Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C and Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
377 km
Riding-time estimate
8 h 42
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
377 km from Lima to Lima, about 8 h 42 of riding. On the way it passes Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac, Segment Molle - Huarangal, Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco and Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Peru Coastal Panamericana South
For about 30 km this is Peru Coastal Panamericana South, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
35 km on Segment Molle - Huarangal → Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco.
Chapter facts
Length
35 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C
The Spanish had a word for what they did to the Andean countryside in the 1570s: reduccion. Under the viceroy Francisco de Toledo, scattered hamlets were gathered into planned towns around a plaza and a church, so that the people could be counted, taxed, taught the catechism and put to work, and a settlement named for Santiago, the apostle the conquistadors invoked in battle, was one of hundreds of such foundations.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C is where the day begins. Next is Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac.
2. Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
Lima is one of the driest capitals on earth, and yet just south of it, in the hills above the Lurín valley, the desert turns green for a few months every year. The Lomas de Quebrada Verde are fog oases, where the winter mist called garúa, rolling in from the cold Pacific between roughly June and October, condenses on the hillsides and brings to life a brief explosion of grass, flowers, cacti and shrubs, attracting birds, butterflies and the people of Lima, who come here to walk. The segment between Quebrada Verde and Pachacamac is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system, which linked the coast with the highlands.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Molle - Huarangal.
3. Segment Molle - Huarangal
The names tell a story about the land. Molle is the Peruvian pepper tree, with its weeping branches and pink berries, and a huarangal is a grove of huarango, the tough, deep-rooted desert tree that once covered much of the Peruvian coast. Between these two places, in the lower hills east of Lima toward the Lurín valley, runs a short stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network. Here the road descended from the highlands toward the sanctuary of Pachacamac on the coast, one of the most important religious centres of the ancient Andes, where an oracle drew pilgrims from far and wide. The segment is part of the UNESCO listing of the Andean Road System.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Molle - Huarangal. Next is Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco.
4. Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
In the mountains east of Lima, high above the desert coast, a stone path clings to the slopes of the province of Huarochirí. It is a section of the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Inca road system, which in this region linked the sacred coastal sanctuary of Pachacamac with Jauja and the central highlands. The segment between Casila Alto and Chillaco is one of the stretches listed by UNESCO in 2014 as part of the transnational Andean Road System. The Inca engineers built it with retaining walls, steps and drainage channels to cope with the steep terrain and seasonal rains, and parts are still used by local farmers and their animals.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco, about halfway. Next is Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi.
5. Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi
The mountains above Lima rise quickly from the desert coast, and within a couple of hours the city's sprawl gives way to steep valleys, terraced slopes and high villages perched on spurs. The segment of the Inca road between San Juan de Tantaranche and Huarochirí runs through this country, part of the Qhapaq Ñan route that linked the sanctuary of Pachacamac on the coast with the highland centre of Xauxa, crossing near the sacred mountain of Pariacaca.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 377 km.
Leg by leg
Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C to Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C → Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac to Segment Molle - Huarangal
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac → Segment Molle - Huarangal is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Molle - Huarangal to Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
Segment Molle - Huarangal → Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco to Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi to back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
Segment San Juan de Tantaranche - Huarochi → back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco to back through Segment Molle - Huarangal
back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → back through Segment Molle - Huarangal is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Molle - Huarangal to back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
back through Segment Molle - Huarangal → back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac to Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C
back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac → Ancient Reduction of Santiago Apostle of C is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.