Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac and Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay starting at Punta Hermosa
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
103 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 30
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.
A 103 km round trip from Punta Hermosa - roughly 2 h 30 in the saddle. On the way it passes Segment Molle - Huarangal, Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay and back through Segment Molle - Huarangal. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is where the day begins. Next is Segment Molle - Huarangal.
2. Segment Molle - Huarangal
The names tell a story about the land. Molle is the Peruvian pepper tree, with its weeping branches and pink berries, and a huarangal is a grove of huarango, the tough, deep-rooted desert tree that once covered much of the Peruvian coast. Between these two places, in the lower hills east of Lima toward the Lurín valley, runs a short stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network. Here the road descended from the highlands toward the sanctuary of Pachacamac on the coast, one of the most important religious centres of the ancient Andes, where an oracle drew pilgrims from far and wide. The segment is part of the UNESCO listing of the Andean Road System.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Molle - Huarangal comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay.
3. Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay
The Peruvian coast is a desert, and the road up from Lima to the mountains is one of the most dramatic climbs in the Andes. Sisicaya and Santa Rosa de Chontay lie in the Huarochirí province, in the hills above the Rímac valley east of Lima, where the Inca road once climbed from the coastal plain to the high sierra. This stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan, part of the six-country UNESCO listing of 2014, follows ridges and dry valleys, with stone steps, retaining walls and terraces that are still visible if you know where to look.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac to Segment Molle - Huarangal
Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac → Segment Molle - Huarangal is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Molle - Huarangal to Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay
Segment Molle - Huarangal → Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay to back through Segment Molle - Huarangal
Segment Sisicaya - Santa Rosa de Chontay → back through Segment Molle - Huarangal is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Molle - Huarangal to Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac
back through Segment Molle - Huarangal → Segment Quebrada Verde - Pachacamac is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.