The trail to #rainbowmountain #lonelyplanet #peru #lpinperu #andeantrails
Want to ride to Rainbow Mt? She will rent her horse for 60 soles, a bargain if your dogs are barking. At least these folks make a decent living. #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #rainbowmountain
Trespassing on other people's bucket lists: #rainbowmountain outside Cuzco has become a monster attraction, with 1000 tourists per day going on a 6-hour roundtrip drive plus 10k hike at altitude to capture just this. Pretty? Yes. Also oversold. #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #instatouristrap
Couldn't resist one more look back at the Choque trail high above the Apurimac River. #choquequirao #followthattrail #lpinperu #trekkinginperu
Looking back to the start of the trek when shaman Justino prepared a blessing for our journey. He is part of the Q'eros community, people believed to be descendants of the Inca. The ceremony was elaborate, evoking the four directions, the geographical features around us, our family and friends and our intentions. Looks like it worked. #lpinperu #respectthejourney
What will #choquequirao look like when they build the tram across the Apurimac River to bring 3000 visitors per day? I hope we never know. Plans are underway but there are too many variables to call it a certainty. Right now it's a 2-day hike in vs a 15-minute tram ride. A half-dozen communities profit by being stops along the way. Not to mention the journey, one that connects us to how the Inca had to live, is lost. #qhapacñan #lpinperu #trekkinginperu #lonelyplanet
Proof that there's so much left to explore. Only discovered in 2002, these terraces on the backside of #choquequirao feature 22 llamas in stonework being herded by a lone figure below them. It's like nothing else ever found in Inca architecture. The trip down there reminded me of trying to ski double-diamonds as a kid: watch out! #qhapacñan #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #exploremore
Move-in ready? Seeing the resilience and lasting beauty of Inca architecture makes me feel we live in an inferior age. Not to mention the artistry of their chosen locations. Sublime. #choquequirao #incas #lonelyplanet #lpinperu
Hard to beat the hard-won views at #choquequirao especially this spot, the house of the priests, on a narrow saddle some 5000ft above the Apuimac River. Incans. They knew where the magic is. #closertothegods #lpinperu #trekkingperu #incahistory #lonelyplanet
Freddy, master of trail cooking, honed his skills serving the multitudes on the Inca Trail. He makes a pretty perfect mushroom ceviche, Andean soups and lomo saltado with rice pressed into a perfect half-circle, all while hunched over in the cook tent five feet from the mules. #gourmettrekking #lpinperu #choquequirao
Almost there: the village of Marampata sprung into existence with the increasing popularity of #choquequirao and now there's a dozen or so families offering camping, lodging and provisions often in the clouds, high on the hilltop just outside the entrance to the ruins. #lpinperu #trekkingperu #andeanreststop
In the transition zone descending from the high Andes to cacti and bromeliads. #choquequirao #lpinperu #trekking #andes #lonelyplanet
Horses and mules bring in camping gear and provisions for trekkers who might be tempted with a Cuzqueña beer (warm) or Gatorade (10s) trailside. #choquequierao #lonelyplanet #trekkingperu
The trek to Incan ruin #choquequierao starts with a 4500ft descent to the Apurimac River. Double tie your laces, wrap your knees and move the hell over if you hear pack mules on the hoof. #longwaydown #lpinperu #trekkingintheAndes #peruadventure
Packing for a trek in the Andes, corn snacks rule. #lpinperu #trekkingintheandes #therealincatrail #qhapacñan
Cuzco: training at 3399m. #lonelyplanet #breathless #lpinperu #ombligodelmundo #cuzco #travelsouthamerica
First stop after you've been to hell and back...another cobblestone alley leading who-knows-where. #cuzco #lpinperu #lonelyplanet
Feliz en el ombligo del mundo! Incans considered #cuzco the belly button of the world. Spend 10 minutes here and the energy, ancient culture and architecture pf this city will blow your mind. And it's only the beginning. #LPinPeru #lonelyplanet #incacapital