way (train & bus) to get to the ruins, hikers get there long before in early morning. This way they avoid the huge crowds and have some time to walk around and take photos.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is also interesting because of the large number of ruins along the trail. The most interesting ones are the Inca ceremonial baths, Huinay Huayna and Runcuracay (or "The Egg Hut").