CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
385 km from Cusco to Cusco, about 7 h 26 of riding. It goes by way of Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana, Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi, Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha and Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Cusco sits at about 3,400 metres in a high Andean valley, and the first thing it asks of you is patience. The air is thin, so even a short walk uphill can leave you breathless, and visitors from sea level often feel it as a headache or a strange tightness for a day or two. Locals will offer you coca tea, which helps a little; rest, water and a light dinner help more. On a motorcycle, thin air also saps engine power, a carburetted bike may run rich and a fuel-injected one will cope better, so do not be surprised if your machine feels a little tired.
Read the complete Cusco write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cusco is where the day begins. Next is Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana.
South-east of Cusco, the Vilcanota valley narrows at a place called Rumicolca, and a massive stone gateway stands across the old road. Built originally by the Wari, the empire that preceded the Inca, as part of an aqueduct, and later converted by the Inca into a controlled entrance to the Cusco valley, the gateway of Rumicolca marked the checkpoint where travellers and goods were inspected. The segment of the Qhapaq Ñan between Rumicolca and Chuspitacana is part of the Andean road system inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2014, and its stones still carry the marks of the people who walked it.
Read the complete Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi.
Above Ollantaytambo, where the Sacred Valley of the Incas narrows, a side valley climbs north toward the high passes of the Urubamba range, following the Patacancha river. The segment between Patacancha and Huacahuasi is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system, and it crosses some of the most beautiful country in the Cusco region: steep slopes covered with potato fields and terraces, small villages of stone and adobe houses, herds of llamas and alpacas grazing in high pastures, and snow-capped peaks above. The communities of this area, like Patacancha and Huacahuasi, are known for their weaving, with intricate designs and bright colours, and the women's traditional dress is among the most striking in the Andes.
Read the complete Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least about 151 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. Next is Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha.
The Urubamba river is the great artery of Inca country, and everything near it feels like a rehearsal for Machu Picchu. This segment of the Qhapaq Nan, the Inca road network listed by UNESCO in 2014, runs between two places named Machucucho and Choquecancha in the highlands north-east of Cusco, where side valleys climb from the main river towards high passes and snow peaks.
Read the complete Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha, about halfway. Next is Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata.
Along the heights above the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a footpath of stone and earth winds across the mountains, and this is one tiny part of one of the greatest road systems ever built. The Qhapaq Ñan was the road network of the Inca empire, some thirty thousand kilometres of trail linking the coast, the Andes and the forests of what are now six countries. UNESCO listed it in 2014, and the Cusco region, the heart of the empire, has some of the best-preserved stretches, many of them with the original stone paving, steps cut into the rock and retaining walls that have survived five centuries of rain.
Read the complete Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata sits at 156 km, about halfway. Next is back through Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha comes up about 205 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 222 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. Next is back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana, late in the day. Next is Cusco.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cusco write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 385 km.
Cusco → Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 112 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Machucucho-Choquecancha → back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana is 124 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana → Cusco is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.