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The Choquequirao to Machu Picchu Trek Tour program 12 days/11 nights

This is a breathtaking trek through some of the most inaccessible valleys and incredible mountain scenery of Peru, beginning and ending with two of the most spectacular and enigmatic Inca sites to have survived the ravages of time and the Spanish conquest: Choquequirao and Machu Picchu. These two elite Inca ceremonial centers, dedicated to the worship of the mountain gods, the natural elements, and two great Andean rivers, inspire us with the vast scale and astounding natural beauty of their surroundings.

Choquequirao sits on a mountain saddle, 1500m/5,000ft above the thundering Apurimac river. It has been called “Machu Picchu’s sacred sister”, because of the striking similarities of design and ceremonial architecture to its more famous counterpart above the Urubamba Gorge. Yet it remains an enigmatic place whose history is a matter of speculation. One theory of its origins holds that it was a royal estate built for the emperor Topa Inca, perhaps in an attempt to rival his father Pachacuti’s spectacular domain at Machu Picchu.

From Choquequirao we cross the rugged Vilcabamba ranges, passing smaller Inca sites along the way, and wending our way through an extraordinary variety of plant and animal habitats. Crossing gorges and ravines, we pass abandoned colonial mines, traverse condor flight paths, visit remote Quechua villages and retrace the routes of Inca highways. Spending our final camping night amidst the forest near a secluded Inca ruin within view of Machu Picchu, we hike the final leg to the spectacular Inca city along the less traveled eastern approaches.

With our guide on hand, we have a day to enjoy and explore fabled Machu Picchu. Like Choquequirao, this site was protected by its remoteness from destruction by Spanish priests and conquistadors. Abandoned by the Incas, and known only to local Indians until it was scientifically discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, the place survived almost intact beneath a carpet of forest for some 400 years. Although it still conceals many of its secrets, its architectural and natural beauty stand as a permanent monument to the vision and genius of the Incas.

In the afternoon we descend to the railroad and take our train back to the highland city of Cusco.

Day 1. to Cachora / Chiquisca

Departing from Cusco in the early morning, we take a spectacular drive across the farmlands of the Anta Plateau, surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Andes. The winding road plunges more than 1,800m./6,000ft. to a bridge over the Apurimac Gorge, then climbs through lush fields and orchards before making a final descent to the village of Cachora, at 3,400m./11,100ft., where we encounter stunning close-up views of the snow-capped Cordillera Vilcabamba. Here we meet our crew and horse pack train and begin our hike, catching our first glimpse of distant Choquequirao at the Capuliyoc lookout before dropping steeply through dry cactus and orchid country into the Apurimac River Canyon. We camp at the small oasis of Chiquisca, 2000m./6,550ft.

Day 2. to Choquequirao

We descend the last fifteen hundred feet of elevation to the Apurimac River –“Great Spirit Speaker” in the Quechua language of the Incas – and cross the mighty river on a suspension footbridge, at 1550m./5,100ft. A broad trail makes a zig-zagging ascent, which takes us out of the dry canyon zone past small sugarcane plantations to green upland meadows where, across a deep valley, we meet our first panoramic vista of the buildings and terraces of Choquequirao. The final leg of today’s hike passes through the cool shadows of a native cloud forest as we approach the wooded ridgetop (3000m./10,000ft.) where the Incas built their remote ceremonial center. We camp near the Inca ruins.

Day 3. in Choquequirao
We have the entire day to explore this stunning Inca settlement. As mysterious as Machu Picchu, its name means “Cradle of Gold”. Early Spaniards knew of this place, yet its remoteness protected it. French explorers visited it in the 19th century, and in 1909 explorer Hiram Bingham was the first to scientifically investigate the site. Some speculate that the emperor Topa Inca had it built as a personal spiritual retreat, to rival his father Pachacuti’s magnificent estate at Machu Picchu. Whoever built this place, it was undoubtedly an elite settlement, built for ceremonial purposes and occupied by Inca nobility.

The Apurimac river roars distantly 1,450m./4,800 ft. below, visible on either side of a steep ridge to which clings the Inca city. As we approach the heart of the city, a sweep of enormous curved terraces leads our eye to an artificial hill and ceremonial platform overlooking the main plaza. Here afternoon thermal currents bring Andean Condors soaring over the complex of temples, mausoleums, royal residences, ritual baths and water channels, great gathering halls, storehouses, hidden gardens and a giant stairway, all still standing as testimony to the careful planning of Inca engineers. Excavation work at the site is very recent, and archaeologists are continually uncovering hitherto unknown areas and structures. South and east, below the main plaza, lie several clusters of newly-discovered buildings, including the so-called Ridge Group, and the Waterfall Temple, an intriguing ceremonial complex facing the cascades of a steep ravine. Other investigations have revealed more than 130 terraces on the precipitous drop-off to the west, some of them faced with white stone friezes featuring zig-zag and checkerboard patterns, along with 22 llama figures.

Day 4. to Pincha Unuyoc
We climb a narrow trail through bamboo thickets and dense cloud forest, spotting exotic bird and plant species as we round the mountain spur above Choquequirao and cross a moderate pass, before descending broad, grassy slopes into the Yanama river basin. Spanning the skyline ahead of us to the north we see the massive blue-green ridge of Qoriwayrachina, once home to an Inca farming and mining complex which supplied Choquequirao. The looming heights of Cerro Victoria upon this ridge feature a sacred platform where the Incas once observed the winter solstice. With the Yanama river gorge visible far below, the sheer scale of the landscape here , is breathtaking. By lunchtime we reach the outlying site of Pincha Unuyoc -- “Water Gushing Forth” -- a fan of carefully-built stone farming terraces, topped by a small temple complex. Camping near the terraces, we enjoy the views and the relaxation offered by this short day’s hike.

Day 5. to Maizal
We begin the steep switchback descent into the Rio Blanco ravine, threading our way through a dry micro-environment of gnarled, ghostly trees draped with lichens and epiphytes; this is a day for spotting unusual orchids, tillandsia flowers, and varieties of cactus. Leaving the torrid, boulder-strewn ravine behind, we ascend once more to cloud forest and fresher altitudes, as we reach our camp at the small farm of Maizal.

Day 6. to Yanama
We ascend through ever-changing layers of cloud forest, soon passing the first of many abandoned mine-shafts -- the remnant of a once-prosperous lode of silver first worked by 17th-century Spanish Jesuit missionaries and their native flock. As we climb beyond the tree line we find ourselves following the remains of an Inca road which crossed the ridge ahead of us, at Minas Victoria pass (4,400m./14,500ft.) At the pass we face startling views of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, with the 6,000m./19,800ft. peaks of the Pumasillo range dead ahead of us and Choquetacarpo pass off the north-west. This spot is right on the flight path for Andean condors soaring the north slope of Qoriwayrachina, and we usually see them here. After the pass the trail descends past dozens of shafts and piles of mine tailings rich with glittering minerals, following a broad path carved into a dramatic cliff face. The trail penetrates thickets of giant lupin and weaves through small farming plots as we approach Yanama, where friendly villagers may trade weavings or farm produce at our streamside campsite.

Day 7. to Totora
Our route ascends a of valley broad pastures between the snow capped ranges of Pumasillo to the north, and Padreyoc to the south. The climb is gradual but continuous, until finally we leave grassy meadows behind and cross the stony, windswept slopes of Puerto Yanama (4,700m/15,500ft). At this pass, as we cross the watershed between the Apurimac and Urubamba river systems, we can gaze down into the Santa Teresa valley, and across to dramatic vistas of Salcantay (6,270m/20,565ft) and Humantay (5,917m/18,760ft), the last great peaks of the Vilcabamba range, beyond which lies Machu Picchu. We make a winding descent to our camp by a stream near the village of Totora.

Day 8. to Collpapampa
We take a dramatic trail that traverses the steep south bank of the Santa Teresa river. Bird and plant life teem along the banks of tumbling side streams as we enjoy this short and easy day. We camp in a meadow at the tiny village of Collpapampa, where we can take some rest time, or descend a footpath to soak in a delicious hot spring pool by the Santa Teresa river.

Day 9. to Playa
We cross to the north bank of the Santa Teresa and take an undulating path downriver through delightful cloud forest and then coffee plantations and tropical orchards of passion-fruit, papaya and avocado, with towering mountains to either side of us. We meet schoolchildren and the mule trains of local farmers as we approach the roadhead at the village of Playa. Here we camp by the schoolhouse and enjoy a dip in the river.

Day 10. to Patallacta
After a short walk we leave the dirt road and start to climb a well preserved Inca highway to a ridgetop that divides the Santa Teresa from the next valley east, the Aobamba. The ridge is forested with tall trees, a rare example of pristine climax cloud forest, and here we encounter a broad Inca road running along the ridgeline. We take this for a short way, so that we can glimpse our first views of Machu Picchu, perched on a mountain saddle far to the east. Then we descend through the ruins of Patallacta, a site first discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1915, subsequently lost to science, and then rediscovered in the 1980s. This extensive site seems to be an outlier of the main Inca city, with ceremonial significance relating to the winter solstice sun, which rises over Machu Picchu, as seen from here. We explore these ruins as we descend towards our campsite, a grassy and secluded meadow with stupendous views toward Machu Picchu, the Urubamba river, and the snow-capped peaks of Salcantay and Wakay Willka.

Day 11. to Machu Picchu
We take a zig-zagging trail through the forest to reach the Aobamba river, just upstream of its confluence with the Urubamba. After passing a hydro-electric power station and crossing a bridge we meet the railroad and follow its tracks along the banks of the river to the town of Aguas Calientes. Here we can rest at our hotel, enjoy shopping or the hot springs in this cramped and bustling community, or choose to take the bus for an afternoon visit to spectacular Machu Picchu itself.

Day 12. to Machu Picchu / Cusco
We leave early to catch the first bus to Machu Picchu, the mysterious Inca settlement scientifically discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. Here we tour the highlights of the Inca site, and then take time to explore and discover the hidden corners of the Inca city for ourselves. Mistakenly identified by Hiram Bingham as the last Inca refuge of Vilcabamba, Machu Picchu is now known to have been a private royal estate of Pachacuti, the emperor who launched the Inca imperial expansion in the mid-15th century. It is still not known exactly why Pachacuti chose to build such a large and complex settlement in this place, remote from the major centers of the Inca world. In all likelihood it was the site’s encirclement by the Urubamba river and the concentration of nearby snow peaks -- powerful and sacred elements in the Inca religion -- that drew the Incas here, just as the stunning natural beauty of the place attracts visitors from all over the world to this day.

In the afternoon we take our leave of Machu Picchu, boarding a bus to the train station, and then our train back to Cusco.

WEATHER.
The Andean weather can be unpredictable, despite the sharp divide between dry and wet seasons. The dry season runs from May to October or November; the rainy season goes from December through April. Nevertheless, in the forested fringes of the Amazon basin where Choquequirao lies, showers are not uncommon at any time of year. Therefore rain pants and jacket are essential gear that should always be in your daypack.
Daytime temperatures can vary greatly, from about 10ºC/50ºF to 32ºC/90ºF with nightime temperatures from 10ºC/50ºF down to around 4ºC/40ºF, though seldom much lower. The floor of the Apurimac Canyon gets very hot during the day. Bring your swimsuit for a delicious bathe in the river, or for hot springs at Collpapampa and Aguas Calientes.

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