Book description
In every atlas there is a country missing from the maps of South
America: the Andean nation. For five months John Harrison journeys
through this secret country, walking alone into remote villages where
he is the first gringo the inhabitants have ever seen, and where life
continues as if Columbus had never sailed. He lives at over 10,000
feet for most of the trip, following the great road of the Incas: the
Camino Real, or Royal Road. Hand built over 500 years ago, it crosses
the most difficult and dangerous mountains in all the Americas, diving
into sweltering canyons and soaring up into the snows. 1500 miles,
half of it on foot, takes him from the Equator to Cuzco and the most
magical city of all: Machu Picchu. In this Wales' Book of the Year
2011 winning book, he is attacked, gets lost and is trapped by floods,
but only when he goes home does he lose what he wants most.
