Choquequirao

Historical Building, Hiking, Trekking

V!VA User‘s Description

Among trekking opportunities in the Sacred Valley this trail entices trekkers with the chance to view magnificent, albeit less well-known, Inca ruins. This huge Inca complex sitting precariously on a ridge-top in the Vilcabamba area consists of magnificent Inca walls and double recessed doorways. Most likely, it was built as a winter palace for Inca Túpac Yupanqui, in the same fashion that his father, Pachacútec, built Machu Picchu. Since Hiram Bingham discovered the ruins in 1911 it has remained the relatively less-traveled sibling of Machu Picchu. The trek to Choquequirao starts at Cachora, which you can reach by taking a bus to Abancay and getting off at a dirt road past Saywite Stone. If you're keen, you can hitchhike the final stretch to Cachora, where you can rent guides and mules. The first day involves a hike down to Río Apurímac, and on the second day you'll embark on an arduous six-hour climb straight up the other side to the cloud forest ridge where the city sits. Some Cusco tour agencies offer a combined ten-day trek from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu. Another approach to Choquequirao is to start at Huancacalle and make the eight-day trek across the Cordillera Vilcabamba via the Vitcos ruins.