!! hike the Inca trail on your own¡¡. The Inca trail was an immense network of pre-Hispanic roads that were built with the primary purpose of annexing the conquered peoples to the great empire of the Incas.
At present there are 20 thousand kilometers of Inca trails registered archaeologically, however it is believed that they should have been around 80 thousand kilometers, which connected Cusco, the great capital of the empire with all corners. The current countries of Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia were part of the Inca empire.
The most famous sections of these Inca trails are the classic Inca trail of 46 km and the short Inca trail of 10 km. However, hiking the Inca trail on your own is impossible, because the only ones who are allowed to book the entry tickets to the Inca trail are legal and official operators who sign a contract with the Peruvian government.
Dead woman´s pass
Summary
Why is it not possible to do the Inca Trail on your own?
Until the year 2000, people who did not want to hire a tourist guide could hike the Inca Trail on their own. However, this changed from the following year, because the Peruvian government made a project to restructure the famous Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
This restructuring addressed many aspects of vital importance for the preservation of the Inca trail and its structures.
- The first thing that was done on the Inca trail is to improve some parts of the trail that had collapsed in its more than 600 years of abandonment.
- Official camps were also created, where tourists could spent the night (when you could do the Inca trail on your own, there were no official camps, the explorers slept inside Inca ruins).
- Control posts were created to limit the number of passengers during the 4-day trek to Machu Picchu.
- The government also built baths that added comfort to the beautiful Inca experience.
- In addition, projects were created to preserve the microclimates of the Inca trail and be sustainable with the local populations.
Due to all this, the Peruvian government decided to formalize the way to enter the Inca trail. Currently the only way to enter the Inca trail is through an official operator.
Why hire the services of an Inca Trail operator?
Do not do the Inca Trail on your own has many advantages. They are between them:
- A tourist guide that will explain you about the history, archeology, geology and nature that you will appreciate on the Inca trail.
- There will be porters (considered the strongest men in the world), who will carry absolutely for you; You will only load your daypack and dedicate yourself to enjoy.
- There will be a cook waiting for you with a hot soup and delicious buffet meals.
- All logistics will be 100% organized, you will only worry about being amazed by the wonder of the Machu Picchu world.
!! You saw that not doing the Inca Trail on your own is also cool!
How many versions of the Inca Trail tour are there?
- Officially there are only 2 Inca sections that reach Machu Picchu; one of them is the classic Inca trail of 45 kilometers that begins at kilometer 82 and the other that begins at kilometer 104.
- These official sections can be done in more or less days. The 45 km section can be walked in 3 or 5 days; and the 10 km stretch can be done in 2 or 1 day.
- At the same time these official sections can be combined with the Salkantay trek, Lares trek, Quarry trek and the Ancascocha trek.
- You can not do all these trails and combinations of the Inca Trail on your own
Alternative hiking trails to Machu Picchu
All the alternative treks to the Inca trail can be done on your own, however there is nothing better than reserving a tour where everything is already planned.
The only trek to Machu Picchu that I would recommend doing on your own would be the Salkantay trek. Because along its route there are many places to stay and places to eat.
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