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.
From Huanipaca it runs 366 km to Huanipaca; allow about 6 h 19 of riding. The stops in between: Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi, Segment Kintama-Tawis and back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Choquequirao is sometimes called the sister of Machu Picchu, and you can tell why when you see the photographs: a ridge of white-walled terraces and plazas, perched above a canyon, with snow peaks looming in the background. It is also a good deal harder to reach. The ruins sit at around three thousand metres on the far side of the Apurímac valley, a day's hard walk from the end of the road, and a fraction of the visitors who crowd Machu Picchu make the journey. The name is usually translated as cradle of gold.
Read the complete Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao is where the day begins. 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.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi comes up about 122 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 183 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Kintama-Tawis. 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.
back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi, late in the day. Next is Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao. That is the ride.
Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 122 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → Segment Kintama-Tawis is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Kintama-Tawis → back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao is 122 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.