So to the final day of the Inca Trail and the lost city of Machu Picchu. For all their glory, the Incans only really bossed things for around a 100 years period. Their thirst for expansion began around 1438. The empire grew exponentially over the next 25 years. It peaked in size at this point and it was during this time that scores of mountain top citadels, including Machu Picchu, were built. In 1532 the Spaniard, Francisco Pizarro, lead a defeat of the Incan k...

After a few days of 'acclimatisation' in Cusco it was finally time to take on the infamous Inca Trail - the 4 day trek to the lost citadel of Machu Picchu, the Incan's jungle capital. The total distance of the ancient trail laid by the Incans is 49kms. It winds it's way up, down and around the mountains snaking over 3 high passes. The first 2 days of the trek are widely accepted as the toughest as the irregular sized stone steps climb on a steady assent fro...

The city of Cuzco is in the south east of Peru and is steeped in history. It's name means 'navel of the earth' and originates from the fact that it was previously the centre of the mighty Incan Empire which encompassed most of South America, to include, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile. Cuzco is the base camp for the Inca Trail (a 4 day mountain trek) and excursions to the lost city of Machu Picchu - that's the picture that was (and maybe still is) on...

So from the coastal suburbs of Miraflores in Peru's capital, Lima, we headed south by way of a 4 hour bus journey to the city of Ica. From here, we took a 5 minute taxi journey to the desert town of Huacachina. To say the taxis in this part of the country are small would be an understatement. I'm pretty sure they are exact replicas of Simon's car from The Inbetweeners - yellow and skin tight. Multiple oversized non nationals plus their oversized baggage do not...

So I made a list, checked it twice and thought about all the things I'd left behind.A couple of beers courtesy of the carron family to settle the nerves and then off to bed for a quick siesta before the adventure began on a cold wednesday morning. One last fry at Belfast airport and I was off. I placed my absolute trust in the baggage handlers to take my 15.6kg bag of everything all the way to Lima without any further involvement from me - thankfully they did me ...