The Trek to Choquequirao
This hike was one of the hardest of my life, no joke! Choquequirao is an intense trail - minimum of eight hours a day of scaling mountains up and down and up again just to reach the top in a few days. It is known as the last refuge of the Incas after the Spanish came to the area, and it is very similar to Machu Picchu. This 39-mile (63km!) trek has recently caught a lot of attention thanks to National Geographic highlighting it as one of the best places in the world to visit in 2023, so of course I had to check it out! It did not disappoint, as you can see in the shots below.
It was such a rush camping out along this ancient, incredible Incan trail through the mountains and the beautiful sights of the Apurimac River Canyon! At each camp, we had porters that prepared our meals and help set up camp, so that definitely made the trek easier. We had a tour of the entire archeological site, which many parts are still unexcavated to this day, and then began to make our way back to the Abra Capuliyoc on our final day, arriving to proper beds in Cusco!
This trail was a journey - one that was voted top 5 hikes in the world from National Geographic, and the sights of the Andes were unlike any I've seen. What was also so nice about this site was that you really just get to be in the middle of nowhere - no crazy tourists at every step! Just you and your people (who very well might be crazy tourists: see us below in llama onesies).
