Choquequirao
A Remote Inca City On A Ridge At About 3,000 M, Often Called The Sister Of Machu Picchu And Only Partly Excavated. Reached By A Steep 4 To 5 Day Round Trip Trek From Cachora, With A Planned Cable Car That Has Not Opened. · Cachora, Apurimac
Choquequirao is a large Inca city on a ridge at about 3,050 m above the Apurimac canyon, often called the sister of Machu Picchu. Only part of it has been cleared, and it is reached on foot: a steep drop of about 1,500 m to the river, then a climb of about 1,600 m to the site. Its signature feature is the llama terraces, set with white-stone llamas, beside a great plaza and a hilltop ushnu platform. The honest picture is a hard trek, harder than the classic Inca Trail, with a long way to rescue and no mobile signal. The reward is quiet. Very few people arrive on a given day, so you may share the ruins with a handful of others. Plan four to five days round trip, go in the dry season, and book mules, camps and a guide ahead. It repays fit, prepared walkers. Expect hot days at the river, cold nights at the top, basic camps with simple food, and cash only. It is not a place for a day trip. Check trail conditions with your operator before you set out, and carry a first aid kit and spare food in case a slide delays you.
Inca citadel above the Apurimac canyon, reached by a two-day hike down and up from the village of Cachora about 150 km west of Cusco, Cachora, Apurimac, Peru
The ruins are open by day, every day, and you reach them on foot from Cachora, so your arrival depends on your own pace. The entry fee is modest and paid at the control post near the site; confirm it with the Cusco Cultural Directorate before you go. Trails can close in the wet months after landslides, so check first.