Peru’s Hidden Trails

Dear Advisor Partners,

If a rock moves in Peru and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? That question has plagued our great philosophers for generations. Ok maybe not them, however, it has perplexed me. Physics and plate tectonics says that rock will move, and apparently there is a sound. More importantly, I am sure I am not the first person to ask this. Well, turns out I’m not. The Incas seemed to have asked this same question centuries ago, and our very one Peru guide extraordinaire, Cris Vera, set out to find an answer.

Cris spent the last few months on various hiking trails, some part of the renowned Inca Trail, and all of them way off the beaten track. Surprisingly, they are all within a few hours drive of Cusco to the starting point. Here are some of the places Cris explored: 

• Huaccoto is a 90-minute drive from Cusco to the Huaccoto Community, the starting point at an elevation of 12,400 feet. This trail amazingly ends right at an exclusive farm we use for Big Five guests, built on Sacred Ground.
• Tecsecocha’s Farallon offers a shorter 45-minute drive to the starting point in the Southwest hills of Cusco towards Ccorca, 12,600 feet. Hike on an out-of-this-world, stone-paved section of the Inca Trail down to the Community of Ccorca, 11,500 feet, where Inca burials are remain intact.
• Apu Wanakaure is another 90-minute drive from Cusco to the starting point at 12.400 feet. Warm up hike up to the top of Wanakaure peak for stunning views of the Valley of Cusco and the mountains. Best part is you descend on the original Ritual Inca Trail back into the city on a three and a half hour hike.

So do the rocks make noise? Yes, they do. In this video meet one person who is listening… Cris.

To explore Peru’s secret paths, begin with President’s Pick Hidden Trails of Peru.