Peru is a true hikers’ paradise. Practically all of the sierra, including valleys, plateaus and mountain ranges include trekking circuits of various degrees of difficulty. However, only a few have been "discovered" as commercial trekking routes.

The rest are still unexplored and await those who wish to walk the magical trails of the Peruvian Andes and their extraordinary web of pre-Columbian roads. More than 15,000 lakes, the deepest canyons on Earth, glaciers and snow-capped mountains, forests and waterfalls, picturesque towns and the most hospitable people one could imagine welcome travelers.

Some roads are so steep they get lost in dizzying abysses, or they zigzag like huge snakes between the mountains, like flat and long ribbons lost in the immensity of the desert, or hidden and imperceptible in the thickness of the Amazon forest.

The roads of Peru offer endless possibilities and the ideal combination for trekkers of all levels of experience and requirements.

Part of the 23,000 kilometers (approximately 14,000 miles) of roads built by the Incas in South America, this is Peru’s most famous trekking route and possibly one of the most spectacular in the Americas. Every year, some 25,000 hikers from around the world walk along the extraordinary 43 kilometers of this stone-paved road built by the Incas leading to the unassailable citadel of Machu Picchu located in the depth of the Cuzco jungle.
The journey starts in the village of Qorihuayrachina, at kilometer 88 of the Cuzco-Quillabamba railway and takes three or four days of strenuous walking. The route includes an impressive variety of altitudes, climates and ecosystems that range from the high Andean plain to the cloud forest. Travelers will cross two high altitude passes (the highest being Warmiwañuska at 4,200 masl) to culminate the hike with a magical entrance to Machu Picchu through the Inti Punko or Gateway of the Sun.

One of the main attractions along the route is the web of ancient settlements built in granite rock by the Incas like Wiñay Wayna and Phuyupatamarca immersed in an overpowering natural scenery. Hundreds of species of orchids, multicolored birds and dreamlike landscapes provide the ideal backstage for a route that every hiker should walk at least once.

Many travel agencies sell complete packages to trek the Inca Trail that include meals, camping gear and porter services. Travelers who wish to organize themselves independently can find porters in the communities of Chillca and Wayllabamba who will charge a modest fee to help carry your gear. Drinking water and food supplies, as well as full camping gear are needed.

The Machu Picchu administration charges a US$ 50 per person fee to provide road maintenance. Admission to the sanctuary is included in the ticket. In Wiñay Wayna –site of some of the most impressive agricultural terraces found in Peru– travelers will find toilets and a visitor’s shelter.

"A great sea of mountains," "Peru’s Chamonix" are some of the remarks made by mountaineers who visit the site. Located 410 kilometers northeast of Lima (5-6 hours by car and 7-8 hours by bus), the Cordillera Blanca is the world’s highest tropical mountain chain. It stretches for 180 km from north to south and splits the eastern and western headwaters of the Andes in this region. Easily reachable by a paved road off Pativilca (210 km north of Lima) that leads to the Callejón de Huaylas, every year the Cordillera Blanca welcomes thousands of mountaineers eager to conquer its summits or walk through its beautiful landscapes. Practically the entire range is a protected area within the Huascarán National Park, a paradise of snow-capped mountains, 663 glaciers, 269 emerald-green lakes and 41 rivers, plus 33 archaeological sites. Its flora and fauna are an additional attraction featuring almost 800 varieties of blossoming flowers including the Puya Raimondi and ancient queñual and cacti forests unique to these mountain scenarios, as well as Andean condors, vicuña, puma, taruca or Andean deer and well over a hundred species of birds.

Only a handful of the area’s innumerable trekking circuits have gained international fame. The route across the Santa Cruz gorge is perhaps the most popular of all. From the village of Cashapampa where it starts, all the way to the Llanganuco ravine, it is dotted with beautiful emerald-green lakes. A walking tour of the gully usually takes four to six days. Other highly popular circuits include a tour of Alpamayo, a spectacular trek among snow-capped summits that takes about 12 days; the Cedros gorge tour where trekkers take four days to hike the mountains in the northern sector of the Huascarán Park; the less demanding and faster (one and a half days) trek through Llanganuco and Portachuelo, and the excursion through the Quilcayhuanca ravine, a gently sloping route that can be traveled in a couple of days.

A new and interesting way to trek, llama-packing is part of Llama 2000, an initiative undertaken by a group of peasant farmers from the Callejón de Huaylas and the Mountain Association of the Olleros-Chavín area. The initiative is designed to promote ecotourism in the Ancash department by rescuing its traditions. Llama and alpaca –the traditional Andean beasts of burden– captivate the walkers’ attention during their trip along some of the most spectacular trails in the Cordillera Blanca and Huascarán National Park.

The route starts in the charming town of Olleros (30 kilometers south of Huaraz) where llamas are loaded with the necessary travel gear. During four days of walking and enjoying the scenic beauty of the area and the views of snow-capped peaks like Shaqsha (5,703 m), Cashan (5,686 m) and Tuctupunta (5,343 m), travelers have the opportunity of sharing the customs and traditions of local peasant communities at Shongo (a site dotted with imposing sacred monoliths or huacas) and Nunupata.

The route ends at the splendid archaeological site of Chavín de Huántar, built to serve as the administrative and ceremonial center of the first pre-Columbian civilization that spread over most of what is now Peru. UNESCO declared the site part of Mankind’s Cultural Heritage in 1985. Dozens of structures in polished rock, underground plazas and galleries, and peculiar gargoyle heads and carved stone slabs make Chavín an indispensable stop for visitors to the area.

Located about 50 km south of the Cordillera Blanca, and 250 km northeast of Lima, Huayhuash is one of the least known mountain ranges in the world and at the same time one of the most beautiful. It stretches along 30 km from north to south and includes a string of gorgeous snow-capped mountains, most notably the Yerupajá, and dozens of glaciered lakes of unparalleled beauty like Carhuacocha, Jahuacocha, Mitucocha, among others. The full trekking circuit that, according to experts, is one of the world’s most spectacular routes in the world, stretches along some 165 kilometers (100 miles) and can be walked in about 12 days.

Only one route goes full circle around the range. Two days after leaving Chiquián (3,400 masl), travelers will reach the heart of the range. The route climbs over five mountain passes and crosses charming peasant farming and herders’ communities like Llamac, Pocpa, Huayllapa and Pacllón, to complete the northern section of the loop. The route then continues along the eastern side and finishes on the western face of the mountains.

A shorter circuit (45 kilometers) links Chiquián to lake Jahuacocha. The trek sets off from the villages of Llamac and Pocpa and finishes at Pacllón. Extraordinary glaciers, crystal-clear lakes, herds of llama and alpaca, hospitable residents and, most of all, pristine landscapes are the rewards awaiting those willing to venture in the discovery of this unique trekking circuit.

Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa once called the Colca "The Valley of Marvels." In the Colca, travelers will find a series of circuits of breathtaking beauty that have only recently been included as part of adventure expeditions. Located 150 kilometers north of Arequipa at the end of a gravel road, it’s made up of an almost endless web of horse trails that crisscross the valley’s ridges to link colonial towns of unusual splendor.

A touch of interest is added by the beautiful lakes, unique formations carved by erosion into the rock, and plentiful, rare animal and plant wildlife including the Andean condor and vicuña, queñual forests and fields with century-old yaretas. Major attractions include the area’s imposing snow-capped volcanoes some of which are active, like Hualca Hualca (6,025 m), Sabancaya (5,976 m) and Ampato (6,288 m) among others.

Since the dawn of time, the Colca has been home to the Collagua and Cabana ethnic groups, two peoples whose origins can be traced back to the High Plateau Pucara and Quechua ethnic groups from Cuzco. Their mastery of hydraulic engineering can be seen in the sophisticated system of agricultural terraces that decorates the steep flanks of the valley.

One of the most popular trekking routes in the Colca links Cabanaconde and Tapay. The expedition lasts from three to four days during which travelers will enjoy some impressive scenery, Cabana villages like Cosnihua and Malata, and numerous pre-Hispanic ruins.

Tour operators in Arequipa and Colca (towns of Chivay and Yanque) offer trekking and horseback riding packages. Lodging and restaurants catering to all tastes and budgets are also available.

A stately 6,271 meter mountain, Mount Salkantay rises over Machu Picchu, in the breathtaking Vilcanota Range.

There, at the end of a trekking route that combines the rarely surpassed magnificence of its natural backdrop and the attraction of the world’s best known pre-Hispanic legacy, stand the Machu Picchu citadel and the Inca Trail.

The expedition starts by taking the old Inca stone-road that leads to the lost city of Machu Picchu and crosses a mountain pass between Mount Salkantay and Mount Humantay (5,917 m).

The excursion then proceeds down the Aobamba river gorge up to the archaeological site. From the path it is possible to get a unique view of the most beautiful mountains in Cuzco: Wayanay (5,464 m), Palcay (5,229 m), and Wakay Willka or Veronica (5,750 m), located on the opposite bank of the Urubamba river valley. Several Cuzco trekking and adventure travel operators offer this circuit. It is also highly recommended to hire an experienced local guide.