Abancay is the capital of the Apurímac region, a city of about fifty-five thousand people in a warm, steep-sided valley of the Andes, and it is a town that most travellers pass through without realising how remarkable the geography is. The name of the region comes from the Apurímac River, a Quechua name usually understood to mean the great speaker, and the sound of its water in the canyon below is part of the character of the place. The city itself is modest, with a grid of streets, a lively plaza and a market full of regional produce, but its position in the middle of a vast canyon system gives it a strong sense of drama.
The road from Cusco is one of the great rides of the southern Andes. It begins by climbing out of the Cusco basin, then drops into the Apurímac canyon in a long series of bends, with a descent of well over a thousand metres in a short distance, before climbing out the other side. The surface is paved, with sections of patching and occasional landslide damage, and the gradients are long and steady. Fog and rain can move in quickly, particularly in the wet season from December to March, and at times, the road is blocked by rockfalls. The dry months, from May to October, are the best period for riding.
Abancay has fuel, workshops, shops, restaurants and a good range of hotels, so it is an easy place to rest and prepare. Curahuasi, a village on the way from Cusco, is known for its anise, which is grown in the valley and sold in markets across Peru, and the sweet, liquorice scent of the harvest drifts across the fields. In the city, you can find hearty stews, grilled guinea pig and a dessert of fried dough with honey. After the climb and the descent, a meal and a rest are well earned.
The surrounding country is a land of canyons, with warm, dry valleys planted with sugar cane and avocados and high, cold plateaus above. The region is famous among walkers for Choquequirao, an Inca site on a ridge above the canyon, reached by a long and difficult trek rather than by road. Condors are common in the thermals above the gorge, and the changing light on the mountains gives the whole area a richness of colour. It is a stage on a long road, but an interesting one.