Facts about the Inca Trail

Some interesting facts about the Inca Trail

• Machu Picchu is also known by the name 'The Lost City of the Incas' because it remained lost for many years

• It is believed that the city of Machu Picchu was built in approximately 1450 AD at the height of the Incan Empire

• Why Machu Picchu was built still remains a mystery - religious reasons, mountain retreat ?
  

• It is believed that small pox introduced by the Spanish wiped out the inhabitants of MP

• The walls were constructed in ashlar masonry, a typical style used by the Incan Empire. The stones were polished, shaped and fitted together without the need for mortar

• 140 buildings still remain at MP including sanctuaries, temples, houses

• There are complex sundials located at MP
  

• The Inca Trail was discovered by Hiram Bingham when performing cleaning work between 1,913 and 1,915

• The trail starts from Kilometre 82 (82km along the railway line from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes) and is 26 miles (43km) long

• 500 Inca Trail permits are issued per day; roughly 300 of these are used by cooks, porters and guides, leaving 200 permits a day for trekkers

• You can only get a permit one year in advance

• Permits do sell out

• The highest point on the Inca Trail is Dead Woman’s Pass at 4,215m

• The Spanish conquistadors arrived in Cusco when they were amazed at the perfection and finish of the roads

• Roads were built by men on foot

• The roads were useless for the Spanish, as the horses fell on the stairs

• Over the course of the 4-day trek, the trail passes through mist-shrouded cloud forest, open meadows and rainforest

• Today you can travel by tour bus and trail to MP without the trek

• Machu Picchu attracts tourism from all over the world. It is Peru's biggest tourist spot
  
  All photos taken with my iPhone 6