Choquequirao - partially excavated ruins of the city of the Inca Empire in southern Peru, in the region of Cuzco, the second "lost city of the Incas" after Machu Picchu. Translated from the language of the South American Indian people, Aymara Choquequirao means "Golden cradle". In architecture and planning, the city resembles Machu Picchu, and in literature it is called its "sister".
Choquequirao is hardly explored or excavated. The city is almost inaccessible to tourists and explorers. It can only be reached on foot. The walking route to Choquequirao is much more difficult than the famous "Inca Trail to Machu Picchu" in terms of difficulty. 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.
Academic science says that Choquequirao was founded during the reign of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. In 1532, the Spaniards invaded the lands of the Incas, but did not reach Choquequirao, the city was neither plundered nor destroyed. Due to its favorable location, Choquequirao long served as a hideout for Manco Inca Yupanqui (also known as Manco Capac II), the supreme ruler of the Incas during the Conquest and leader of one of the largest Indian uprisings in South America against European rule.
Some scientists are sure that Choquequirao was a kind of outpost on the way to the secret capital of the last emperor in exile - Vilcabamba. Others believe that the "Golden Cradle" is that very Vilcabamba, and this name is just an epithet for the hidden imperial city. The inaccessibility of Choquequirao also speaks in favor of this theory.
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Choquequirao's exploration has an amazing history. It was discovered and described many times, but then forgotten again, as if the city was protecting itself from strangers. It is believed that the very first non-Indian to visit Choquequirao was Juan Arias Diaz, a Spanish traveler who arrived here in 1710. But this information came only by indirect evidence.
The first notes about Choquequirao were left later, in 1768, by Cosme Bueno, for a long time they were not given due attention. The official discovery of the lost city of the Incas is associated with the name of Eugenio de Santigues, who visited here and left detailed evidence in 1834. Three years later, Leonce Agrand put Choquequirao on the map - but these maps were soon forgotten as if by magic.
And only in 1909, after the pilots saw this place from an airplane, the discoverer of Machu Picchu, American archaeologist Hiram Bingham, came here. And the first archaeological excavations began in Choquequirao only in the 1970s.
The ruins of Choquequirao are located on the Salkantay mountain range at an altitude of 3,085 meters above sea level and 1,750 meters above the Apurimak River. The total area of the architectural complex is approximately 1800 hectares. To date, the work of scientists on the excavation and study of Choquequirao is far from complete, since only 30-40% of the complex has been excavated.
Choquequirao is one of the most attractive but also the most inaccessible Inca monuments in the Peruvian Andes. The city amazes with its unusual architecture, stone terraces and grandeur of structures.
The city of Choquequirao has gained immense fame thanks to the stunning view that opens from the tops of the mountain range. From here, the mighty Apurimak River is a silvery ribbon that runs through a huge rock mass. Along the canyon, there is an endless series of rocks, waterfalls, steep mountain slopes overgrown with forest, and dazzling snowy peaks …
From the middle of the 9th century, for a century and a half, the lost city of Choquequirao, called the "eagle's nest" by the Incas, attracted many historians, artists and seekers of Inca treasures. He was mentioned in his writings by the Jesuit missionary in Peru, Pablo José de Arriaga.
For a long time, Choquequirao attracted treasure hunters because of the ancient legend of the untold treasures of the Incas, hidden in the ruins. But the treasures have not been found to this day.
In 1847, a French diplomat and artist visited Choquequirao. Leonce Angran, who made his way through the forests to distant ruins in search of "untold treasures hidden in the ruins, when the surviving representatives of the people of the Sun retired to this wild place, which became their shelter."
Interest in Choquequirao reached its peak in the first decade of the 20th century, when J. Nunez, the prefect of the Apurimac province, raised thousands of dollars and led an expedition to the ruins of the city in search of treasures. He successfully reached Choquequirao, but returned without making any impressive discoveries. Shortly thereafter, in February 1909, Hiram Bingham visited the site. He descended to Apurimac, crossed the bridge and spent several days in Choquequirao sketching and photographing the legendary ruins.
The typical Inca terraces are the largest structures in the city. The temple, several administrative buildings and residential quarters of the nobility are located around the central square. On the outskirts, there are residential quarters that form a small village. There are numerous water channels, aqueducts and water sources. Most of the buildings are well preserved, and restoration of some buildings continues today.
Until now, researchers have not received answers to the questions: what is the true age of Choquequirao, what was the original name of the city, who built it, why and for what purposes it was built on an inaccessible mountain ridge, who originally lived in this city, why it was abandoned and where lost the Inca treasures?
Author: Valentina Zhitanskaya