Day five involved mountain biking along real mountains. This was not a ride for the faint of heart. Our stops included the agricultural labratory of Moray and the salt pans of Maras.

The Andes, stretching over 7000km, is the world's longest exposed mountain range, spanning over 7 countries in South America. It's highest peak - Aconcagua - stands 6,962km above sea level.

Day six began the main event of the tour: The Inca Trail. We toured Ollataytambo before beginning our trek at kilometre 82 of the ancient trail, and stopping to camp outside the national park.

Pinkuylluna Mountain in Ollataytambo was used by the Incas as an extravagant calendar. A chair, situated on the facing mountain, overlooks the profile of a face on Pinkuylluna. On the winter solstice, the Sun will appear directly over the face's eye. A crowned and bearded face of Tunupa, a messenger of the gods, also appears on the mountain, overlooking the town. When the invading Spanish arrived, the natives saw the similarity in features to Tunupa and assisted them, inadvertantly aiding in their own conquest.

Day two of the trek involved the biggest one-day climb, rising 1.5km over the 10km-long path, finishing at an altitude of 3800m.

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian South America, centred in Cusco, and rising in the 13th century. From 1438, under Pachacuti, the Empire formed and conquered much of the Andean region, covering parts of what is now Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. Spanish conquistidors vanquished the Empire in the 1530s, and the last Incan ruler was killed in 1572. From then on, the Incan people were ravaged by imported diseases such as smallpox and typhoid.

Day three of the trek involved several climbs and descents, including the highest point of the trail at Dead Woman's pass, at 4200m. The final leg of the day's trek took us through the Cloud Forest.

The Inca road system was the most extensive set of roads in pre-Columbian South America. 40,000km of roads covered over three million square kilometres of territory. The Classic Trail, most popular with tourists, begins 82km from Cusco and leads to the hidden mountain city of Machu Picchu.