Inca Trail Express to Machu Picchu 3 Days

Therefore, there are many fascinating theories about the purpose of the connection of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which was built at the height of the Inca Empire. Some researchers believe it served as an annual pilgrimage route to honor Inti, the Incan God of the Sun, who was thought to have been born on the Island of the Sun at Lake Titicaca. It is said that the Trail follows the path of the Sun’s rays during certain times of the year, from Lake Titicaca to Machu Picchu.

The construction of the city of Machu Picchu spanned the reigns of two Inca rulers: Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438–71) and Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1472–93). However, a little over a hundred years later, the city lay mysteriously uninhabited. Historians have disputed the reasons for this, with some arguing that invaders killed the city’s population during the Spanish Conquest, and others arguing that the city’s population succumbed to a smallpox epidemic, years before the Spanish arrived.

During and after the Spanish Conquest, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu became targets for plundering and theft. It has been reported that Germans Augusto Berns and J.M. von Hassel initially found Machu Picchu during the 1800s and early 1900s, respectively. However, due to the dense forestation that had started to amass around the abandoned city, Machu Picchu became far less targeted by looters than other easier-to-access sites along the Inca Trail in Peru and in the surrounding areas. The locals may also have kept quiet to save their secret city from the aggressive looting campaigns, so by the 19th century only a few locals and academics were even aware of Machu Picchu’s existence.

In 1911, the American academic and explorer Hiram Bingham re-discovered Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail in Peru and conducted the first official archeological research there. As a seasoned adventurer (due to childhood expeditions with his father) and a keen Latin American history scholar, Bingham spent time traveling the Spanish trade routes throughout South America. As a Yale University history professor, he organized a group of scholars to set out and find the ‘lost city.’

Then, on July 24, 1911, a local guide directed Bingham to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Once there, he and his team started to explore and excavate the area, with return trips in 1912, 1914, and 1915 to continue their work. Through the Yale Archeological Society, the area of Machu Picchu and several surrounding sites were excavated and further academic research was conducted. To this day, the area is still a historical treasure trove, adding much to the Inca Trail experience.

Teams of archaeologists and local peasants explored what remained of this ancient inca trail, finding many Incan complexes and temples along the way that became some of their most beautiful attractions. Machu Picchu was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1983, and one of the seven new wonders of the world in 2003, which made it a famous must-see travel destination.

The Inca Inca Trail Trek to Machu Picchu began receiving more tourists when Peru entered into a phase of pacification in coming out of a kind of civil war that bled the country from the early ’80s up until the mid-’90s. By the end of the last century, thousands of people flocked to this beautiful destination to arrive in the Sungate of Machu Picchu at sunrise. Only the people who hike the trail to machu piccu can experience such an event.

There are no places where one’s safety might be compromised. In any case, the best way to minimize any danger level is by acting proactively and taking the necessary measures to prevent any such situations. For instance, proper acclimatization will prevent you from getting altitude sickness, which is the number one reason why people fall ill. ​

• Turn right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams
• The last days of the Inca by Kim McQuarry
• 1491 by Charles C. Mann
• A Brief History of Peru by Bill Harris and Christine Hunefeldt

A few videos you can watch:

• Guns, Germs and Steel
• Aguirre, the Wrath of God
• The Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Arriving in Cusco by plane. Most people fly into Cusco, coming directly from Lima after their international flights. Lima holds the most important international airport in Peru, and almost all international flights must land there before people connect to their final domestic destinations. Cusco’s airport is the second busiest airport in Peru; most flights arrive from Lima while some others do it from cities like Arequipa, Juliaca, Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado, and Trujillo. As far as international flights, Cusco’s airport receives flights coming from Bogota, Colombia, Santiago de Chile, and La Paz, Bolivia. The most important and safest Peruvian airlines are Lan Peru and Avianca. Other budget airlines are SkyPeru, Peruvian Airlines, and Gol Peru.

Arriving in Cusco by bus and train (overland). There are plenty of comfortable bus companies servicing Lima and Cusco on a daily basis. The bus ride usually takes up to twenty hours of driving. Traveling to Cusco from Lima by bus is not advisable. Most people who do arrive in Cusco by means of bus do it after following an itinerary that allows them to visit a few other interesting tourist attractions along the way. Places like Paracas Marine National Reserve or Poor Man’s Galapagos, the Huacachina Oasis in Ica, and the Nazca Lines are some of the must-see attractions one can visit on the way to Cusco. There are a few hop-on/ hop-off tour operators that allow you to visit those places by purchasing one full ticket between Lima and Cusco. Also, plenty of night buses run from Arequipa (the second-largest city in Peru) to Cusco. Arequipa is a beautiful colonial city where one can visit the Colca Canyon and see the flight of the condors. Also, many people choose to climb the Misti and Chachani volcanoes in this area.

​As far as trains, Cusco connects with Puno, from where Peru rail runs a few different tourist trains. ​

​​THINGS TO DO IN CUSCO BEFORE THE INCA TRAIL  TREK

​Cusco is the most beautiful city in Peru and one of the most beautiful cities in South America. It is a place that deserves time in its own right to be explored and enjoyed. As I mentioned above, one of the most important reasons to arrive in Cusco a few days ahead of your Inca trail tour is to accelerate the process of acclimatization to the altitude. To do this smoothly and perfectly, then we recommend the following things to do:

Day One. Go for a walk of your own or take a walking city tour of Cusco. This is a great way to experience Cusco upon arriving. In these tours, you will see some of Cusco’s most impressive attractions, such as the Main Square or Plaza de Armas, the San Blas neighborhood, and the San Pedro central market. These walking city tours usually take up to 3 hours. Make sure you book for an afternoon city tour to give your body some time to first adapt to the altitude.

Day Two. Take the Rainbow Mountain tour or the Humantay Lake tour. Climb high, sleep low is one of the best practices that hikers perform when hiking at high altitudes. One of the ways people can quickly adapt to the altitude is by climbing either the Humantay Lake or the Rainbow Mountains. By doing so, one actually gets to do what is mentioned above as people will climb to altitudes above 13,000 ft and return to Cusco’s altitude of 10,500ft in the afternoons.

Day Three. Take it easy, or take the magnificent Sacred Valley tour. We recommend that you make your hotel reservations for this night in places like Urubamba or Ollantaytambo. You can check with your inca trail tour operator and ask them to pick you from either of these locations the following day. If you stay at either of these locations, you will save yourself the two-hour drive back to Cusco from Ollantaytambo after completing the Sacred Valley tour and the two hours from Cusco to Ollantaytambo on the day of the tour. Additionally, this decision will give you two more hours of sleep on the day of the hike as you won’t have to get up at four in the morning to be transported to the start of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

The company you choose will often arrange road transportation from Cusco to the start of the inca trail trek, with pickups that generally occur early in the day (around 4:00 AM local time). The most popular place to start the hike is known as Kilometer 82, which is the start of the Classic Inca Trail route. Once you reach this location, you will generally conduct a gear check, fill up your water containers, and make sure everyone is fully prepared to start the journey.