Choquequirao to Machu Picchu : Introduction, Days 1 & 2

Fact of climbing: What goes down, must go up and up and up. Then some more (URGH!). (Random thought as I walked. Serves me right.)

Trekking to Machu Picchu

There is the easy option of getting to Machu Picchu: Take a taxi from Cuzco to Poroy or Ollantaytambo (20 minutes), then a slow train to Aguas Caliente (4 hours, from US$90 for a return ticket) and lastly a bus to Machu Picchu (20 minutes, US$17 for a return ticket)

Then there are the trekking options to Machu Picchu - from the 4-days Inca Trail to 6-days Salkantay trek to 9-days Choquequirao trek or even 17-days Vilcabamba traverse. The Peruvian government issues 500 permits daily for the Inca Trail and one often has to booked many months in advance for a permit. 

I was more interested in the Salkantay Trek and the Choquequirao trek as there are less tourists on these routes and one hikes on a higher altitudes closer to the mountain tops. Eventually, I chose the latter because of the visit to Choquequirao and that there are very few who trek on this route. I was really glad I made this choice as I like Choquequirao more than Machu Picchu, love the landscape on this trek and met some interesting people along the way.

Summary of the trek

My 9-day programme effectively consisted of only 7 days of walking and a short hike on Day 9. The estimates are:

[Note that the ascent and descent kind of differs from the operator's numbers (my numbers are smaller. For example, according to their website, Day 4's ascent is 2000m. Mathematically, it did not quite make sense to me.]

On the map, it would look something like this (pardon the quality of the picture):

I also had it easy - we had mules to carry our backpacks and equipment (due to the relative difficulty of this route, mules instead of human acted as porters). Along the way, we met some people who trekked independently, carrying their own backpacks and tents and some hired mules along the way.

Day 1 Cuzco to Chiccisqa

I met José, my guide, at 6am and he informed me that a second person, Buddy has joined the trek. Hurrah! We picked up Buddy and Astario, our chef and set off to Cachora. The drive was uneventful - we introduced ourselves, chatted and napped on the second part of the drive. Buddy was travelling on an overland trip in South America for 3 months and had arrived on a overnight bus from Puno.

Buddy and José

Champion chef Astario balancing his chopping board on his thighs

We descended from chilly Cuzco to sunny Cachora and had an auspicious start - at the beginning of our hike, we saw more than 10 green parrots in the sky. Very soon into the trek, Buddy and I discovered that we were loved by the sun, the mosquitoes and flies. We first found bites on our elbows (why elbows, mossies?) and started to vigilantly apply our sun screen and insect repellant. 

Thankfully it is not 150km but 'only' 31.5km from Cachora to Choquequirao

We reached our picnic spot, Mirador de Capuliyoc, for lunch without being caught up by the mules (normally, the mules would start off later but catch up with trekkers quickly). The ascent had been fairly easy and the view at Capuliyoc was spectacular:

We also saw a gigantic humming bird. After lunch, we continued with our scenic walk. I saw many plants and insects for the first time, including a Goliath birdeater which was as big as my hand.

Can someone tell me what is this?

Goliath birdeater

Mealybug, a parasite on cactus

Locals dry mealybugs in the sun and
squash them to produce red dye for their cloth

We reached our campsite at Chikisca, where a local family resided. I was so happy to see the family extracting sugar cane juice (my staple drink when skating) and promptly bought myself a glass. It was very sweet. Pity there was no ice! 

Sugar cane press

Turkeys at campsite

View from tent and sun was about to set

At the campsite, we met Kirk, who was trekking independently. Poor Kirk's shoe failed him and he had to use duct tape to hold the toe cap to the sole. 

Chatting to Kirk by the kerosene lamp
[I was trying to capture the lamp, not Kirk (sorry mate!)
I have not seen a kerosene lamp since I was 16!]

That night, it rained for the third time on my rtw trip. Fortunately, nothing flooded.

Day 2 Chiccisqa to Sunchupata

We started early and trekked down to the Apurimac River. On the previous night, Kirk told me I had to cross the river in a basket that skimmed the surface of the river and José told me I had to swim across. What greeted us was not exactly very encouraging:

Bridge that has been washed away by the river

The moment of truth came - we had to sit in a cage and pull ourselves across the river on a cable. One can imagine how excited (NOT!) I was. Thankfully, José, Buddy and my combined bodyweight took us across most of the river without much issues. Phew!

Cage
Photo credit: José

Iron cable

Apurimac River

We met our new horse'men', Gunda and Johan across the river. They were only 18 years old and would be with us for the next 6 days.

Gunda and Johan with the mules
The mules need to be blindfolded before the bags are loaded on them

The first part of the ascent to Santa Rosa was not too bad. I managed to take more pictures of some unfamiliar looking plants.

Does this not look like sakura in bloom?

I discovered the granadilla for the first time in my snack pack (yes, I have a snack pack every day and Kirk would be very jealous). The edible part of the fruit is slimy/gel-like with a lot of seeds, like the passion fruit but it is very sweet (in season in October). On first sight, I thought it looked like frog eggs but it was a refreshing fruit to have in a hot day. José said that when 4 of these are eaten in one go, the bowels would be cleared immediately. 

Granadilla

The 870m ascent from Santa Rosa to Marampata was slightly nightmarish - steep and it was very very hot. I nearly melted. The 15 switch-backs took forever to complete and we were rewarded by the first glimpse of Choquequirao and lunch.

Nap time

I refuse to nap

After lunch, we proceeded to Sunchupata, our campsite near Choquequirao. From our lunch stop, we could already see some terraces on the distant hills. It was very exciting as we approached and saw the terraces on the very steep slopes:

Choquequirao terraces in very harsh light

Terraces and fountains

Choquequirao beckoned.