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: 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.
On the way it passes Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka, Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla, Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana and Belén Square and Church. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,900 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
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 is where the day begins. 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.
Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka comes up about 170 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla.
Every road of the Inca empire began here. The great square of Cusco, which the Incas called Hauk'aypata, was the ceremonial heart of Tawantinsuyu, the land of the four quarters, and from it the main roads radiated out to the four parts of the empire, to Quito in the north, to Chile and Argentina in the south, to the jungle in the east and the coast in the west. The square was much larger than today's Plaza de Armas and was covered, according to the chroniclers, with sand brought from the coast, in which offerings of gold and silver were buried. Here, mummies of past rulers were brought out for festivals, and the Inca received ambassadors and celebrated victories.
Read the complete Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 298 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla. Next is Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana.
South-east of Cusco, the Vilcanota valley narrows at a place called Rumicolca, and a massive stone gateway stands across the old road. Built originally by the Wari, the empire that preceded the Inca, as part of an aqueduct, and later converted by the Inca into a controlled entrance to the Cusco valley, the gateway of Rumicolca marked the checkpoint where travellers and goods were inspected. The segment of the Qhapaq Ñan between Rumicolca and Chuspitacana is part of the Andean road system inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2014, and its stones still carry the marks of the people who walked it.
Read the complete Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana, about halfway. Next is Belén Square and Church.
Belén is a small plaza on the south side of Cusco's centre, with a church that dates from the colonial era and a neighbourhood that has long been home to potters and tradespeople. Like much of the city, it was built on Inca land, and the name recalls the hospital and chapel of Bethlehem that the Spanish founded for the care of the sick. The church is modest by Cusco's standards, but its location, away from the busiest tourist streets, gives it an everyday air that many visitors miss.
Read the complete Belén Square and Church write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Belén Square and Church sits at 209 km, about halfway. Next is back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana comes up about 422 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 465 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla. 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, late in the day. Next is 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.
The route ends here after 765 km.
Segment Kintama-Tawis → Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 170 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla is 128 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla → Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana → Belén Square and Church is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belén Square and Church → back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana → back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla → back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 128 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → Segment Kintama-Tawis is 170 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.