What it might have been like to go to Machu Picchu 50 years ago…. A trek to Choquiquerao.

Standing above a part of Choquiquerao that was only uncovered in the past two years...

Contemplating the "ups and downs" of the trek ahead...

I have been looking forward to this part of my time in Peru for quite awhile now.  My new 9th grade Crew at Validus next year will probably add this trek to the list of reasons why I am more ready for their Wilderness Week experience than they are.  My response to them will be that I hope their Wilderness Week uncovers an unknown desire to seek out more experiences such as my trek to Choquiquerao for themselves in the future.

Before coming to Peru many people asked me why I was doing a trek to some “lesser known” Incan ruin and not Machu Picchu.  Frankly, with how over run the Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu has become, I could not think of anything worse.  There is a limit of 200 people plus 300 porters and guides of the Inca trail everyday now.  This limit is reached and would be far surpassed during the high season if not for the controls.  I can only imagine the ecological effects of such huge numbers passing over this 108 km section of the Inca trail daily.  For visitors going directly to Machu Picchu via train (as I will tomorrow), tickets are limited to 2500 people per day(as of July 15th this year).  Yes, 2500…  and people are finding that during the high season they need to book their ticket up to a week in advance! I am excited to get my chance to see this architectural marvel in the clouds, but when it comes to a trek or any backpacking experience, I much prefer the road less travelled, which for now, is Choquiquerao.  As an added bonus, the trek meant that I got to see and experience two very different Incan sites and not just the one that is most photographed.

In contrast, there were perhaps 25-30 tourists total at Choquiquerao when I was there.  This in itself, is a larger number than normal.  They are starting to build control/ ticket stations along the path now and there is talk of a big company trying to build either a train up to the site like Machu Picchu or a gondola.  I think that such a development would greatly take away from the appeal of the site as well as greatly affect the local economy, which for now in great part depends on providing ground support for treks.

It is estimated that just 25% of Choquiquerao has been uncovered and that it could end up being up to SIX times as big as Machu Picchu!  In addition to the beautiful and interesting architecture already uncovered, we also saw many many Incan walls peeking out from under the jungle and 500 years of dirt.  In some places we could see parts of buildings waiting to be uncovered.  So cool!  It really gave a sense of what Hiram Bingham might have felt when he first saw Machu Picchu hidden underneath its own layers of dirt and the jungle.

CHOQUIQUERAO TREK: DAY 1.

We started off our trek in the rain.  The beginning was relatively flat for the first 11 kilometers or so and then we began the decent…. which I knew meant we would have a huge ascent on the return trip!

Sign marking the start of the trek.

 

DAY 2:

We woke up at 5:30 at the start of the second day knowing that a full 1500 meters of elevation gain lay ahead of us just to get up to the campsite of Choquequirao…. we would end up doing a full 2000 meters by the time we went up to the site in the afternoon, scrambled down the back side to see the newly uncovered “llama terraces” (Amazing!  Fantastic!) and back up to the main plaza again…. but first we had a 500 meter descent to the river below in order to reach the base of the mountains on the other side.

The view from about 1/3 of the way up the mountain on day 2. This day was probably the 2nd hardest hike I have ever done in my life (after the summit dawn of Mt. Kilimanjaro!). It just seemed to get steeper and steeper and the bugs.... I have 30 bug bites on ONE arm alone!

View from the top of the climbing up 1500 meters.

We are MUCH more tired than we look... but happy 🙂

Our first glimpse of Choquiquerao in the distance...

As far as my camera will zoom in from the previous picture. We are at the top of the major climbing but still about 5 kilometers away at this point!

At the control to pay our entrance fee of 38 soles (about $14), this little guy took a liking to me...

My first glimpse of the newly uncovered terraces at the bottom site (only uncovered 2 years ago). We never made it down there as it was about 2 hours round trip extra and there were four other parts to visit!

Close up of the terraces above.

Our cook for the trek, Reynaldo, putting on a show complete with his chef hat.

Obligatory pose at the entrance to the site. Notice the Quechua spelling...

We did our first round of exploring in the late afternoon. Not a single person or other group was there!

On top of the world...

Another close up of more waterworks.... notice how "rough" the stonework appears in contrast to the other sites I have been. Choquiquerao was built AFTER the Spanish arrived, in a much shorter timespan. A place where the Incas fled to, there was little time for their characteristically careful and close fitting stonework.

After some exploring of the main plaza, our guide took us down down down DOWN to the viewpoint of the “llama terraces,” which were only uncovered a couple of years ago.  They were absolutely beautiful.

                           

The white rock for the llama shapes is from the river over 1700 meters below!

DAY 3: MORE EXPLORING OF CHOQUIQUERAO AND BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN

Not a bad view to wake up to in the morning...

We slept in until 7am on day 3.  Our guide took us back up to the ruins for a morning of exploring before hiking back down to the bottom of the valley.

                 

They are leaving parts of the site in its original state, so people can see how much restoration work has been done.

What lies beneath? One may have to come back in 25 years to see it all....

Day 4 we got up early and retraced our steps from the first day up up up hill.  This time in the blazing sun.  I was so happy to see our porters/ mule handlers at the top with water and lunch!

   

Day 5 involved waking up to this(!):

and hopping in the van back to Cuzco, stopping off at some hot springs along the way.

All  in all an amazing trip within a trip!  I am in Cuzco today and tomorrow I will go on my final excursion (to Machu Picchu) before heading back to the states.  I hope everyone has had an amazing summer!

Ms. Bruck