In my capacity as the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours Limited, one of my jobs is to ensure every client has the best tour possible, so here are some interesting facts about the history of Peru which I hope will enhance your trip. Who were the Incas? They were a native South American people who in their day ruled over one of the largest and richest empires in the Americas. All that is known about them today has been uncovered through what was recorded through oral tradition, the remains of their culture such as stone, pottery, gold and silver jewellery, and what was woven in the tapestry of the people. The Incas did not developed a written language making it fascinating that they were able to control and administer such a large area. The Incas reigned over people from hundreds of different tribes who all had their own languages. They managed to keep control by developing sophisticated ways of organizing their society.
They realised that by maintaining a large army, and by inventing very advanced agricultural, building and engineering methods that they could become a formidable presence. The most important inventions that the Incas came up with was the elaborate systems of stone roads and many bridges that they built to connect all the parts of the country. Everyone that the Incas conquered were forced to learn and speak their language, so inevitably having a common language made communication so much easier in the Inca Empire. Firstly the Inca road system deserves a mention as it is the most extensive system in pre-Columbia. It is amazing to think that the inca's made a road system that covered approximately 14,000 miles some of which traversed the Andes mountains achieving heights of over 16,500 feet above sea level.
When you consider that evidence shows that the Incas did not use of the wheel for transportation and that they did not have horses until the 16th century, it is incredible that the trails were used just to walk (for transporting goods) or run along (as a means of relaying messages). In order to offer rest and refreshments there were an estimated 2,000 inns, placed at convienient intervals along the trails. These inns also offered corrals for animals, usually llamas, to rest and fill themselves with the provisions for their onward journey. The Inca's made rope bridges to enable themselves access acroo the valleys. food, shelter and military supplies to the tens of thousands who traveled the roads. In Cuzco the Inca Capital city, the trails meet in the center of the empire.
The Inca trail to Machu Picchu. The Capaq Nan trail is the most popular Inca trail of all as it leads to the village of Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas". There are also many well-preserved ruins along the way and that along with passing through the Andes mountain range and parts of the Amazonian rainforests makes the whole experience very magical. You will encounter the 'Sun Gate' and entrance to Machu Picchu your reward after your amazing journey. The inca Empire reached its' height around 1450 when Machu Picchu was built. Story has it that under the Spanish conquest the empire collapsed and Machu Picchu was abandoned less than 100 years later.
The Spanish did not manage to locate Machu Picchu, and because the jungle reclaimed itself it was preserved as were many other Inca sites. Only a very few knew of its existence and the empire was returned to the world's imagination in 1911 by the Yale historian and explorer Hiram.
Stuart Cheese is the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours and, having visited over 110 countries, has a wealth of travel experience. One World Tours / The Holidays in Peru Specialists