Tag Archives: UNESCO

The Inca Trail is a 45 km (26 miles) trek from Piscacucho, a locality 82 km (51 miles) from Cusco, to Machu Picchu. The path follows a small part of the larger UNESCO-listed Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca-built network of roads and tracks through the Andes Mountains. The classic walk is usually done over four days, […]

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At a distance, it made me choke up with emotion. Close up, it was simply awe-inspiring! Uluru. Ayers Rock. The heart of Australia. It sits almost dead-centre of a very large land mass, a long way from anywhere else. Formally recognised by UNESCO World Heritage for both its natural and cultural values, it has been […]

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In Cusco, a woman having breakfast at our hotel was complaining about her muscle aches and pains. She had just returned from the Inca Trail, and when I said we were starting it the next day, she looked me up and down and said: “Well, I hope you are fit!” in portentous tones. What had […]

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Two of the great joys of travel are eating and shopping! Any visitor to these pages know I love exploring markets. I love the colour and the chaos; I love the photographic challenges they present; I love the insight they give into local people’s lives. I don’t even mind the pseudo ‘workshop’ visits that are […]

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When you are trekking at altitude in Nepal, the Sherpas will tell you: Go high, sleep lower. In the Peruvian Andes, the guiding companies seem to take the opposite approach. Cusco, in the south-east of Peru, is the starting point for most Inca Trail tours. This little city in the Central Peruvian Andes sits at 3350 […]

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