Ted Alan Stedman

The final switchbacks through the cloud forest seemed to grow steeper with
every labored breath. Thin air or not, I wasn’t about to be rebuffed from
experiencing Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas.” But a thought
did cross my mind. At 7,800 feet, it’s the lowest elevation of several
enigmatic Peru destinations I’d be visiting during my journey. Clearly,
I needed to acclimate. Fast.

Hiking the final segment of the Inca Trail, the “Royal Highway” that once led pilgrims and empire officials to the mountain citadel, seemed a more honest introduction than mounting a tour bus down in town. From the gateway of Aguas Calientes, where most Machu Picchu-bound travelers arrive by train from Cusco, the two-hour climb on original stones set by Incas gave me a taste of the 31-mile trail’s lofty traverse through a smattering of ecosystems spawning 250 species of orchids.

On this 100th anniversary of Machu Picchu’s re-discovery by Yale historian/explorer Hiram Bingham III, theories about Machu Picchu’s origins are still being traded. Bingham himself advanced three hypotheses, all dead wrong. The current theory most experts agree upon is that the citadel was one of a series of royal estates in the Urubamba Valley — the Camp David of its day. And because of the area’s elevation, nearly 5,000 feet below Cusco, the four-square-kilometer, 160-home compound was a warm-weather sanctuary for the roughly 800 Incas fleeing Cusco’s austral winter.

Strolling among Machu Picchu’s renowned landmarks — the Tilted Terraces, the Intiwatana pillar, the Temple of the Condor — is astounding, especially when you understand the purpose and significance of what you’re looking at. For that, my Peruvian guide was indispensible. As much as I covet independent travel, my largely do-it-yourself itinerary here included guides, lodging and transfers, erasing some of the time-sapping disorder in a developing country.

While some make Machu Picchu a daytrip, it’s best to spend at least one night in Aguas Calientes, literally the end of the rail line and an outpost brimming with backpackers and street merchants. The setting is beyond dramatic. Surrounded by 18,000-foot peaks thrusting into clouds, it sits in a shadowy canyon carved by the roily Urubamba River. Two main streets run through the compact town, each lined with curio shops where bartering is an extreme sport. Head up where the rooftops dissolve into the lush forest and you can see the inspiration for the town’s “Hot Waters” name, the natural hot springs popular with achy Inca Trail backpackers.

By providence, almost all visits to and from Machu Picchu course through Cusco, likened to Nepal’s Katmandu because of its lofty, strategic location for trekkers heading into the Andes. At 11,400 feet, Cusco literally takes your breath away (many hotels provide pure oxygen). Since I was soon heading to even higher ground, I took time not only to adjust to Cusco’s altitude but also to submit to its cultural and historical magnetism.

Cusco was once the seat of the imperial Inca Empire; and at more than 3,000 years old, it’s considered the oldest existing city in the Americas. Walk the craggy cobblestone streets and you feel the pull of the city’s energetic centerpiece, Plaza de Armas, rightly called “Square of the Warriors” in Inca times and site of one of Peru’s most pivotal events.

It’s here that on Nov. 15, 1533, a small contingent of Spanish conquerors — only 62 horsemen and 106 foot soldiers — arrived in Peru’s original Incan capital. The invaders then proclaimed the country’s conquest after plundering tons of gold and silver from the Incas, butchering 7,000 natives and executing Atahualpa, ruler of the Incan Empire. Wandering beneath the massive stone arches presiding at the street entrances erected by Spanish conquistadors, I could almost envision the fearful Inca faces when Francisco Pizzaro’s troops arrived.

But Cusco’s heavy history is a backdrop for the eclectic zest you’ll find there today. Dominated by the monumental cathedral built by the Spanish in 1550 on the site of the Inca palace Wirachocha, with stones appropriated from nearby Inca sites, the plaza is dizzyingly entertaining. You can spend hour after engaging hour here perusing alfresco restaurants and pubs overlooking ornate gardens and a grand plaza fountain where street merchants, smitten young lovers and tourists congregate.

On a hilltop overlooking Cusco is a compulsory daytrip site, the ruins of Sacsayhuaman (say “sexy woman”), a native Quechua name meaning “satisfied falcon” in deference to the falcons that guarded the capital of the Inca Empire. With my guide, I toured the sprawling fortress in a cool morning mist, an atmosphere adding to the mystical aura.

Sacsayhuaman is another Peruvian oddity scholars are still discussing. The ramparts of stone-block construction took nearly 100 years, requiring the labor of 20,000 men who cut, carved, moved and miraculously set the massive multi-ton blocks, fitted so precisely that there was no need for mortar and no gaps wider than a straight razor. Even with today’s high-tech equipment, my guide explained, the construction feat would be daunting to replicate.

Heading south, I found the nine-hour bus ride from Cusco to Puno a marvelous way to see the Andean altiplano. This is the high, semi-arid land populated by 20,000-foot peaks and active volcanoes sprawling from southern Peru into neighboring Bolivia and Chile. A handful of stops en route treated our international group of travelers to historic Inca ruins, outdoor markets and a scenic 14,200-foot pass flanked by towering glaciated peaks.

In Puno I got my first glimpse of Lake Titicaca, one of the country’s most breathtaking vistas (no doubt exaggerated by the 12,553-foot altitude). The lake is another familiar wonder, introduced to many in geography classes as the “world’s highest navigable lake” and home to the inimitable Islas Los Uros, the famed Floating Islands populated by the ancient Uros and Aymara culture people.

Lake Titicaca is a stunning scene, its azure water framed by cobalt skies, desolate khaki hills and distant snow-clad Bolivian peaks. From a distance the 62-plus manmade islands of the Uros archipelago resemble hay bales, but are really gigantic horizontal mats of layered reeds harvested in the shallows. About a half-hour’s boat ride from shore, they’re clustered in protective Puno Bay before it spills into the heart of the 3,340-square-mile freshwater sea.

It may be part of a well-worn travel circuit, but pulling onto the islands feels like a rare, even heartwarming event. Our group was met by a colorful welcoming committee of cheerful women, all wearing the trademark wide-brimmed Peruvian hats, who led us around their undulating island. Taking first tentative steps feels like walking on a sponge, but in minutes you’re reassured with their buoyant design that’s replenished by new layers of crisscrossed reeds.

For a couple of hours we were treated to the rituals of daily life. It’s a window into the centuries-old past of the Uros, a veritable floating museum. The reed dwellings are cozy organic enclaves, filled with everything a Floating Islands family might need, but nothing more. There were linguistic charades, explanations on the myriad uses of reeds and picture-taking. By the time I joined our hosts in a light lunch of fried fish, seagull, herbal tea and, of course, reed shoots, I had small children taking turns sitting in my lap.

One-third of Peru lies in the Amazon Basin, the antithesis of the altiplano that’s an adventure traveler must. During air approach to the southern access point of Puerto Maldonado, you’ll see a ceaseless, steamy jungle that’s changed little since Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana became the first European to set eyes upon the imposing territory in 1541. And somewhere in the tangle was a lodge where I’d spend several days communing with nature.

Puerto Maldonado is the take-off point for exploring the Tambopata Reserve, christened the world’s biodiversity capital. Isolated even by Peru standards, the town has an edgy frontier feel traced to its roots as a remote hunting and gold-panning settlement. In fact, gold lust is still alive and well here, as local rivers swollen from the rainy season deposit a heavy layer of gold dust on the river banks. Many small fortunes have been made in PM, and some of that equity can be seen in the profusion of gleaming motorbikes and the crowded open-air bars with bubbly chichi music wafting at all hours.

From Puerto Maldonado, I boarded a motorized longboat for a one-hour trip down the broad, cappuccino-colored Madre de Dios River, one of the Amazon River’s major southern tributaries. But this river segment was just the start. After disembarking, we maneuvered a jungle trail for several kilometers while spotting scarlet macaws, toucans and monkeys. And when Lake Sandoval did appear, we boarded another boat (motors not allowed in the reserve, so grab a paddle) for the final leg to the gloriously remote Lake Sandoval Lodge.

Lake Sandoval is the most stunning lake in the Tambopata, teeming with some of the world’s most exotic animals and plants. Experiencing an unadulterated ecosystem is why you’re here, and each day guides issue pre-dawn wake-up calls to beat the oppressive midday heat, then shepherd guests for fabulous animal-filled encounters by boat and on jungle walks. Five species of monkeys, countless exotic birds, menacing caimans and — the pièce de résistance — giant six-foot river otters were all part of the daily repertoire of sightings. It’s the Amazon equivalent of an African safari.

As I relaxed in a hammock, afternoon downtime in the stifling heat gave me pause for reflection, which I’m sure my ice-cold Peruvian beer also facilitated. In less than two weeks I’d experienced the mysticism of Peru’s Inca legacy, the vibrancy of cosmopolitan Cusco, the austere altiplano, the quixotic culture of Lake Titicaca, and now the verdantly wild Amazon Basin.

So many places around the world tout diversity and contrast to lure travelers. Fine, I thought. They need to visit Peru.

Info to Go

Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) is Peru’s
gateway for international flights. Multiday trekkers can get to Machu Picchu
on the Inca Trail with a licensed guide from operators in Cusco (www.cuscoperu.com),
while most visitors arrive at nearby Aguas Calientes on PeruRail (www.perurail.com)
from Cusco. Packaged tours are available through outfitters such as Adventure
Life (www.adventure-life.com). For
more information, visit www.go2peru.com.