Choquequirao

A few of our loyal readers in the New York area have tipped us off about a recent article in the New York Times about Choquequirao, the "alternative Machu Picchu". You can read the article here:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/travel/03inca.html?pagewanted=all

We hadn´t heard much about Choquequirao before getting to Cusco. While there, we looked into going there but were quickly convinced against it. The main reason is that it is currently a two day hike to get there and once you´re there you either have to hike the same trail back the same way for 2 days or take 3 days to hike out the other side. At the time, we weren´t really in the mood for such a hike. Plus, after seeing so many Inca sites in the area, you get a bit overloaded after a while.

Having said all of that, as the article makes clear, it is indeed quite cool to see such an archaeological wonder and basically have the place to yourself. Only 6800 people visited it in 2006, which works out to less than 20 people per day. I heard that Machu Picchu gets about 1000 a day, but this article makes it out to be more like 2000 a day. When we were at Machu Picchu, we felt it actually wasn´t overly crowded and you could still enjoy it and find hidden parts that you had all to yourself.

The Peruvian government is supposedly ramping up the infrastructure around Choquequirao so that it will be easier for tourists to get to. But as with most things in Peru and South America in general, I´ll believe it when I see it. Maybe 20 years from now you´ll be able to visit it without doing major trekking.

Here are a few pictures of Choquequirao I´ve nicked off the internet. Copyright: other people. The NYT article also has a decent slideshow of pictures.