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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
On the way it passes Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka, Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi, Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata and Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 73 km this is Sacred Valley Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
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 92 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi.
Above Ollantaytambo, where the Sacred Valley of the Incas narrows, a side valley climbs north toward the high passes of the Urubamba range, following the Patacancha river. The segment between Patacancha and Huacahuasi is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system, and it crosses some of the most beautiful country in the Cusco region: steep slopes covered with potato fields and terraces, small villages of stone and adobe houses, herds of llamas and alpacas grazing in high pastures, and snow-capped peaks above. The communities of this area, like Patacancha and Huacahuasi, are known for their weaving, with intricate designs and bright colours, and the women's traditional dress is among the most striking in the Andes.
Read the complete Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 168 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata, about halfway. 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.
Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla sits at 404 km, about halfway. Next is back through Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata comes up about 595 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 639 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. 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 807 km.
Segment Kintama-Tawis → Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata → Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla is 191 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla → back through Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata is 191 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Segment Choquecancha-Paucarpata → back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Paucarpata-Ichuka → Segment Kintama-Tawis is 92 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.