Incatrail To Machu Picchu

The Inca Trail that leads to Machu Picchu is completely different from any other trek in the world. On this trip you hike mountains that are higher or more difficult to do,  you can visit ancient or large archaeological sites and you can find species, even rare species inside the nature reserve of this particular cloud forest.

Orquideas Inca Trail Machu Picchu

This gratifying combination of stunning scenery, physical challenge and spectacular plant life, there is nowhere on earth where you can experience these sensations. This is the prelude to reaching the most photogenic ruins in the world: Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu combines mystery, beauty and history in equal proportions. It represents the height of an ancient civilization that was destroyed by one of the strangest conquests in history at the hands of the Spanish

The strangest thing is that Machu Picchu was abandoned even before the Inca civilization was completely wiped out. The Spanish conquerors never found it, it has resisted five centuries without being discovered, earthquakes, the invasion of the tropical forest thanks to its superb engineering. Only in 1911 was it discovered by an American who was looking for another place.

Arriving at Machu Picchu is possible in a number of ways, however hiking the Inca Trail offers the most authentic and satisfying approach. After (one, two, four or five) days of walking through spectacular valleys, visiting ruins that are ever more extensive, the stage is set for your final approach to Intipunku, the “sun gate”.

From Intipunku, the spectacle below the ruined city that covers its ridge is so mesmerizing that it must have been planned as the culmination. Surely the Incas created this succession of views leading to Machu Picchu both as a pilgrimage and as a large-scale work of art.

Machu Picchu from Inti Punku (Author: Brian Jeffery Beggerly)

The Inca Trail makes imaginative use of sculpted stairways and bold tunnels. The Incas designed and built all their constructions to integrate intimately with their natural environment. They were strongly committed to adapting every feature, down to the last stone, to the contours of the site. 

Gigantic stones were moved, carved and polished with enormous effort and human time. However, these great works were accomplished by a civilization without any knowledge of iron or the benefit of the wheel. It is impossible to hike the Inca Trail  without being impressed and moved by the ingenuity and dedication of the Incas.