The ancient Inca Citadel of Choquequirao is an extraordinary archeological site. Its terraces and structures are perched on a ridge above the Apurimac River which flows through one of the deepest canyons in the world. Choquequirao —“Cradle of Gold” in Quechua — had been forgotten for centuries when Hiram Bingham rediscovered it during his first exploration of the area in 1910.
THE TREK OF CHOQUEQUIRAO CRADLE OF GOLD
Detailed Travel Itinerary with Amazing Andean Adventures
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Choquequirao Trek
The Choquequirao Trek, will beging at your hotel in Cuzco at 4:00 am. We will head for the town of Cachora where we will make final arrangements for the team of horses and mules that will carry our gear. Capuliyoc, the start of the trek, is a short drive from here. After loading our gear on the pack animals here, we will begin our descent from the pass of Capuli
yoc to the Apurimac river, nearly 5000 feet below. Along the way, we will stop for lunch at the shaded settlement of Chuquisqa. After lunch, we will cross the Apurimac River by bridge, and climb 2000 feet in the afternoon shade up to Santa Rosa where we will have dinner and camp for the night.
We will get up before dawn for a hot breakfast. The day’s hike will take us through the lovely community of Marampata, and then along an amazing trail cut right into the sheer cliff walls flanking Choquequirao.
Camp site sattle on terraces just below Choquequirao, and have lunch here. We will spend the rest of the day exploring the archeological site.
We´ll see how Choquequirao falls on both sides of the ridge, and how an aqueduct, following the very crest of the ridge, carried glacial meltwater to the site for irrigation, and domestic and ceremonial use.
A striking feature of the terraces of Choquequirao is found on the west side of the ridge. Lines of white llamas ascend the terraces diagonally, culminating at a zig-zag pattern representing rain. A new viewing platform has been built just across a small drainage allowing you to see this intricate design in its entirety. We will return to camp for dinner and stargazing.
After a hot breakfast at our Choquequirao camp, we will retrace our steps back down to the Apurimac river. This entire descent will be in the shade until we cross the river. We will stop for lunch again at Chuquisqa, and rest until later in the afternoon when the sun is lower in the horizon. We will make our way up to our last camp, Cocamasana with a commanding view of the Apurimac Canyon flanked by soaring, snowcapped mountains.
We will wake before sunrise to beat the intense sun on this southern side of the canyon. After breakfast, we will climb the final 2000 feet back up to the pass of Capuliyoc, where we began our trek. We will eat lunch here and unload our gear from the pack animals. After lunch, we will drive back to Cusco, arriving back at your hotel in the late afternoon.
During the hike we will be supported by horsemen, cargo horses so as Riding horses to help you with the altitude.
Prices may vary according to the season, availability, and client preferences. Please contact us for more information.
price
$ 600 .00per person
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We were recommended this company by our neighbor. Ruben/Juan was great with questions and provided a lot of valuable information as I was planning parts on my own instead using a set tour, partially due to wanting to climb one of the optional peaks which you need to book months in advance. We then hit a snag with my wife’s passport and Ruben happily rearranged the tour for us even though we gave last minute notice.
Our tour guide Wagner met us where the bus dropped us of (can be arranged to pick up from your hotel as well), and we spent the next two hours learning a lot about the history of the site and he took us away from the crowds, and accommodated our photos requests. After we hung around and explored on our own until it was time to leave….
Traveler:
FANTASTIC!!! From start to finish! Amazing Andean Adventures was in charge for our entire 8 day trip to Peru. Every detail and pick up was perfect. Every driver and guide was great! Thank you Kivin and Joaquin for finding my camera!
There was one special guide that we will never forget. Dany met us at our hotel in Agnes Calientes and was very patient as our train was late arriving. His knowledge of the history and culture of the Incans made the tour of Machu Picchu come alive! We were fortunate to have Dany for two days, always upbeat, helpful, fun, and competent. The Cusco City Tour was also amazing with the continuing history making us feel like we were actually there in the time of the Inca rule. Magical…
Traveler:
We traveled to Cusco this December with a three day private tour planned with Danny. My mom had done a similar tour with Danny and recommended him/amazing andean adventures to us! Our three day adventure was pretty much perfect; danny was always early to meet us, super friendly, with great english and tons of knowledge to share about the ruins and inca historical sites we visited. He even made the rain clear up so we could get a perfect view of machu picchu after our hike. On day one we went from our hotel to various destinations in sacred valley, which I worked with the company to plan so that we would hit all the spots I wanted to. They were helpful and accommodating in building a highly individualized itinerary…
Traveler: