Segment Masho - Piticocha and Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
402 km
Riding-time estimate
9 h 28
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.
From Tanta it runs 402 km to Tanta; allow about 9 h 28 of riding. The stops in between: Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco, Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac and back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,700 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
The ride follows Segment Masho - Piticocha → Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco for 134 km.
Chapter facts
Length
134 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Segment Masho - Piticocha
High above Lima, where the desert coast gives way to the bare, windswept grasslands of the Andean puna, an old stone path crosses the mountains of Huarochirí. This is a segment of the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Inca road network that UNESCO listed in 2014, and it is one of the many trails that linked the Pacific coast with the central highlands. The region has a particular literary fame: a Quechua manuscript from around 1600, known as the Huarochirí Manuscript, records the myths and rituals of the local communities, with stories of mountain gods, floods and the great shrine of Pachacamac on the coast. It is among the few surviving texts that tell the pre-Hispanic stories in their own words.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Masho - Piticocha is where the day begins. Next is Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco.
2. Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
In the mountains east of Lima, high above the desert coast, a stone path clings to the slopes of the province of Huarochirí. It is a section of the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Inca road system, which in this region linked the sacred coastal sanctuary of Pachacamac with Jauja and the central highlands. The segment between Casila Alto and Chillaco is one of the stretches listed by UNESCO in 2014 as part of the transnational Andean Road System. The Inca engineers built it with retaining walls, steps and drainage channels to cope with the steep terrain and seasonal rains, and parts are still used by local farmers and their animals.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco comes up about 134 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac.
3. Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
Lima is one of the driest capitals on earth, and yet just south of it, in the hills above the Lurín valley, the desert turns green for a few months every year. The Lomas de Quebrada Verde are fog oases, where the winter mist called garúa, rolling in from the cold Pacific between roughly June and October, condenses on the hillsides and brings to life a brief explosion of grass, flowers, cacti and shrubs, attracting birds, butterflies and the people of Lima, who come here to walk. The segment between Quebrada Verde and Pachacamac is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system, which linked the coast with the highlands.
Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac to back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac → back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco to Segment Masho - Piticocha
back through Segment Casila Alto - Chillaco → Segment Masho - Piticocha is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.