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.
From Caicay it runs 308 km to Caicay; allow about 5 h 58 of riding. It goes by way of Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla, Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi and back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 105 km this is Sacred Valley Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
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 is where the day begins. 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 comes up about 43 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 148 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi. 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.
back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla, late in the day. Next is 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 at Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana. That is the ride.
Segment Portada Rumiqolqa-ch’Uspitacana → Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 105 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → back through Segment Plaza Inca Hanan: Hauk’aypataqolla is 117 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through 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.