 In today's episode I'm going to tell you why you can't hike the Inca Trail on your own. And I'll also tell you what other alternatives exist if you still want to tackle the region solo. Now, first off is the Inca Trail. You can't hike the Inca Trail on your own. It just wouldn't be reasonable. There's too much at stake. There's a lot of historical significance and we don't need somebody running out there with a rock or stone and carving something of their own personal motivation into the wall. We want to keep everything safe. And this is done by having legitimate guides and travel agencies regulated and being the only ones that are allowed on the trail itself. Second reason is the stimulated economy. We want to definitely make sure that there are people in the area that get paid or experience some of the benefits of external tourism. And that's done by employing locals and such to get them to be porters and to allow them to take your stuff around the area. It's a reasonable thing to do as well. And then the last as well is cleanliness. You certainly don't want people running out there and getting drunk on the trail or leaving toilet paper all over the place. Maybe there'd be other things like vandalism or violence other things that would just otherwise happen if it was an unregulated area. Now you can still buy beer on the trail and these are done at some of the little stations along the way but other than that people aren't throwing bonfire parties. But anyway, you'll always need a tour guide if you want to travel the Inca Trail. An alternative to the Inca Trail would be the Salkentide Trail. The Salkentide Trail has a few benefits. The other one of most being is not the Inca Trail and it still ends up at Machu Picchu. Now the Salkentide Trail also has a benefit at the beginning. You'll be able to hike past Lake Umenti. Umenti is at the base of Salkentide Mountain. The mountains were revered by the Incan people. And Umenti itself is a wonderful, gorgeous lake that we had the fortune to go visit or visit on our own without actually hiking the Salkentide Trail. Salkentide Trail still has a good amount of elevation climbing. You're still hiking through the Andes. It has wonderful views. And like I said, it's the only other one that's actually going to take you to Machu Picchu. Last on the list right now is the Chocokiro Trail. The Chocokiro Trail takes about six days in total and it's a very, very isolated trail. Now, that being said, some of the isolation gives it some beauty. It has a lot of wonderful views as you take the trip. Usually it's a two-day entry and then about four days on the trail itself once you leave Chocokiro. But beyond that, if you want to see a couple of other videos of some people doing it, we haven't done it ourselves. But I know Craig Adams has done it and he had a wonderful little video and we'll definitely put it up in the description. Two other trails that you'll have the opportunity to hike if you want to see the Andes will be the Vilcambamba Trail and the Laris Trail. Now again, the only two trails that actually make it to Machu Picchu are the Inca Trail and the Salkentide Trail. Other than that, we mentioned Chocokiro and then like you said, Vilcambamba and Laris Trail. These trails themselves also have their own ups and downs. They have other sites they're going to see and you're going to be captivated no matter where you go. But you still have to look out for accessibility and the downsides to the Inca Trail are that it's just so populated. It's a touristy area and the trail itself is heavily traveled as a result of that. You have to plan very far in advance if you want to book these. As we start getting to Salkentide, you'll still have a reasonable number of people on Salkentide and Chocokiro, Vilcambamba, Laris are going to be less populated, allow you to still see the area. Perhaps if you get there and you didn't book ahead or you didn't have the opportunity, there's still plenty to see in the area. So do go look up these trails and I'm sure you'll find something wonderful on them. We haven't done them ourselves yet, but we've only been in Peru once also. So maybe next time. So that ends our short little episode on why you can't hike the Inca Trail on your own. What other alternatives you might have in the event that you can't get to the Inca Trail but you happen to be in Peru. And if you liked this video, leave some comments below. Give us a thumbs up and we'll see you on your next adventure.