Welcome to the Weekend Dispatch. Here are our top finds for Feb. 26.

Machu Picchu. Photo by Federico Rossi

01. Photographer pick: Federico Rossi

Looking for your daily dose of travel photography? Give @effe_come_foto_fede a follow on Instagram. There aren't many places he hasn't been!

 

Photo by Hoach Le Dinh | Unsplash

02. Article pick: How to Hike the Inca Trail

Hiking the Inca Trail is an experience which should inspire excitement, invoke a little bit of fear, and stir a sense of wander in your soul.

This blog post will give you a first-hand glimpse of the (average) four-day, three-night Inca Trail trek all the way to Machu Picchu. 

"The Last Days of the Incas" by Kim MacQuarrie

03. Book pick: The Last Days of the Incas

The seizure of the Inca Empire by a band of Spanish adventurers is one of the most dramatic — and savagery — events in history, and “The Last Days of the Incas” does it justice. The book accounts for the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the modern search for the Incas’ lost Amazonian capital of Vilcabamba, and of the incredible discovery of Machu Picchu without holding back any details. 

Author Kim MacQuarrie, an anthropologist, became fascinated by the Incas after living in Peru for five years. He is an award-winning author and documentary filmmaker.

You can order the book from sellers listed here. 

Photo by Leandro Fregoni | Unsplash

04. Audio pick: Caravan of Memory | Yuyarispa Llamaykuwan Purimuku

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is protected by the Peruvian State due to the historical value of the sections it runs through. Known as the Capac ñan, these ancient highways held together the vast Inca Empire, supporting both its expansion and successful integration into a range of cultures. 

This 2010 film follows 25 Quechua families who took a caravan of llamas from their home village, Chawaytiri, to the city of Pisac, sending off the message: "Let us be careful not to lose the ways and customs of our ancestors, so that nothing useful disappears."