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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.