Peru Guide
The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu
Choquequirau
The hike to Choquequirau is an increasingly popular alternative to the Inca Trail. It can be made via trekking tours (3 or 4 days) that leave Cusco on demand and pretty much daily during tourist season. Not quite as spectacular as Machu Picchu, this is still an impressive Inca citadel whose name in Quechua means "Cradle of Gold".
Located 1750m above the Apurimac River and 3104m above sea level in the district of Vilcabamba, Choquequirau is thought to have been a rural retreat for the Inca emperor as well as a ceremonial centre. It was built in the late 15th century and almost certainly had an important political, military and economic role controlling people and produce between the rainforest communities of the Ashaninka, who still live further down the Apurimac river, and the Andean towns and villages of the Incas. Sitting among fine terraces under a glaciated peak of the Salcantay range, less than half the original remains have been uncovered from centuries of vegetation, making a visit here similar to what Hiram Bingham may have experienced at Machu Picchu when he discovered the site back in 1911.
The most direct route up is along the Abancay road from Cusco, about four hours, to Cachora in Apurimac, over 100km from Cusco and some 93km north of Abancay; from here it's a further 30km (15–20hr) of heavy but stunningly beautiful trekking to the remains of the Choquequirau citadel.
Taking the direct route, the first two hours are spent hiking to Capuliyo, where, at 2915m, there are fantastic panoramas over the Apurimac Valley. The trail descends almost 1500m from here to Playa Rosalina on the banks of the River Apurimac, where it's possible to camp the first night. The second day has the most gruelling uphill walking – about five hours as far as Raqaypata and a further two or three to Choquequirau itself. You can go in and come out the same way in four to five days. Consisting of nine main sectors, the site was a political and religious centre well-served by a complex system of aqueducts, canals and springs.