Out of the many great adventures Peru has to offer, the most attractive adventure would be the Machu Picchu trip. The internationally renowned Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a magnet for tourist from all over the world. The Inca Trail was built during the Inca Empire dynasty and served as a connecting route between villages and farms. The Inca Trail today starts from Ecuador all the way to Chile and these routes are divided into north-south routes and east-west routes.
Machu Picchu is an ancient civilisation that is located above the Urubamba valley along the mountain ridge. It has also been dubbed the Lost City and wasn’t discovered by explorers till 1911 when Hiram Bingham announced his discovery to a variety of scholars. This Lost City has been on the Peruvian governments’ ‘maintain and repair list’ ever since its early discovery plus tons of work and effort has been into preserving Machu Picchu.
A Machu Picchu trip via the Inca trail promises a lot of fun and adventure but be sure to book your spots early due to the governments new ordinance.
Only 500 tourists including the tour guide are allowed per trip up the mountain due to erosion and the unstable ground. Considering how Machu Picchu was selected to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World, some visitors have tried booking their spots as early as three months ahead and still unable to obtain a spot in the tour.The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is divided into three trails, the Mollepata, Classic and the One day. The most common route used by tour companies is the Classics which will consume three to four days before reaching Machu Picchu.
The largest city that’s nearest to the Inca trail would be Cuzco and this will be the starting point of your adventure. Once in Cuzco, you will board the local train and be dropped off at Km 88 which is where the real adventure begins.You will hike the trail past Cusichaca until you come to your first camp site where you will rest the night. The next day, you will hike past Huayllabamba and Abra de Huarmihuanusca and eventually reach your second camp site. On the third day, you will cross Abra de Runkuracay and Huinay Huana where you will find your third campsite. On the fourth and last day, all you’ve got to do is past the butterfly meadow and reach Intipunki which is the gate of Machu Picchu and Lost City of the Incan Empire.