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.
It goes by way of Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao, Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi and back through Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 67 km this is Sacred Valley Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Manco Inca fled here with his army in 1537, after his great siege of Cusco failed, and Vitcos became the capital of what was left of the Inca Empire. For thirty-five years, in the jungle-covered mountains of Vilcabama, the last independent Incas held out against the Spaniards, raiding Spanish roads, sheltering rebels and keeping alive the old religion. In 1572 the Spaniards finally reached the inner refuge and captured Tupac Amaru, the last Inca, who was taken to Cusco and beheaded in the main square.
Read the complete Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu is where the day begins. Next is Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao.
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 comes up about 187 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is the most famous place in the Andes, and it is also one of the hardest to reach for a rider, because no road goes there. The sanctuary is about thirty kilometres from Ollantaytambo, on a ridge nearly twenty-four hundred metres above the sea, above a loop of the Urubamba river, with cloud forest on every side. The citadel is reached only by train or by walking, and then by a bus up a zigzag road from the town of Aguas Calientes, at the foot of the mountain.
Read the complete Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 542 km into the recorded legs you reach Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu sits at 1277 km, about halfway. Next is back through 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 through Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao comes up about 1732 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu closes the day.
Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu → Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao is 187 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao → Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is 355 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu → Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi is 417 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Patacancha-Huacahuasi → back through Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is 417 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu → back through Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao is 355 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Kutacoca-Choquequirao → Segment Vitkus-Abra Choqetakarpu is 187 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.