Inca Path to Choquequirao

Name: David Briese
Posted on: 08/12/2011

Many thanks to David Briese�s Photodiary of a Nomad for allowing us to quote from his Choquequirao and Machu Picchu pages.

Day 1; Cachora to Chiquissca (16km; 250m ascent/1200m descent)

Leaving the village, our arriero, Felix, led us down through pastures on a dirt road. We soon started to climb gently, while the valley to our right fell away sharply as it joined the magnificent Apurimac Canyon. Before long, we were walking along its steep upper slope and, on odd occasions, could see right down to the river, 1300m below.

This long traverse took us to a viewpoint with impressive vistas both up and down the canyon. To the west, the track started its long descent into the canyon and we headed off into the late afternoon sun, descending a series of long switchbacks that traversed back and forward across the green, grassy upper slopes.

The traverse then dropped sharply. We continued on, along another long ridge across this level in the failing light. One last steep and winding descent led us to the rustic campsite at Chiquissca, 200m above the canyon floor.

Day 2; Chiquissca to Choquequirao (13km; 300m descent/1600m ascent)

We set off early, descending the last few hundred metres to the bottom of the Apurimac Canyon, the soft roar of the river gradually getting louder as we approached it.

After signing in at the track checkpoint, we crossed the suspension bridge over the fast-flowing Apurimac River. The early morning sun couldn't yet reach into the depths of the canyon and we started our 1400m ascent of its northern wall in welcome cool shade.

Pushing on into ever greener vegetation, we finally emerged from the shadows into the sun at about 500m into the climb.

Passing the 1000m mark, we were beginning to feel the effort as the path steepened and the pace slowed. Across the canyon, we could see the faint trace of yesterday's track disappearing into depths below. The whole aspect of the canyon was changing as the rising sun lit up the green-covered higher walls.

After lunch, we set off towards Choqeuquirao, meandering and undulating across the steep jungle-clad canyon wall, twice dropping down only to recover our elevation with short sharp climbs. The vegetation was taking on a distinct tropical air.

Rounding a bend, we were greeted with the spectacle beneath us of the agricolas andenes, the terraced gardens of the incan people, perched on the edge of a precipice of a side gorge leading off the Apurimac Canyon.

We crossed a stream in front of a long waterfall, source of irrigation water for the terraces, for one last climb and short descent to the campsite at Casa de Caida de Agua.

© David Briese. See his full account and much more in his fantastic website www.gang-gang.net/nomad.