INTRODUCTION

PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP

With a tour group or your own guide?
Tour operators and trekking agencies 12 – Porters, arrieros and guides 17

Getting to Peru 18

Budgeting 19

When to go and for how long? 20

Route options
The classic Inca Trail 21 – Variations on the classic trail 24 – Shorter trails 24 – Chilca (Km77) up the Silque valley 25 – Mollepata trek 25 – Santa Teresa trek 25 – Vilcabamba Trail 25 – Choquequirao trek 26 – Combining or altering routes 26

What to take
Boots 26 – Clothes 27 – Equipment 28 – Food 30 – Medical kit 30 – Maps 31 – Recommended reading 31 – Internet sites 34

Pre-departure health preparations
Fitness 34 – Inoculations 35 – High-altitude travel 35 – Insurance 36

PART 2: PERU

Facts about the country
Geographical background 37 – Historical outline 39 – The people 48 – Politics and economics 49 – Culture 53

Practical information for the visitor
Documents and visas 55 – Airport tax 55 – Money 55 – Getting around 56 – Accommodation 58 – Food 58 – Drink 60 – Electricity 61 – Time 61 – Post and telecommunications 61 – Holidays and festivals 62 – Shopping 62 – Safety 63 – Drugs 64

Flora and fauna
Flora (Orchids 66, Trees and shrubs 67, Other plants 68)
Fauna (Mammals 68, Birds 69, Reptiles 73, Insects 73)

PART 3: THE INCAS

Pre-Inca civilizations
In the beginning 74 – Pre-ceramic peoples 75 – The Initial Period 76 – Chavνn 78 – Mastercraftsmen 79 – Tiahuanaco-Huari 82 – The days before the Inca 84

Days of the Inca
Piecing together the jigsaw 86 – The origins of the Incas 86 – Oral
history 87 – Class and clans 89 – Inca government 90 – How they
ran the empire 91 – Spiritual life of the Incas 92 – Inca culture 94

The fall of the Incas
Plague and civil war 98 – Pizarro and Almagro 99 – First contact 100 – The trap 101 – The great checkmate 101 – The march on Cusco 102 – Cusco: capital of the empire 103 – Sow the wind 104 – Reap the whirlwind 104 – Vilcabamba 105 – Reap another whirlwind 107

PART 4: LIMA

History 108 – What to see 110 – Arrival 114 – Getting around 114 – Orientation 115 – Services 116 – Where to stay 118 – Where to eat and drink 124 – Shopping 127 – Moving on 128

PART 5: CUSCO & AROUND

Cusco
History 130 – What to see 132 – Arrival 138 – Getting Around 139 – Orientation 139 – Services 139 – Where to stay 145 – Where to eat and drink 148 – Shopping 152 – Moving on 155

Around Cusco
Ruins near Cusco (day hike: Sacsayhuaman 156, Qenko 158, Salapunco 159, Puca Pucara 159, Tambo Machay 159) – The Sacred Valley (Pisac 160, Chinchero 162, Urubamba 162, Ollantaytambo 164, Aguas Calientes 167)

PART 6: MINIMUM IMPACT & SAFE TREKKING

Minimum impact trekking
Environmental impact 169 – Economic impact 171 – Cultural impact 173

Safe trekking
Safety in the hills 174 – Health in the hills 175

PART 7: TRAIL GUIDE AND MAPS

Using this guide
Route descriptions 181 – Route map details 181 – Inca Trail regulations 182

Practicalities
Food and water 183 – Getting to the trailheads 183

The classic Inca Trail
Km88 to Huayllabamba 185 – Huayllabamba to Pacamayo camp 188 – Pacamayo camp to the third pass 190 – The third pass to Machu Picchu 195

Variations on the classic trail
Starting at Chilca 200 – Starting at Km82 202

The shorter trails
Km104 to The Trekkers’ Hotel 205

Chilca up the Silque Valley
Chilca to halfway up 209 – Halfway up to past Ancascocha 210 – Past
Ancascocha to valley turn 212 – Turn in the valley to Paucarcancha 214 – Options from Paucarcancha 217

The Mollepata trek
Mollepata to above Marcocasa 218 – Above Marcocasa to Soray 220 –
Soray to Inca Chiriasq’ua 220 – Inca Chiriasq’ua to Pampa Cahuana 222 – Pampa Cahuana to Paucarcancha 226 – Options from Paucarcancha 226

The Santa Teresa trek
Mollepata to Salcantay Pampa 227 – Salcantay Pampa to Rayampata 227 – Rayampata to Ccolpapampa 230 – Ccolpapampa to La Playa 231 – La Playa to Paltallacta 234 – Paltallacta to Aguas Calientes 234

Other trails near Machu Picchu
Chilca circuit 236 – The full Mollepata 236 – The Riverside trail 237

The Vilcabamba Trail
Introduction 238 – Preparations 240 – Timing and getting to the
trailhead 240 – The Vitcos walk 242 – Huancacalle to Ututo 244 – Ututo to Urpipata 248 – Urpipata to Espνritu Pampa 254 – Espνritu Pampa to Chaunquiri 259

The Choquequirao trek
Introduction 263 – Background 263 – Preparations 266 – Timing and getting to the trailhead 266 – Cachora to Capuliyoc 267 – Capuliyoc to
Playa Rosalina 270 – Playa Rosalina to Choquequirao 271 – Choquequirao 273 – Options from Choquequirao 276

PART 8: MACHU PICCHU

The Lost City? 277 – Practicalities 277 – History 279 – A guide to the ruins 283 – Moving on 293

APPENDICES
A. Quechua and Spanish words and phrases 294
B. Glossary 297
C. Peruvian embassies 299
D. Train information and timetables 301
E. Bibliography 303
F. Peruvian tour agencies licensed for the Inca Trail 306

INDEX 310

Book List | The Inca Trail: Cusco & Machu Picchu | Buy This Book | Table of Contents
| Introduction | With a tour group or your own guide? | Route options | Sample Route Guide | Food & Drink |