Choquequirao
Choquequirao quechua voice Chuqi K'iraw that mains Cradle of Gold is a partly excavated ruined of the Inca’s city in the south of Peru. It was an important political and religious place, where the last descendants of the empire continued to perform its great rituals. It bears a striking similarity in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu and is referred to as its 'sister'. Choquequirao receives far fewer tourists than its sister but the ruin is no less delightful and is a good alternative to the sometimes overcrowded Machu Picchu.
The ruins at Choquequirao are comprised of buildings and terraces at different levels from the lower level Sunch'u Pata to the truncated hill top. The hill top has been leveled and ringed with stones to form a platform of 30x50 meters wide.
HISTORY
It's history remains a matter of speculation. The site was most likely built during the reign of the Inca Pachacutec and is considered to be the last bastion of resistance and refuge of the Sons of the Sun who fled from the city of Cusco when it was under siege in 1535 (they took refuge and resisted 40 years of Spanish invasion.). Led by Manco Inca Yupanqui or Manco Qhapac II they took refuge in Choquequirao. The Spanish conquerors were never able to expel them from it.
Presumably it was used as a check point for access to the Vilcabamba Area and as a cultural and religious center for the region. The city also played an important role as a link between the Amazon Jungle and the city of Cusco
One speculation of its origins holds that it was a royal estate built for the emperor Topa Inca, perhaps in an attempt to rival his father Pachacuti’s spectacular domain at Machu Picchu.
Discovery
According to Ethan Todras-Whitehill of the New York Times, Choquequirao's first non-Incan visitor was the explorer Juan Arias Díaz in 1710. The first written reference to the site dates to 1768 and was made by Cosme Bueno, but was ignored for the time being. In 1834 Eugene de Santiges rediscovered the site. In 1837 Leonce Agrand mapped the site for the first time, but his maps were soon forgotten. When Hiram Bingham, the discoverer of Machu Picchu, visited Choquequirao in 1909 the site gained more attention. The first excavations started some decades later in the 1970s.
Now, Approximately 40% of the Choquequirao Inca ceremonial center has been cleared of vegetation. The remaining area is formed by a complex terrace system built on extremely steep slopes. A very impressive stairway of 180 terraces has been recently spotted. It descends from one of the ceremonial center flanks and reaches the river open to swimming.
Location
Choquequirao (3085m) is situated amongst the spurs of the Salkantay Mountain Range in the district of Santa Teresa, province of the Convention, department of Cusco above the Valley of the Apurimac river. The entire complex encompasses 1800 hectares of which 30-40% is uncovered. The archaeological site is 30 miles away from the town of Cachora in Choquequirao Mountain pertaining to the Cordillera of the Salkantay, in the right margin of the Apurimac River.
Choquequirao’s altitude is 10,120 feet above sea level, on the top of a mountain. It is only accessible by a tough long walk.
How to get to Choquequirao?
To get there you could take a Private Tour, take an helicopter or go by your own (trekking).
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Trekking
Travel some 145 kilometers of paved road and 10 kilometers of dirt road from Cuzco to Cachora (2300 masl) where the trail begins It takes 4 hours to get Cachora by car form Cusco. Cross the Apurimac River via a modern footbridge. The journey is as awe-inspiring as ever, taking us through an astounding range of ecological zones, from Andean farming valleys, descending through a hot and arid canyon environment featuring kapok trees, cactus and agaves, and climbing again to a region of lush cloud forest, beneath the dizzying snowcaps of the Cordillera Vilcabamba. From Cachora you have to walk an average of 4D/3N. At the moment, the only way out is to make the return trek to Cachora and road back to Cuzco or continue trekking to Machu Picchu ( Including a 5-day walk to Machu Picchu), and return by train to Cuzco.
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Helicopter
A helicopter fly-over of Choquequirao takes about 2 1/2 hours from Cuzco. If an actual visit to the ruins is desired, the walk from the landing site to the ruins is uphill and takes about an hour, so combined with a walk up, walk down and two hour visit to the ruins, the entire day would be around 6 to 7 hours, and the charge for the helicopter is by the hour, making this a very expensive proposition. This is also subject to weather conditions.
