Peru was in a "state of siege," Halley's Comet was making its cyclical reappearance for the first time in seventy-two years, and the throngs of tourists that would soon elevate Machu Picchu to a major world tourist destination had not yet descended upon the Sacred Valley.

Before the luxury hotels, high-speed trains and express helicopters, an independent traveler armed with a poem encounters the obstacles and rewards of a puzzled trail in the quest to reach Machu Picchu, the legendary "Lost City of the Incas." With travels through the highlands of Peru; including Cusco, Pisac,...