Trekking Choquerquiro and Machu Picchu

Trekking with mules is all the rage in Peru. Not sure why they are a pain in the ass!

The small village of Cachora situated in the Andean mountains of Peru was the starting point of our demanding 7 day trek via the Inca ruins of Choquerquiro and the grand finale destination - Machu Picchu. Not ones to follow the gringo trail we decided to do this walk independently. However, we were joined by a Kiwi and Aussie couple, Jeni and Brett, whom equally love tramping.

In Cachora we organised an arrero (mule guide) and two mules. The mules would carry our heavy packs for the initial three days then we would continue solo for the rest. Walking with the mules was a new experience for us, exciting in a way as its like being on a great expedition. When trekking up those steep mountains, of which there were many, I really appreicated those animals carrying our heavy load. They did however come with a few headaches.

The first being on the morning of the second day when the plan was to set off at 6am. Unfortunately the mules had bolted in the night so our poor arrero had to run about 7 plus kilometres up a mountain to retrieve them. All was good though as we arrived at the ruins of Choquequiro at 11ish after 3 to 4 hours of trekking.

Choquequiro is a less known Inca ruin and appealed to us as it had less tourists. It is still being excavated so many of its scretes are less known. Unlike Machu Picchu the only way to get there is by slogging out the 35 kilometres. The special aspect of this trek is we had the terrace ruins all to ourselves.

Things went terribly wrong at the ruins. We had lost our arrero and the mules. The plan was to meet them for almuerzos (lunch). But after waiting for hours they never showed. By 4pm things were looking bad. We hadn´t eaten since 6 that morning, so we were bloody hungry, and the weather was coming in cold. The mules had everything of ours including warm weather equipment, food, stove, and tent so we were left with nothing. The shirt and shorts I was wearing funny enough didn´t seem to protect me from the icy Andean wind.

Luckily for us we met some other trampers whom shared their spare clothes with us and offered us a few chocolate bars, of which we were very greatful. In a kind gesture the caretakers of Choquerquiro also made us the best tasting soup and coca tea both hitting that hunger spot. They also let us sleep in a hut with them. The four of us snuggling under the blanket to keep warm!

We set off early the next morning and after several hours of tramping were reunited with the arrero, mules, packs and FOOD. It was a warm feeling and the tucker was bliss.

The mishap put us a day behind our intented schedule but that was no worries as we had plenty of food. But our guide had had enough so he returned to his home town of Cachora and left us to fend for ourselves.

The next 3 days involved camping on Indigenous farms, playing soccer with the kids, while chickens, dogs and goats eyed off our food. The amazing thing was we would enter a remote village, no roads so the only transport being by foot, and we could still purchase a cold beer.

We climbed two passes over 4000 metres so there were lots of ups and downs. Not to mention the amazing views of glacier covered mountains and deep valleys. On our last major hiking day we were spoilt with a soak in some natural hotsprings. The hot waterfall acted not only as a much need shower but also a massarge on our sore shoulders. Our walk had now merged with the popular tourist trek the Salcantay and it was a real shock to the system to see the many gringoes that had aluded us for the past five days and the familiar Quechuan farmers were few.

We made it to the tourist town of Aguas Calientes by sitting in the back of a truck driving through coffee and banana crops, stopping every few kilometres while coffee bags were thrown onto the tray of the truck. A cable car ride over the river Vilconota, another truck ride and finally a train to Aguas Caliente where we were greeted by a hot shower and a much deserved cold beer. Our final day of this interesting trek involved a 4am start, to walk the 1 1/2 hours to Machu Picchu. This place although receiving many tourists is every bit amazing and unique as its reputation holds. Looking around the ruins for 9 hours brought many memorable photos and even more views. The stone work is done to perfection and this combined with the stunning location of the high mountains and rivers below show just how powerful the Inca Empire was.