“Imagine a Machu Picchu without the crowds, without the vendors, without the long lines of buses snaking through the Peruvian countryside. That place exists — and it is called Choquequirao.” **
Now, Adventures Within Reach offers a 5-day trek to visit the Choquequirao ruins! We also have a 10-day Choquequirao trek which goes all the way to Machu Picchu.
Choquequirao (“cradle of gold”) is located in the Salkantay range of the Southeastern Peruvian Andes. It is a sister city to Machu Picchu, and like Machu Picchu, was never discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors. It was built by Topa Inca, a successor to the Machu Picchu builder, Pachachuti, and designed along similar lines.
About the same size as Machu Picchu, Choquequirao had similar religious, political, and agricultural functions. It’s remote location was known for almost 300 years before the first restoration began in 1993. It is still only 30 percent uncovered. Do not worry, for there is a lot to see: terraces, the aqueduct, a central plaza, residential district, priest’s section, main temple, and ceremonial hill.
Very few people visit Chuquequirao. Your group will no doubt have it to yourselves… or very nearly so. No roads lead to it, and it is a two day trek to get there — 20 mountainous miles from the trail head at Cachora. After a day of exploring the ruins, you return to Cachora (5-day Choquequirao Trek) or continue on through a back route to Machu Picchu (10-day Choquequirao Trek).
NOW is the time to visit Choquequiro, before the Peruvian government makes it a major tourist attraction (in progress). To their credit, they are trying to restore it with ecological factors as a priority. And they are trying to preserve the town of Cachora as a remote mountain village. Still, “if you ‘restore’ it, they will come” and soon it will no longer be Peru’s best kept secret!
** Quotes and some of the information for this article is from the NY Times, June 3, 2007.