Trail of Feathers is a travel book by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah. Enthralled by a line from the chronicle of a sixteenth-century monk, which said that the Incas ‘flew like birds’ over the jungle, and by the recurring theme of flying in Peruvian folklore, Tahir Shah set out to discover whether the Incas really did fly or glide above the jungles of Peru. Or was the Spanish cleric alluding to flight of a different kind – flight inspired by a powerful hallucinogen? After gathering equipment in London – and advice from Wilfred Thesiger – the long quest begins.... First, to the mountains of Peru and a trek to Machu Picchu, the Incas’ most sacred city. Then on to the mountain city of Cusco and a mysterious island on the great glittering expanse of Lake Titicaca. Picking up clues as he goes, Shah's trail takes him on to the coast and through the desert, to the immense animal-like etchings which form the Nazca Lines, and a remote burial ground for 30,000 mummified corpses. And finally to an extended river journey up the Amazon to discover the secrets of the Shuar, a tribe of infamous savagery living in the deep jungle of the Upper Amazon.
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| Author: | Tahir Shah |
| Genre: | Travel |
| Year published: | 2001 |
| Number of editions: | 5 |