From Maya to Inca: Achupallas and the Inca trail

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Achupallas and the Inca trail

Achupallas is a parish in the canton of Alausi in the province of Chimborazo and lies at roughly 3000 metres above sea level. On Thursday 6th June, I stayed the night at the hostel El Ingañan owned by a lovely and very welcoming lady called Inés. I would definitely recommend this hostel - 15 dollars a night with hot water and great food (a couple of dollars extra for the food). The village has kept many of its traditions and has some beautiful views, and the people that I spoke to were very friendly and warm, despite the cold conditions in which they live, high up in the mountains. Achupallas has 22 communities in the surrounding countryside, some of which speak Kichwa, some only Spanish and some both. Rafael Correa visited this parish in 2011 and while I was there, a group of children was practising a march through the village in preparation for the bull run that will take place here towards the end of June. The reason I came to Achupallas (or Alausi as I first thought!) is its proximity to the starting point of a segment of the Inca trail that leads to the ruins of Ingapirca, the largest known Inca ruins in Ecuador.

At the height of its power, the Inca Empire extended from Northern Ecuador to central Chile and the road system of the Incas was the greatest communication system ever created. The Inca trail can be followed in many areas though Ecuador, Peru and Chile and I decided to pick it up here in Achupallas. This segment of the Inca trail climbs from 3000 to 4300 metres back down to 3200 metres, over 40 kms, and is generally hiked over three days. In the evening, after I had walked around the village, I met the man who was organising the hike, including the guide and mule, to discuss what we would need in the way of tents, food etc. He assured me that the guide "el joven" (the young guy) knew the trail as well as he did himself and I went to bed reassured and looking forward to my very own Inca adventure...

Hostel El Ingañan

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Interesting facts

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