Choquequirao is sometimes called the sister of Machu Picchu, and you can tell why when you see the photographs: a ridge of white-walled terraces and plazas, perched above a canyon, with snow peaks looming in the background. It is also a good deal harder to reach. The ruins sit at around three thousand metres on the far side of the Apurímac valley, a day's hard walk from the end of the road, and a fraction of the visitors who crowd Machu Picchu make the journey. The name is usually translated as cradle of gold.
The path you follow is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system that UNESCO listed in 2014, and the segments around Choquequirao include sections with original paving and stairs that drop into the canyon and climb out again. Nearby, the town of Abancay, the capital of the Apurímac region, is the practical base. The Apurímac river below is fast and deep, and its name is generally given as the great speaker, a nod to the roar of the water in the canyon. The valley is home to condors, which ride the thermals on the cliffs.
On the road, the stretch between Abancay and Cusco is a long, winding highway, mostly paved, that crosses high passes and drops into deep valleys, with lots of bends, trucks and occasional rockfall. Curahuasi, on the way, is known for its anise, and the Saywite stone, a huge carved boulder from the Inca period, lies near the road. The turn-off toward Cachora, the usual starting point for the trek to Choquequirao, is rougher and narrower, with exposed edges and landslide patches in the rainy season, which runs roughly from December to March.
Abancay, about thirty kilometres away, is a town of fifty thousand or so, with fuel, shops and cheap restaurants. The road to Cachora has nothing, so fill up in Abancay and carry water and food. The ruins themselves are reached on foot or by mule, and the trek is usually done in four days with a guide, so leave the bike somewhere safe and plan for cold evenings.