In search of a long way

10 meters wide, with cobblestone as its base and adobe walls on each side during its height 600 years ago, the ancient road that traverses down the eastern slope of the Cordillera Blanca is what explorer Alexander Von Humbolt called “One of the greatest public works of mankind” in the 19th century. The Great Inca Trail, also known as the Great Inca Route or the Qhapac Nan, has been forgotten by contemporary tourism in Ancash and has the potential to rival one of the most iconic hiking paths in the world, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Your author has not only walked every kilometer of it from Cuenca to Cusco but has spent the last decade promoting its conservation and demonstrating its value to the region’s economic development and the diversification of tourism from Cusco. This article is yet another stone along this journey, through words and pictures, to elevate the Inca corridor across Ancash to its rightful place in history and tourism.

The Great Inca trail with its cobblestone base, 10 meters wide near Baños del Inca. Photo: Rodrigo Cabrera

Ten years ago, I began researching, preparing and eventually walking 130 days with llamas and a Quechua-speaking team from Cuenca to Cusco, publishing a 21st-century daily chronicle of the Inca Road. I grew up on the North American continent in a local community that neighbors the long-distance Pacific Crest Trail, where nearly 1000 hikers spend months walking from the border of Mexico, across the spine of the Sierra Nevada to the border with Canada. The comparison with the Inca Road down the spine of the Andes was unmissable, not to mention the countless other long-distance trails around the world in which thousands walk. Just as my California-Peruvian background blended across my life, so did these two great trails, one known the world over in North America, while the one jutting across Ancash and South America, forgotten to the modern world.

What initially was a pursuit of exploration, meditation, and writing, turned into a life journey that lives on in niches of the international tourism sector and a small and dedicated group of people and organizations, both private and public, who believe that Peru will need this ancient corridor to traverse its future.

Adventure versus cultural tourism

After my long walk, my team and I immediately dived into to bringing international hikers along the most monumental, preserved sections on fully supported multiday adventures. Particularly from Tambo de Soledad in the district of Huacchi’s, 150 kilometers south across Huanuco Pampa to Haurautambo, at the border of Pasco.

The fountain comes out of the rock at Haurautambo, an important Inca site on the border of Pasco. Photo: Rodrigo Cabrera

Five years later, outlets from the National Geographic to the BBC had taken notice of the road’s potential for cultural and adventure tourism, demonstrating a different angle on what is known academically within the ministry of Culture and UNESCO as the Qhapac Nan. The Great Inca Trail as we call, helps simplify and focus - for promotion and conservation - on the core and heart of a pre-Colombian road system that spanned more than 30,000 kilometers and across successive cultures.

In lieu of a dissertation of the how Peruvian societies connected themselves in communication and transport from the coast to the amazon, this is a look on how investments along the Inca Road can specifically help Ancash develop sustainable tourism, alongside other important investments like reopening the Huaraz airport to improving accommodations options and road infrastructure. Tourism ventures that promote cultural and adventure tourism in the region can transform its economic future.

The original Inca bridge at Haurautambo at the border with Pasco. Photo: Rodrigo Cabrera

The Ancash advantage

Unlike the glaciated peaks and turquoise lakes of the Cordillera Blanca’s western slopes, trekking along the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Blanca offers a different kind of experience. Here, travelers encounter rolling, ichu-filled passes and seldom-visited indigenous communities. These interactions provide a glimpse into another world—a continuation of the Inca culture extending from Cusco along this corridor.

This offers a unique opportunity for companies and travelers seeking off-the-beaten-path experiences while targeting a higher-budget market. Affluent cultural travelers, in particular, leave a greater economic impact per visit than hardcore adventure tourists. While Cusco draws affluent travelers for Machu Picchu, its true strength lies in how it leverages its cultural assets. Visitors typically spend multiple days engaging in cultural activities—archeological tours, weaving demonstrations, traditional home visits, and gastronomic experiences—beyond a single day at Machu Picchu.

The Great Inca Trail as it approaches the village of Andahauyllas near Huarautambo. Photo: Christian Declercq

With LATAM Airlines now linking Ancash to Lima and Cusco via the Huaraz airport, the region can attract a more sophisticated tourism market. By leveraging the "Inca Trail" brand, Ancash can position itself as a destination for cultural tourism, complementing its existing focus on adventure activities.

A path to the present and past

The 150-kilometer section of the Inca Road that we focus on is more like a corridor to visit by walking, vehicle, or horseback, and encompasses Chavin de Huantar, archeological sites of Huaritambo, Tambo de Soledad, Huanuco Pampa, Lauricocha and Haurautambo. It’s essentially the inca Empire extending along the eastern side of the Cordillera Blanca on its way to Cuenca, Ecuador. Travelers also don’t need to commit to multi-day treks; these sites can be visited individually, woven into broader itineraries around Huaraz and diversify Ancash’s tourism offerings beyond adrenaline-fueled glacier treks and craft beer.

The main entrance (Punku) at Huanuco Pampa. There are monkeys on the top corners of the door, reflecting the site’s connection as a key entry point Amazonian region. Photo: Christian Declercq

As international travelers age, two inevitable things happen; They search out more soft experiences and have more of a propensity to spend on comfort. A healthy, diversified tourism ecosystem in Ancash is one that attracts travelers between each end of the spectrums. At the national level, PromPeru has been investing to diversify the international visitor beyond Machu Picchu in a type of de-MachuPicchu-fication of the country’s tourism, with campaigns that balances quality over quantity of visitors.

This energy and developing tendencies provide a unique opportunity for Ancash to leverage the “Inca Trail” brand to attract a more sophisticated and higher value cultural traveler to the region. While it will require interest and effort from the regions tourism organizations to train guides, build up operational capacity of local operators and execute promotional campaigns, the payoff would be a more sustainable path of tourism development in the ensuing decades for the region.

The legacy of long-distance trails

In 1903, a naturalist, writer, and philosopher named John Muir, traversed what is today the heart of the Pacific Crest trail, building a concept called the John Muir Trail (JMT) to build awareness of the natural world with Teddy Rosevelt, the president of the United States at that time. These walks led to the establishment of Yosemite National Park, only the second of its kind after Yellowstone, began the national park movement globally. 120 years later, the John Muir Trail (JMT and its extended Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) are integrated into a national pedestrian path system that blends nature with contemporary road systems. Hikers, meditators, and writers can access the trail for a day, a weekend, or for months, weaving between this natural corridor and modern services along its length.

On the right: The PCT in red, interwoven with modern transport infrastructure in a common subway or metro style map

*Teddy Roosevelt (left) and John Muir, overlooking the Yosemite Valley in 1903. Photo: Ansel Adams*

The western United States has only for the last century connected this nature corridor within contemporary infrastructure, whereas Peru has always woven its ancient roads into the fabric of society, making it even more vital to preserve these cultural pathways, particularly in places like Ancash, where a 10-meter-wide cobblestone highway from the Inca Empire still survives. There is no better place to establish—or resurrect—a long-distance trail that merges cultural heritage with modern tourism. Ancash, with its well-preserved roads and rich history, is the perfect starting point.

The future of Peru tourism, as is demonstrated in Cusco and Machu Picchu, lies within the resurrection and maintenance of its past. Whether you want to call it The Gran Ruta Inca or The Great Inca Trail (GIT) or the Qhapaq Nan, Ancash must establish itself as an essential destination for travelers seeking to experience the Inca paths.

*The Great Inca Trail snakes northward towards Huanuco Pampa. Photo: Christian Declercq*

About the author:

Nick Stanziano is the Executive Director of QN Travel Peru.

Originally from California, and a nationalized citizen of Peru for a decade, he straddles two worlds. Nick has a BA in Global Studies from the University of California and a trans-global MBA from Saint Mary’s College of California. Nick believes wholeheartedly that tourism has the potential to bring dignified income to the forgotten people of South America and the world.