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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre and Segment Ayash - Taulli

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
495 km
Riding-time estimate
12 h 49
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.

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.

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Why this ride

495 km from Quinuabamba to Quinuabamba, about 12 h 49 of riding. On the way it passes Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051, Segment Ayash - Taulli and back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre

    High on the eastern side of the Cordillera Blanca, in the Conchucos valleys of Ancash, a stretch of the old Inca road crosses grassy ridges between Cotocancha and the heights known as Alturas de Torre. This is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the vast Andean road network that tied the Inca empire together, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014. The main trunk here ran north from Huánuco Pampa towards Cajamarca, and in places you can still see stone paving, retaining walls, drainage channels and steps.

    Read the complete Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre is where the day begins. Next is Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051.

  2. 2. Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051

    East of the Cordillera Blanca, in the region of Ancash known as the Conchucos, the Inca road system, the Qhapaq Ñan, crossed some of the most rugged terrain of its entire network. This segment, near the small town of Yauya, is part of the main road that ran north from Cusco to Quito through the high Andes, linking administrative centres such as Huánuco Pampa to the south. The Inca engineers laid stone paving, built steps on steep slopes, retaining walls and drainage channels, and stretches of the road can still be walked today, threading across high grasslands and past lakes at altitudes well over three and a half thousand metres. The whole network, which crosses six countries, became a World Heritage site in 2014.

    Read the complete Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 comes up about 110 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Ayash - Taulli.

  3. 3. Segment Ayash - Taulli

    East of the Cordillera Blanca, the Andes break into a jumble of high plateaus and deep valleys draining toward the Marañón and the Amazon, and the Inca road ran through this country on its way from Cusco to Quito. The Ayash to Taulli segment is a stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan in the highlands of Huánuco, near the town of Llata, part of the UNESCO-listed Andean road system. It runs through the puna, the high grassland above the tree line, where the wind blows cold and the views stretch for miles over ridges and valleys. In places, the original road survives, with stone paving, retaining walls, steps and drainage channels, and walking a section of it is the best way to understand how the Incas moved people and goods across this vertical landscape.

    Read the complete Segment Ayash - Taulli write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 246 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Ayash - Taulli. Next is back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051.

  4. 4. back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051, late in the day. Next is Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre.

  5. 5. Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Back at Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre to Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051

Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre → Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 to Segment Ayash - Taulli

Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 → Segment Ayash - Taulli is 136 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Segment Ayash - Taulli to back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051

Segment Ayash - Taulli → back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 is 139 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 to Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre

back through Segment Otutococha - QÑ-HH-051 → Segment Cotocancha - Alturas de Torre is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

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