The high Andes of central Peru are less visited than the Cusco region, but the Incas were here too, and the old royal road, the Qhapaq Nan, runs through the mountains of Huanuco Region, with segments surviving in the hills above the towns of Llata and La Union.
The Qhapaq Nan was a network of roads that linked the empire from Colombia to Chile, over thirty thousand kilometres in all, with relay stations, storehouses and bridges. The segment listed here is part of a branch that connected Huanuco Pampa, one of the main Inca administrative centres in the northern highlands, with the main road to Cusco. The paths are usually paved with flat stones, with steps on steep sections and low walls on the edge, and many are still in use by farmers and herders who walk them with llamas and donkeys. Rope suspension bridges, rebuilt every year in some places, are an Inca technology that survives.
The country is rugged and beautiful. From the Marañón river valley the road climbs through terraced fields of potatoes, quinoa and barley, to cold grassland above three thousand metres, with snow peaks of the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash to the west. The roads are often dirt, steep and narrow, with sheer drops and landslides in the rainy season from November to March, so this is a place for experienced riders on suitable bikes. The dry months of June to September are best. At that height, mornings are freezing, the sun is fierce, and afternoon clouds bring hail or rain, so layers and waterproofs are essential. Altitude sickness is a real risk if you arrive from the coast.
Services are few. Llata, with about four and a half thousand people, and La Union, with a similar number, have small shops, a few simple restaurants and basic lodging, and fuel is sold in small quantities, so fill up whenever you see a pump, and carry extra. Try a hearty bowl of soup, trout from the highland streams, and a cup of coca tea, which helps with the altitude. Carry cash in soles, because cards are rare, and tell someone where you are going.