Choquequirao is the second “lost city of the Incas” after Machu Picchu. Choquequirao is translated from the Quechua language as “Golden Cradle”. In terms of its importance, this city is close to Machu Picchu. Choquequirao is famous for the fact that, due to its favorable position, for a long time served as a shelter for Manco Inca Yupanqui (also known as Manco Capac II), who led the Inca resistance to the Spanish conquerors. All the approaches to the city were perfectly visible, which prevented the Spaniards from reaching Manco Inca.
But Choquequirao gained the greatest fame because of the opening view. From here, the mighty Apurimak River is nothing more than a silvery ribbon piercing a huge rock mass below, and more than a thousand meters to it. If you look along the canyon, you can see an endless series of rocks, waterfalls, steep mountain slopes overgrown with forest, and dazzling snowy peaks, which gradually fade into the distance.
The ruins of Choquequirao are located on the Salkantay Ridge at an altitude of 3,085 meters above sea level and 1,750 meters above the Apurimac River. In structure and architecture, this city is similar to Machu Picchu. It was discovered a long time ago (the first mentions date back to 1710), but archaeological excavations began here only in 1970. The total area of the architectural complex is approximately 1800 hectares, but today only about 40% of the city has been excavated.
Discovery history
This huge eagle's nest has held the imagination of romantic historians for a century and a half. It was mentioned by the historian Pablo José Oricain in 1790, and in the early days of the Peruvian Republic a certain lord Tejada, a wealthy landowner who owned these steep mountain slopes, was looking for treasure here.
The allure of the lost city brought the first serious visitor to Choquequirao in 1834, the French Count de Sartigues. Choquequirao's next visitor was another Frenchman, Monsieur Angran, who made his way through the woods to these distant ruins in 1847. Angran was brought to Choquequirao by the legend of "untold treasures hidden in ruins, when the surviving representatives of the people of the Sun retired to this wild place, which became their shelter." Angran measured the structures in these ruins and noticed a series of curious stone rings embedded in the inner wall of a long house in the central square. These rings are still there to this day and look like a mooring place for ships at some old stone pier. Obviously, they were used to bind something, and Angran reasonably concluded that the only animalsneeding such strong rings were cougars.
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Interest in Choquequirao reached its peak in the first decade of the 20th century. H. H. Nunez, prefect of the province of Apurimac, raised thousands of dollars and led an immense expedition to these ruins in search of treasures. He successfully reached Choquequirao but left without making any impressive discoveries. Shortly thereafter, in February 1909, a young American named Hiram Bingham visited the site. He made a dizzying descent to Apurimak, crossed the new bridge and spent a couple of days sketching and photographing the legendary ruins.
How to get to Choquequirao
You can get here only on foot, having overcome a very difficult path along the Inca Trail. Therefore, there are many times less tourists here than in Machu Picchu, and few travelers have a delightful opportunity to enjoy the beauty and harmony of Choquequirao in peace and quiet.
Hike to Choquequirao
The hiking route to Choquequirao is much more difficult than the famous “Inca Trail to Machu Picchu”. Most often, the 30-kilometer climb to Choquequirao begins in the village of Cachora. The path passes through different climatic zones and a very strong elevation difference. As a rule, the whole round trip takes from 4 to 5 days. This route can only be recommended to physically prepared people.
The path to Choquequirao is unusually picturesque: travelers cross the canyon formed by the Apurimac River, pass glaciers, see how tropical flora and fauna replace mountain ones. Fauna and flora are incredibly diverse here due to the special climatic conditions. There are condors, various types of hares and foxes, cougars, bears, hummingbirds and even a rock cockerel - the symbol of Peru. Of the plants, the giant fern and numerous species of orchids are especially noteworthy.
