Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco and Segment Molle - Huarangal
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
207 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 58
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
A 207 km round trip from Lahuaytambo - roughly 4 h 58 in the saddle. On the way it passes Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay, Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac, Segment Molle - Huarangal and back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,450 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Scenic road chapters
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chon
The ride follows Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chon for 27 km.
Chapter facts
Length
27 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay.
2. Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay
East of Lima, the Rímac valley cuts up into the Andes between brown, bare mountains, and the land here is a dry, stony slope broken by green patches of irrigated orchards and fields wherever there is water. The segment from Sisicaya to Santa Rosa de Chontay belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network of some thirty thousand kilometres, which UNESCO listed in 2014. In this part of the world the roads connected the coastal valleys with the highlands, and a short walk along the surviving stonework gives a sense of the mountains the Incas had to cross.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay comes up 35 km in. Next is Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac.
3. 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
71 km in you reach Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac. Next is Segment Molle - Huarangal.
4. 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
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco closes the day.
Leg by leg
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco to Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay to Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay → Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is 45 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 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Molle - Huarangal to back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
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 back through Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay
back through Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac → back through Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay to Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
back through Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay → Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.