Customer Reviews

Apus and Incas: A Cultural Walking and Trekking Guide to Cuzco, Peru

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I felt that this book would be extremely helpful to me when I read it in America. When I got to Cuzco I found that it was not giving me much more than I could have got on my own. The local trips were well documented in the day trip section. The walks from downtown Cuzco to the surrounding ruins imparticularly were quite good.

The book suffered however through a lack of maps when it came to the longer journeys. Elevation markings, are extremely important in the Andes, the trips were inconceviable without them, and there are no maps in the Cuzco area that are worth mentioning. I had planned to go off on my own to do a journey the last 6 days of my month there and had to cancel it from the information being so shoddy.

I believe it is a good book for local tourism with a adventurous tinge, but do not rely on his directions going farther than that unless you have, like him, lived there for a considerable amount of time.

This book details numerous walks and treks which I hiked during a year-long stay in Cuzco. The popular and historic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is included along with other scenic hikes in the Cordilleras Vilcanota, Vilcabamba, and Urubamba. The text is accompanied by maps for each of the routes, photos, and drawings of area wildlife. I have broadened the text with information about the history, beliefs, and wildlife of the area and preparations and precautions for making a walk or trek.