| Tours Exotiques discovering the Andes |
| THE INKA ROAD OF INITIATION TO MACHU PICCHU The Inka Trail, Sacred Pathway The most popular and well-known Inka road is the one that leads to the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. This of course, does not imply that it was the only Inka road. It has been estimated that throughout the length and breadth of the Empire of the Inkas, there existed over 12,000 kilometers of roads, and the relative aspects of that figure are still being evaluated, for it would be necessary to distinguish the main roads from those of secondary character. Be that as it may, the subject being addressed in the present section of this work concerns the sites of power situated along the Inka road between Llaqtapata, or Patallaqta, and Machu Picchu, popularly known as "the Inka Trail." If Machu Picchu was the sacred, secret city, it implies that everything located on the way leading to it was likewise associated with sacredness. I shall discuss the archaeological sites that exist along the stretch of territory that runs between Pisqakucho and the sacred city including those situated on both banks of the Willkamayu River, as well as the ones following the highland route from Kusichaka along the so-called "Inka Trail" to Machu Pichu. |
| It would be opportune to mention at this point, that in Inka times there were a number of sites strung out along both banks of the Urubamba between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, a mere 35-40 kilometers' distance. Roads on either side of the river interconnected both sequences of sites. In the case of those situated on the right bank, the road connecting them was almost completely obliterated by construction of the present railroad dating back to the 1920's. In turn, this was laid atop a preexisting mule road blasted through the area in the 1890's, which was the route originally traveled by Hiram Bingham in 1911 when he reached Machu Picchu. Therefore, as we visit these places, we are walking on railroad tracks that were superimposed on a 19th century mule road built on top of an Inka road. But several times the original Inka road ran along a higher level thus leaving certain segments still extant. |
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