The highlights of Peru's Inca Trail

Thursday, 5 January 2012 10:26 AM

For fantastic adventures in South America, be sure to consider hiking along Peru's Inca Trail. Walking along this ancient pathway can make for the adventure travel experience of a lifetime and while the trek will be challenging in places, upon completing it you will arrive at the stunning Machu Picchu.

However, there is much more to the Inca Trail than just the lost city itself - although it is of course an amazing destination in its own right - and you will find that there is plenty more to see and do.

The starting point for many gap year travel enthusiasts traversing the route is Cusco.

As the oldest continuously inhabited city in the whole of South America, you can be sure of having lots of exciting adventures here.

Among the many sights to be found here are Hatun Rumiyoq, home to the Inca Roca palace, while on the northern outskirts of Cusco you'll find Sacsayhuaman, an ancient walled complex which is believed to be around 1,000 years old. While here you should be sure to sample mate de coca, a kind of herbal tea which is popular in the region.

However, you'll soon want to get started walking along the Inca Trail itself and Ollantaytambo - the starting point for many of those traversing the route - will make for a fascinating highlight.

Situated in the Sacred Valley region of Peru, here you'll be able to see a range of ancient Incan architecture - most notably the agricultural terraces that rise from the bottom of valleys up into the hills and allowed for farming on terrain that was otherwise unusable.

Should you visit Ollantaytambo when the market is being held, you'll be able to buy a range of locally-made products, including ponchos and handmade jewellery, which are sure to make for fantastic souvenirs of your adventures.

Travelling upwards, you'll pass through a range of habitats, among them a cloudforest containing polylepis trees. With the Inca Trail set high in the Andes, you can be sure of seeing stunning mountain scenery - although perhaps none is as fascinating as Warmiwanusca.

Known as Dead Woman's Pass in English, this is a towering 4,200 m above sea level and as it is the highest point of the route it could be the ideal place to take some amazing panoramic photos.

During the course of your trek, you'll also catch a glimpse of several snow-capped mountains, including Salkantay, which is 6,271 m above sea level, with the ancient Incan site of Sayacmarca another highlight of the trek.

In English, Sayacmarca translates as 'inaccessible town' and with the ruins here surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs you will soon see why.

Eventually, you'll come to Intipunku - the Sun Gate - from which Machu Picchu can be seen in all its glory.

Given the high altitude you'll be walking at, the trek can be a challenging experience; however, upon arriving at the lost city you will know that all that effort has been worthwhile.

After taking a few minutes to take the spectacle in, you'll be able to explore the Incan complex for yourself and get an idea of how the ancient civilisation lived.

Traversing the Inca Trail is certainly an exciting prospect, but if after completing it you want to give something back to the people you have met and places you have seen, why not spend a few weeks volunteering in Peru?

With a range of projects you can get involved in - from teaching English and maths to orphans to working with disadvantaged teenagers - there is plenty of scope for you to deliver positive change in local communities and build a better future for young people.

For wonderful gap year adventures, Peru is one destination that simply cannot be missed.