Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 3,300 metres on the first day. The second day ascends over Dead Woman's pass- the highest point on the Inca Trail at 4,200 metres. This is the most dangerous point in terms of altitude sickness, however, you do not spend long at this elevation and by the afternoon you'll be back at 3,600 metres. The trail only descends from this point until you reach Machu Picchu at 2,430 metres. Inca Trail to Machu Picchu The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (also known as "Camino Inca" or "Camino Inka") is a hiking trail in Peru that terminates at Machu Picchu. It
Machu Picchu Spanish never found Machu Picchu and so did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. The conquistadors had notes of a place called "Piccho", although no record of a Spanish visit exists. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. Some evidence indicates that German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier.