This 5 day Choquequirao tour takes you on a fantastic hiking route in Cusco. It combines a very unique and stunning landscapes of the Peruvian Andes. The Choquequirao trail is the best way to challenge yourself into the great site considered as the sister city of Machu Picchu. The ancient Inca Citadel of Choquequirao, which is a huge archaeological complex. It is perched on a ledge high above the wildly rugged Apurimac Canyon.
The Choquequirao tour is a physically demanding hike, in a difficult terrain. But is not crowded as the classic Inca Trail or Salkantay trail. This extraordinary alternative trail has no regulations as some other popular trails. So it is open most of the time in a year.
Choquequirao means “Cradle of Gold” in Quechua the language of the Incas. This is an awesome complex, which is composed of a stunning and enormous amount of farming terraces. Also a smaller religious temples, warehouses and an administrative area with a great water aqueducts.
In morning at the scheduled time, travelers will be collected from the hotels in Cusco. Then you have 4 hours drive to Cachora, the beginning point for the classic Choquequirao Adventure. Before to start the hike, breakfast will be served at the house of our horseman. The beginning part of the hike goes on a gentle path until to arrive to the point called Capuliyoc. The lookout comands a panoramic views across the stunning Vilcabamba Mountain range.
After a few hours zig-zag down-hill, we will reach Cocamasana for lunch. On the opposite side of the canyon, you can see Choquequirao on the saddle of the mountain. Choquequirao is located in the cloud-forest. So is rich in wildlife and its possible to see many types of flora and fauna typical of this region. After lunch, the hike will be for three more hours to arrive at the first camp at Playa Rosalinas. This place is located only 100 meters away from Apurimac River.
Today is probably one of the hardest days of the Choquequirao adventure travel in Peru. The up-hill hike on the sandy path will be approximately 5 hours to reach Marampata (lookout point for Choquequirao tour) . We will be ascending 1600m over a distance of 18km / 11.2 miles through hot and humid conditions. This portion of trekking is rigorous. But the views we get along the way mixed with the wide variety of flora and fauna makes it worth it.
After lunch at Maranpata, you will walk for another 2 hours until to reach the base camp of Choquequirao. Throughout the day we will see a great variety of orchids, bromeliads and different types of bamboos; we’ll also hopefully see birds such as Quetzals, Toucans and a variety of hummingbirds.
The third day of the travel to Choquequirao starts with a delicious breakfast. Today you will have a guided tour to all the main places. You will explore lower Choquequirao in the morning. After lunch break, there will be plenty of time to explore the upper Choquequirao with our guide. Choquequirao is composed of an amazing and extensive set of agriculture terraces, religious and administrative structures with a total area of over 1800 hectares. There are amazing irrigation water channels and all of this set in the dramatic setting of the steep Apurimac Canyon.
After a delicious breakfast at the base camp of Choquequirao. We start our activity hiking back to Marampata village. Then follow the path down-hill to Apurimac Canyon. The descend hike to the canyon will take us approximately 3 hours. Arriving to la Playa Rosalinas we stop for lunch. You can go for a refreshing bath in the Apurimac River. Which is the sacred river of the locals.
In the afternoon, we will walk up-hill in the arid trail for approx.3 hours to arrive in Cocamasana. Where we set up our camp for the night.
On the final morning of the Choquequirao tour. We leave the Camp after breakfast. The hike up-hill is for 3 hours, we will reach the lookout place of Capuliyoc. Here there will be a little break to enjoy the wonderful scenery. Afterwards we hike to Cachora. Which is the end of this challenging Choquequirao tour.
Lunch will be in Cachora and then we will be picked up by our transportation. The journey back to Cusco is approx. 4 hours
