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Destination Peru
Pariaccacca, the Other Sacred Inca Trail
By Tanilee Eichelberger, South American Explorers

Pariaccacca in lakes reflection (Photo by Marco Jurado Ames)

Are you looking for a sacred Inca Trail that, unlike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, is unspoiled by years of mass tourism? Then you should hike the sacred Inca Trail to Pariaccacca. The Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu is to gringos what Camino del Inca leading to Pariaccacca is to locals.

Pariaccacca is a sacred mountain, referred to by locals as “Apu,” the Quechua word for “God.” Admired by ethnic groups past and present throughout Peru's Central Andes, Pariaccacca remains a treasured site of worship for the Wanka as well as the Yauyos.

Connecting the Andean mountains with the desert coast, this route begins in Jauja in the department of Junín and reaches into Pachacamac to form part of Qhapaqñan, located on the western slope of the central Andes in the district of Lima. Specifically, this route can be entered from Cochas in Junin and continue to Tanta-Yauyos in Lima, and offers landscape that has been untouched by tourism. This unknown trail meanders around lakes and mountains until reaching the glorious peak of Pariaccacca, topping off at 5,712 meters.

Time and again, the Inca Empire's ingenuity is remembered through its agricultural engineering and architecture. Amazing bridges, stone laid steps, and ruins exquisitely ordered and constructed in stone can all be seen in route to Pariaccacca.

This breathtaking, (literally) yet simple beauty of nature reveals to passers by the rich Andean culture constantly sought after by tourists. According to local mythology, there is a particular part of the trail that crosses the mountain reaching a mysterious point at which the ruins take form and is believed to retain a sort of spiritual energy due to its sacred location and use for ritual by the Incas. Nearby this luminal intersection is a cave found at the starting point of Escalerayoc. This sacred center within the cave includes paintings of llamas and men in the rock walls. Was this what the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was like before it became the tourist amusement park where foregoers pay at a window, become a number as you enter the threshold gate of entry point and pick a language for your tour guide? I am not sure, but the journey of this Inca trail allows a sliver into the past of what the widely traveled Inca trial to Machu Picchu may have been over 50 years ago.

There is currently no tourism to Pariaccacca, which is a natural and cultural diamond-in-the-ruff that will surely become as exploited as Cuzco's Inca Trail in the years to come. The southern circuit of Peru is becoming saturated as the primary destination for all first time visitors of Peru. Consequently, the push for central and northern Peru to develop is imperative. Enjoy the virginity of Pariaccacca as it remains today.

If you are interested in seeking out a local guide from the area who can explain much of the cultural mythology surrounding this particular route, you may wish to contact Marco A. Jurado Ames of Hidden Peru Expeditions. Andinismo_peru@yahoo.es. He speaks a bit of English, but can refer you to his partner Rubén Flores, a mountain guide and photographer who does write and speak in English. There is currently no literature in English on this sacred mountain. For more information, contact South American Explorers. Limaclub@saexplorers.org