They could have followed the valley but they chose the high route to Machu Picchu, with its gorges and passes and climactic mountain views.
True Andean highlanders, the Incas knew and loved the countless natural zones that lay within the folds of their vast domain.
Their trail to Machu Picchu traverses a startling variety of microclimates, beginning with an arid cactus zone on the Urubamba valley floor, rising through native Polylepis forest to bleak high-altitude grassland, and ending in mossy cloud forest draped with orchids and bromeliads. |
They celebrated the glory of the snow peaks by setting their trail along a ridge that descended from the sacred summit of Salcantay and ended at Machu Picchu. |
