Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Alex Robinson | Getty
on the trail to Choquequirao
Cachora lies in a bowl of terraced farmland, so my first objective is to climb out.
I spend the remainder of the first day descending 4920ft (1500m) into the
Apurímac Valley, walking ever closer to the orange-brown waters of its namesake
river. I camp at Playa Rosalina, along the Apurímac River’s windy edge, and wake
up early the following morning to cross over to the sun-baked side of the valley. It’s
here that I’ll begin my ascent to the base of the ruins high up in the clouds at
10,000ft (3050m).
It’s a vertical desert of thorny cacti and dusty switchbacks for the first hours of
morning light, but the landscape becomes exceedingly greener the higher I climb.
By the time I reach the remote village of Marampata that afternoon, I’ve entered a
high-altitude jungle.
About a hundred people have etched out a meagre existence in Marampata,
some two days away from the closest road and far removed from modern comforts.
Marampata is the gatekeeper to Choquequirao and home to the humble
headquarters of the archaeological park that protects it. This hilltop settlement also
has a basic campground and a store to purchase whatever provisions may have
been hoofed up to these Andean heights in recent days by pack mules.