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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata and Manú National Park

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
368 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 18
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 368 km round trip from Lares - roughly 10 h 18 in the saddle. On the way it passes Segment Kintama-Tawis, Manú National Park and back through Segment Kintama-Tawis. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. 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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata is where the day begins. Next is Segment Kintama-Tawis.

  2. 2. 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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Segment Kintama-Tawis comes up 63 km in. Next is Manú National Park.

  3. 3. Manú National Park

    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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    126 km in you reach Manú National Park. Next is back through Segment Kintama-Tawis.

  4. 4. back through Segment Kintama-Tawis

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Segment Kintama-Tawis write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Segment Kintama-Tawis, late in the day. Next is Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata.

  5. 5. Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata to Segment Kintama-Tawis

Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata → Segment Kintama-Tawis is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Segment Kintama-Tawis to Manú National Park

Segment Kintama-Tawis → Manú National Park is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Manú National Park to back through Segment Kintama-Tawis

Manú National Park → back through Segment Kintama-Tawis is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Segment Kintama-Tawis to Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata

back through Segment Kintama-Tawis → Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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