I hope the details of my travel adventures will help future travelers. Here is my first... that hardest hike and trip I have EVER done.
Important things to know about visiting Choquequirao at bottom of blog.
Choquequirao is a beautiful, peaceful place to visit. It is currently know as the "new Machu Picchu" or "the lost city of the Incas" and was discovered about 14 years ago. This Incan empire is not fully explored yet and they say there is still about 50% to uncover. Unlike Machu Picchu, the only way to arrive is by walking, hiking, and camping through a valley .There are a few areas where you can ride a horse through it, but mostly you have to get yourself there. That is 32km one way and the same way back in an elevation of about 3300 meters. This is about 40 miles-ish total. As I am not a very outdoorsy person, this already sounded hard but I went anyway. I am young and knew I would pull through. Unfortunately for me and my weak body, 35 of those miles were a steep rocky and/or muddy narrow road...
Our trip to Choquequirao was rough and tiresome but amazing. As much as I don't like hiking, camping, etc... we made the trip for this hidden Incan Empire. The tiny town, Cachora, where we would start our hike was about 1/2 way through Cuzco and Abancay. We were in a group of 8 and we had 3 mules to carry our things and 2 horses for some of those spots we could ride in.
We arrived to Cachora late and were set to leave at dawn. By the time the sun peeked through the mountains, we were ready to go and started our walk. The first couple of hours were manageable, some muddy areas and hills but mostly flatlands, this I could deal with just fine. Once we reached the edge of the mountain to begin our hike down (took 2 hours to arrive here), we had a snack and proceeded to the hike. We were told it would be about a 4 hour hike down until we reached the river and had some lunch. It was a zig zag style of a hike, not a very wide road, and no shade whatsoever, just the beating sun. About 3 hours in, I knew it would take me longer than 4 hours as I had barely passed the halfway mark and was struggling. Most of our group was ahead and it was Justin and a fellow Peruvian from our group who stayed with me. My feet hurt, my cookies (our snack for strength!) were almost gone, and my energy was just sweating out of me. I had to stop several times and had to go extra slow because my toes were in too much pain. Tourists were passing me all over the place but I just couldn't go any faster. Since I stopped so much, I was able to take in many of the breathtaking views. It was downhill the whole 6 hours it took me to get to the river but that was the only way to go and I made it!
Important things to know about visiting Choquequirao at bottom of blog.
Choquequirao is a beautiful, peaceful place to visit. It is currently know as the "new Machu Picchu" or "the lost city of the Incas" and was discovered about 14 years ago. This Incan empire is not fully explored yet and they say there is still about 50% to uncover. Unlike Machu Picchu, the only way to arrive is by walking, hiking, and camping through a valley .There are a few areas where you can ride a horse through it, but mostly you have to get yourself there. That is 32km one way and the same way back in an elevation of about 3300 meters. This is about 40 miles-ish total. As I am not a very outdoorsy person, this already sounded hard but I went anyway. I am young and knew I would pull through. Unfortunately for me and my weak body, 35 of those miles were a steep rocky and/or muddy narrow road...
Our trip to Choquequirao was rough and tiresome but amazing. As much as I don't like hiking, camping, etc... we made the trip for this hidden Incan Empire. The tiny town, Cachora, where we would start our hike was about 1/2 way through Cuzco and Abancay. We were in a group of 8 and we had 3 mules to carry our things and 2 horses for some of those spots we could ride in.
We arrived to Cachora late and were set to leave at dawn. By the time the sun peeked through the mountains, we were ready to go and started our walk. The first couple of hours were manageable, some muddy areas and hills but mostly flatlands, this I could deal with just fine. Once we reached the edge of the mountain to begin our hike down (took 2 hours to arrive here), we had a snack and proceeded to the hike. We were told it would be about a 4 hour hike down until we reached the river and had some lunch. It was a zig zag style of a hike, not a very wide road, and no shade whatsoever, just the beating sun. About 3 hours in, I knew it would take me longer than 4 hours as I had barely passed the halfway mark and was struggling. Most of our group was ahead and it was Justin and a fellow Peruvian from our group who stayed with me. My feet hurt, my cookies (our snack for strength!) were almost gone, and my energy was just sweating out of me. I had to stop several times and had to go extra slow because my toes were in too much pain. Tourists were passing me all over the place but I just couldn't go any faster. Since I stopped so much, I was able to take in many of the breathtaking views. It was downhill the whole 6 hours it took me to get to the river but that was the only way to go and I made it!
After lunch and some much needed rest for about 45 minutes, we were going up the mountain across the Apurimac River next. We stopped to take some great pictures here for a quick minute. We crossed the river and the 2 horses were available to ride for the next 2 hours. Yay, THAT horse is mine! There was another girl struggling and her and I took the horses up. We reached the 1st campsite and knew we would not make the top one (3rd campsite) by nightfall. We wanted to at least reach the 2nd campsite but Justin had fallen behind and I knew he was having trouble. In the middle of the jungle in between 2 mountains there is no cell phone reception so we had no communication once we were separated. I decided he may need the horse... I started walking up the hill knowing we only had about 30 minutes left of light. About 25 minutes later, he catches up and thanks me to no end as he wasn't going to make it any further on foot. I jokingly ask for a trade as he smirks with pain and keeps the horse, this is when I knew he really needed the help. It took me another 40 minutes to reach the campsite, it was dark for the last 30 minutes of that. Not fun and I was exhausted but extremely thankful for the hike up vs the hike down. My toes just couldn't take any more pressure. Reaching the campsite I was ready to sleep and was extremely thankful the guides had tents up! The guides we had were pretty interesting... they take this trip weekly in "ojotas" which are sandals made of tire rubber. It is their way of life and I was amazed how comfortable they seemed to be.
I did manage some sleep through the rain hitting our tent all night. We were up and going by dawn, we were told this day would be easier because it wasn't as steep. So, up went another couple of hours and we reach the last campsite where we took a quick rest and looked forward to arriving at our long awaited destination "just past that mountain". We knew the rainy season was just barely finishing up. We knew the path would stay narrow in this jungle-like path. What we didn't know? We didn't know we would have 2 hours of climbing mud in a narrow path with a long way down on one side. We managed to acquire some natural walking sticks for leverage and that did help with balancing. 32 kilometers later, we reach the lost city of Choquequirao. We arrived, found a place to eat, and relaxed for a bit before we began exploring. It was beautiful and peaceful.
There was plenty to see and too many areas to visit while we were there. I could have spent 2-3 days there to see it all. Unfortunately, we were tired and only visited a couple of areas... still well worth the trip. We were fortunate to see such amazing sights and such a scenic place. We were also lucky that after the 1st hour the clouds cleared and we were able to enjoy the views in an almost perfect setting. We took a deep breath and enjoyed this moment and knew that no amount of pictures could describe what we saw and what we were experiencing.
There was plenty to see and too many areas to visit while we were there. I could have spent 2-3 days there to see it all. Unfortunately, we were tired and only visited a couple of areas... still well worth the trip. We were fortunate to see such amazing sights and such a scenic place. We were also lucky that after the 1st hour the clouds cleared and we were able to enjoy the views in an almost perfect setting. We took a deep breath and enjoyed this moment and knew that no amount of pictures could describe what we saw and what we were experiencing.
The way back was another adventure. Halfway to our campsite dusk started to set in and we knew we wouldn't make it back before nightfall. The problem? Narrow, rocky, muddy path in the dark, downhill. We had 2 flashlights and picked up some poor hikers in the dark. We had a lead light and a back light to make sure nobody was lost. By the time we found the camp there was about 12 of us in a line following the lead flashlight... but we were sooo happy to get there! We ate, slept, and back up at 8am for our last day of walking, hiking, and exhaustion. We made it back, after the last of 12 hours I would ever want to walk/hike in a row... 3 days was enough. We arrived at Cachora in the dark to take a cab back to Abancay. We slept awesome that night, in our bed!
It really was an unforgettable trip!
Elevation: 3,300m / 11,000ft
Travel time: 32km / 20mi one way (3-5 days)
Cost: entrance $10, guides/horses/mules/tents $50-$100/day, travel to/from Cachora $30
Bring (mules will carry everything): Gallons of water to cut down on expenses, comfortable shoes, rain gear, TP, sanitizer, sleeping bag, change of clothes, flashlights (extra batteries), towel, repellent, sunscreen, hat, camera, walking stick, some cash.
Recs: keep snacks (candy, cookies) and an extra bottle of water with you AT ALL TIMES.
