| Following
the Inca Trails |
| May 2006
“Well you
will soon know if you are hikers” commented the fit young man with all
the right trekking gear. We wondered, the next day, as his long legs rhythmically
strode out leaving us way behind.
Our plan was
to cross the Vilcabamba range in Peru, possibly a little ambitious given
that we weren’t hikers, trekkers or even walkers. Sure, we had done the
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and Tiger Leaping Gorge in China but we had
never set out on an expedition like this before. Especially not by ourselves. |
|
|
|
|
|
| As the
magnificent peak of Padrayoc loomed to our right, and the Apurimac River
roared below we felt the rush of adventure in our veins. It was this
that kept us going for our bodies certainly weren’t equipped for the tough
trail ahead of us! The idea for this trek had come four years earlier,
when a Peruvian friend and I were out in a remote village and had met an
old gnarled farmer on our trail. He had struck up a conversation with
my friend in Quechua, the language of the Incas.
The old
man had pointed at the path and said it lead to fabulous old Inca sites
and crossed the Vilcabamba ranges. It was a chance conversation, but planted
a seed that was to lay dormant for several years.
In the intervening
period I learnt more about the Qhapaq Nan, the 3000 kilometre Inca road
network that linked all their cities and towns and ran from Chile to Colombia.
Today,
the famous Inca Trail is the most publicized and traversed, but not the
only remaining part of the ancient Qhapaq Nan, with its central city -
Cusco (the Belly Button of the world). |
|
|
| Finally,
we were back in Peru. We planned to hike from Cachora to Choquequirao,
onto the ruins of Vitcos and others in the Vilcabamba valley, before ending
at Espirtu Pampa, deep in the jungle and the last capital of the Incas.
Visiting many travel agencies around the delightful Plaza de Armas (Central
Square) of Cusco, most agencies simply said it couldn’t be done. Others
had a vague idea it was possible but wanted to charge us a fortune!
In the end,
we went with a Peruvian friend to act as Quechua interpreter - most of
the people in the remote high Peruvian Andes still only speak this old
Indian language. We later hired muleteers to carry the camping
equipment for the expedition, which we calculated could last as long as
25 days. We found that not only did they know the route, they did it
frequently with their mules, carrying supplies through to remote communities
that didn’t even exist on a map. |
|
|
Offshore
Resources Gallery
|
|
|
| The ruins
of Choquequirao were discovered by Europeans in 1819. They whetted
the appetite of American explorer Hiram Bingham, and eventually led him
to reveal fabulous Machu Picchu to the world! At 3500 metres, perched high
above the raging Apurimac River, the Choguequirao ruins are mysterious
and extremely hard to get to. After a two day trip down to the river
at 1600 metres, and back up to the village, we finally caught up with the
young hiker who has been relishing having the ruins to himself. He claims
to have hiked all around the world and says he has never before arrived
at such an inspiring place. He added that the hike is tough
– even by his standards – though this consolation didn’t ease our screaming
muscles!
Condors glide
on currents in the canyon, as the sun set over a truly breathtaking scene.
The next day, as the young hiker waved us off into uncharted territory,
he smiled, “I’m jealous – what you are doing is a real adventure.”
As we descended
to another river valley and then climbed for 12 hours straight up we wondered
about this adventure business. It just felt like pure pain. |
|
|
| We camped
just below the snow line, with magnificent snow capped peaks so close we
felt we could touch them. Above us, the stars were almost within reach
in an incredible night sky. We talked with our muleteers about the stars
and they told us stories that had been handed down in families since Inca
times.
If you asked
us to summarise this trek in two words it would be “up” and “down” – as
we continued onwards, almost stumbling into villages of stone houses with
thatched roofs.
People were
friendly and excited to see us, clasping our hands and offering greetings
in Quechua.
Whilst hiking,
life seems to slow down. There are no responsibilities; there is nothing
but your body and nature. |
|
|
Offshore
Resources Gallery
|
| Overloaded
with the intense stimulation of the modern world, it took us several days
to wind down and begin to really see what was around us. Wild and wonderful
plants and their abundant flowers; small birds flitted from tree to bush
and even insects began to gain our attention.
The sight of
an Inca road winding up the Choquecatarpo pass excited me more than one
would imagine – it was as if we have discovered it - and we speculated
on its construction and that hundreds of years ago Inca feet trod on that
very path. Were they alone, like us, or was this a busy route. I guess
we will never know!
We visited
Vitcos where, after the Spanish conquest, the Incas retreated deep into
the jungle where they built their last capital at Espirtu Pampa.
One night we
camped close to the ruins of Puncuyoc where a little old lady lived in
a mud hut – she said that the last foreigner that had passed through was
modern day American explorer Vincent Lee. A tiny building, perched in
the cleft between two mountains, the Puncuyoc ruins are indeed little visited
and the Spanish never got there. Most other ruins, like Machu Picchu,
are actually heavily restored, but these are said to the most perfectly
preserved ruins of the Inca empire. We were certainly blown away by
the tenacity of its builders!
We have
gone from the highest peaks of the Andes to the Amazon jungle and followed
ancient Inca trails; we have shared snowstorms at 3,500 metres and torrential
tropical rains. The sense of achievement is inspirational; as we sat around
our campfire on our final night we reflected on what we had done.
We had followed
in the footsteps of explorers – and we had challenged ourselves beyond
what we thought imaginable. And we still didn’t know if we were hikers!
Authors
note:Authors note:
Since 2002,
the Inca Trail has been regulated to 500 people per day, and gets booked
up months up in advance, especially in the high season. However, there
is now a large overflow to other treks, including to Choquequirao and some
of the areas in this story, Yanama, Huancacalle (Vilcabamba) and Espirtu
Pampa. The Salkantay route crosses a similar region to the one described
here, and is popular but can also be crowded when the Inca Trail is fully
booked. Apus Peru Adventure Trekking Specialists http://members.westnet.com.au/tinglefarms/apus_peru/
Return
To Index |
|
Article
Index ~ Peru Index
~ |
Copyright 1996 -
EscapeArtist.com
Inc. All Rights Reserved