The Inca emperor Pachacuti built a mighty royal highway to link his capital Cusco to his secluded sacred center at Machu Picchu, taking an awe-inspiring route over high mountain passes. He followed the way of the Apus, the snow peaks sacred to the Incas which dominate the scenery, vanishing and re-appearing around curves and over ridges as we follow this most astounding of treks. At points along the way Pachacuti built small, exquisite settlements clustered upon jagged outcrops, always with sweeping views of the stunning landscape.

Amazingly, all of this survived the Spanish conquest and the hundreds of years of abandonment and neglect that followed. Today the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a Peruvian government protected reserve of immense archaeological and environmental importance. For this spectacular route is both a journey through Inca history and a dazzling sample of Peru’s incredible biodiversity.

Take this challenging trek across high, treeless passes up to 4,200m (13,776ft), and down through multi-layered zones of cloud-forest, culminating at the threshold of the Sun Gate where we face the final unforgettable view down to Machu Picchu and the Urubamba river.