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 T4 CAMINO DEL INCA This high altitude trek through the Ecuadorian Andes follows part of the old Royal Inca Road ( Camino Real ) which connected Quito with the capital Cuzco at the time of the Inca empire. This 2- day hike begins in the Andean town of Achupallas and leads through picturesque country with lakes and mountain peaks ending at the Inca ruins of Ingapirca. On this hike we take packhorses with us and it is suited to almost anybody, who is in a decent physical shape. On demand we also could stretch the trek from two to three days to make the hike even easier. T 4 : 4 days / 3 nights Day 1 We leave Quito in the morning and drive south on the Pan-American Highway to Riobamba, where we stop for lunch. From there on, we continue south to Alausi and then turn off the major highway towards Achupallas, our starting point of the trek. We arrive there late afternoon and put up our first camp just outside of town. Day 2 After an early breakfast we load our equipment on the mules and horses and begin our hike towards Tres Cruces, which we reach after 5 hours moving up along a river valley. Tres Cruces is the beginning of a pass, which separates the valley of Achupallas with that of Culebrillas. Hiking along a high mountain ridge, we reach our highest point at around 4200m, from there we have great views to the surrounding mountain peaks. From this point on, it is then downhill to our campsite at the confluence of two smaller rivers in the Culebrillas valley. Day 3 The next morning we start out hiking on the remains of the Inca road towards Paredones, passing the Culebrillas lake to the right. We reach the old Inca ruins after an 1 hour walk. This building was probably once a way station of the Inca road. Following again the remains of the royal road, we reach the small agricultural village of San Carlos after another 2 hours. From there on it is an 1 and 1/2 hour hike among farms and fields down to Ingapirca, Ecuador's best kept Inca ruins. There we put up our last camp site and after lunch we explore this historical complex with the famous sun temple and other Inca buildings and monuments. Day 4 The jeep awaits us in the morning and we drive back to Quito, arriving after a long 8-hour drive later in the afternoon.
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