Tracing the spine of the Andes, the once heavily trafficked stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan (meaning ‘the royal road’ to the Incas) between the northern Peru villages of Huamachuco and Mollepata now sits quiet, devoid of footfall save for the occasional villager or intrepid hiker.

But even when there’s no-one in sight, the region hums with the echoes of a great civilisation that disappeared long ago.