Trailblazer Guide Books

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Trailblazer guides take some beating.
 — Adventure Travel

INTRODUCTION  7
When to go  10

PART 1: PLANNING YOUR TRIP
With a tour group or on your own?
How to book 14 – Group service or private service trek 14
Tour operators and trekking agencies 15
Porters, arrieros and guides 21 – Porter welfare 22
Getting to Peru  24
Budgeting  25

Route options
The classic Inca Trail 27 – Route options map 28 – Variations 30
    Km104 and the Purification Trail 30 – Km88 Riverside Trail 30
Other treks to Machu Picchu 30 – Salkantay/Mollepata trek 31
    Santa Teresa trek 31
The Vilcabamba Trail 32 – The Choquequirao Trek 32
Combining routes 33 – Choquequirao to Machu Picchu Trek 33
    Huancacalle to Cachora via Choquequirao Trek 34

What to take  35
Health precautions, inoculations and insurance  45

PART 2: PERU
Facts about the country  48
Practical information for the visitor  76

PART 3: THE INCAS
The Imperial Landscape
A Reading of Inca History in the Sacred Valley (Hugh Thomson) 90

PART 4: FLORA & FAUNA
Flora  104    Fauna  108

PART 5: MINIMUM IMPACT WALKING & OUTDOOR SAFETY
Minimum impact trekking  115
Health and safety in the mountains  119

PART 6: LIMA
City guide  122

PART 7: CUSCO & AROUND
City guide  149

Around Cusco
Ruins near Cusco (day hike: Tambo Machay 188, Puca Pucara 189
    Salapunco 189, Q’enko 190, Sacsayhuaman 190)
The Sacred Valley (Pisac 194, Chinchero 199, Urubamba 200,
    Ollantaytambo 204, Cusichaca Valley 209
Aguas Calientes (Pueblo Machu Picchu) 209
South and east of Cusco (Tipón 213, Pikillacta 214, Rumicolca 214)

PART 8: TRAIL GUIDE AND MAPS
Using this guide  215
Getting to the trailheads  218

The classic Inca Trail  218

Variations on the classic trail
From Chilca (Km77) 234 – From Km82  236

The shorter trails
Km104 to Huinay Huayna (Purification Trail) 239
Km88 to Km104 (Riverside Trail) 240
The Salkantay/Mollepata Trek  241
The Santa Teresa Trek  252
The Vilcabamba Trail  268
The Choquequirao Trek  296
Choquequirao to Machu Picchu  313
Huancacalle to Cachora via Choquequirao  326

PART 9: MACHU PICCHU
Historical background 340 – Practical information 347
Machu Picchu Guide 349 – Machu Picchu map 350

APPENDICES
A: Quechua and Spanish words and phrases 363
B: Glossary 367
C: Rail information and timetables 370
D: GPS waypoints 374
E: Route map key 377
Index 378

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