The Famed Inca Trail

By Debra Bouwer
Livinginperu.com

Built by the Incas in about 500AD, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu covers only a small section of the ancient road system, which once spanned 23000 Kms and connected over three million Km² of territory. The trail was built block by block along the spine of the Andes, linking southern Ecuador to central Chile.
At a spot called Km 82 on the Urubamba River, about 170 tourists gather each day, to walk the 53 Km famed Andean trail, to the ruins of Machu Picchu. For many, the path gives modern man a chance to walk in the footsteps of a lost civilization, but what many people don’t realize, is that the route opens a window to exquisite plant life, a myriad of old Incan Ruins and an insight into some of the old traditions of the people. Walking along well worn paths, the trail heads through small little villages where residents grow corn to make their “Chicha,” or Corn Beer. Here, weary porters carrying heavy loads, stop to purchase a mug of the pinkish brew to quench their thirst. But first, they pour a little on the earth as a dedication to the earth goddess, Pacha Mama.

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