Hike to Choquequirao – Machu Picchu’s Sister City (5 days / 4 nights)
Trek to the ruins of one of Peru’s most remarkable Inca sites. Choquequirao is as impressively located as its more famous sister city Machu Picchu, but this route through the remote Vilcabamba region is only travelled by local highlanders and our groups, guaranteeing our travellers a sense of discovery after a journey through spectacular scenery and a vivid regional history which includes the guerrilla war fought by the last Incas against Spanish domination. Some researchers have called this city the Incas‚ last secret, for although the Spanish invaded the Vilcabamba stronghold of the last rebel Incas twice, they never discovered Choquequirao.
Day 1
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From Cusco we journey by road to the small village of Tambobamba. On the way we will have an opportunity to visit the Saywite stone. This is a limestone outcrop about four metres in diameter on which the Incas carved a model of their empire, Tawantinsuyo. The stone, upon which images of the flora, fauna, topography and customs of the empire were carved, was used in ceremonies dedicated to the worship of water. Several other similar rock outcrops lie scattered across the surrounding area, along the vestiges of an Inca highway.
The journey is 140 kilometres along a paved road, followed by 30 km of dirt road and a 10 kilometre track. Tambobamba village is located at 2,270 metres (7,445 feet) above sea level. After settling in to our hotel we will take a late lunch. In the evening you will be given a briefing regarding the coming trek.
Day 2
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We set off soon after dawn, walking for two to three hours to San Ignacio bridge (1,509 metres/5,244 feet) over the Apurímac River, where after a refreshing dip in the cold waters we will begin the ascent towards Choquequirao. This is a strenuous day’s hiking, but we will be rewarded by fine scenery, abundant bird life and a real sense of discovery. We climb through a cloud forest environment to our first camp at 2,900 metres, where after lunch we will visit the agricultural terraces of Phaqchayoc.
Day 3
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Today you will have the entire day to explore the Choquequirao Archaeological Park in the company of our guide and independently, including the administrative and religious sectors, the ceremonial platform, or Usnu, the main square and granaries. With luck we will also see an Andean condor or two from the ceremonial platform as they rise on the thermal air currents from the Apurimac valley some 1,600 metres below.
Day 4
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After continuing to explore Choquequirao and the pathways through the surrounding forest, both in the company of our guide and alone, we will make the descent from the ruins to San Ignacio bridge, where once again the cold waters of the Apurímac will be there to refresh our limbs. We then hike up to Tambobamba for a well-deserved night’s rest at our hostel. Horses are available on this final day for those who need them.
Day 5
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Today, after a leisurely breakfast in our lodge, we end our journey into this remote and magnificent region of the Andes with the drive back to Cusco, arriving in the city in the mid-afternoon.
