Hiking The Inca Trail
Travelers who want to
hike the Inca Trail to the stunning ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru this summer should get a move on. To help protect the ancient trail, the Peruvian government is enforcing the limit of 500 trekkers starting the hike each
day by requiring that tour operators submit the names and passport numbers of their
clients to purchase necessary permits.Tour companies say that since the changes went into effect last year it has been nearly impossible to guarantee spaces for clients or to get a last-minute booking. They recommend planning at least three months ahead, especially for the peak period, May to September."We've been trying to re-educate people," said Barbara Banks, the marketing director at Wilderness Travel in Berkeley, Calif.. Hiking the Inca Trail � about 27 rugged, stone-paved miles from Qorihuayrachina to Machu Pichu � is "one of those things on their
life list," she added. "People don't think of it as being a limited commodity." Mountain Travel Sobek added a notice to its 2006 catalog recommending that clients secure a spot at least 90 days in advance for its 10-and 12-day trips that include time on the Inca Trail. "I know it's a long time for a South America trip," said Nadia Billia Le Bon, director of special programs for the company, "but it really guarantees they can do it."Procrastinators will still be able to visit Machu Picchu, of course, but they will have to take different routes. In response to the permit crunch, a growing number of tour operators are coming up with alternative excursions.Wilderness Travel offers a nine-day Hiker's Journey that skips the Inca Trail, but includes hikes to Inca sites, remote Quechua villages and a night at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Adventure Life, in Missoula, Mont., offers the Cachiccata Trek, a 10-day backcountry experience that includes four days of hiking that bypasses the traditional Inca Trail on the way to Machu Picchu."What has become known as the Inca Trail is what
people refer to as that four-day hike to Machu Picchu," said DarAnne Dunning, a trip coordinator for Adventure Life. "But that isn't the only Inca trail that there was. There were thousands and thousands of miles of these trails in Peru."
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