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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
The stops in between: Segment Kintama-Tawis, Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka, Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi and back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka. 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.
Manú is arguably the richest place on the planet for living things, and it earns that status through a single, dizzying slope. The national park runs from the high grasslands of the Andes at over 4,000 metres down through cloud forest and into the lowland Amazon rainforest, at about 300 metres, in a few dozen kilometres, and each step of the way holds different life. More than a thousand species of birds have been recorded, along with jaguars, giant otters, tapirs, spider monkeys and uncounted insects. UNESCO listed it in 1987 and the core zone is closed to visitors, with a few Indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation.
Read the complete Manú National Park write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Manú National Park is where the day begins. Next is Segment Kintama-Tawis.
The Inca built a road network that stretched some thirty thousand kilometres along the Andes, from southern Colombia to central Chile, and much of it still exists as stone paths, staircases and causeways through the mountains. The Qhapaq Ñan, as it is called, was listed by UNESCO in 2014 as a set of segments across six countries. The Kintama-Tawis segment lies in the mountains north of the Sacred Valley of Cusco, in the high country between the valley and the cloud forests that descend toward the Amazon and the Manú national park.
Read the complete Segment Kintama-Tawis write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Kintama-Tawis comes up about 80 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka.
North-east of Cusco, the Andes begin their great fall towards the Amazon. Somewhere in the high grassland between Paucartambo and the edge of the cloud forest, the segment of Inca road between Paucarpata and Ichuka crosses the puna, a land of tussock grass, cold lakes and rocky ridges at well over 3,500 metres. It is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, and the rides that pass here link it with the Manú National Park, one of the most biodiverse protected areas on Earth, which stretches from these heights down into lowland rainforest.
Read the complete Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka. 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.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi, about halfway. Next is back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Segment Kintama-Tawis.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Kintama-Tawis write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Kintama-Tawis comes up about 208 km into the recorded legs. Next is Manú National Park.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Manú National Park write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Manú National Park closes the day.
Manú National Park → Segment Kintama-Tawis is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Kintama-Tawis → Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → back through Segment Kintama-Tawis is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Kintama-Tawis → Manú National Park is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.