Choquequirao
Informacion General
CHOQUEQUIRAO
The impressive stone walls that protect it, the green sheets fabulous deployed platforms and the atmosphere charged with energy, perhaps far from ceremonial invocation to the Sun, are some of the peculiar nuances of Choquequirao, the other Machu Picchu.
Spectacular and distant, lonely and forgotten, Choquequirao (3.085 meters) is built atop an almost impregnable mountain in the province of La Convención, department of Cusco, the reason became, for over 40 years, the last bastion of resistance of the sons of the Sun, who sought refuge within its walls of stone, after the defeat of Manco Inca, the rebel Inca.
For its palaces and temples of two levels, systems of fountains, canals and aqueducts and admirable terraces "upholstered" with profuse vegetation, the wonderful Choquequirao was built, presumably during the Inca Pachacutec government (XV century), and is only comparable to Machu Picchu, the most visited archaeological monument of Peru.
Choquequirao is divided into nine zones and its stone buildings are clustered in small neighborhoods. Around the main square is the largest of its temples and homes of the rulers. The researchers argue that the complex would have been an important religious, political and economic as well as a commercial and cultural link between the coast, highlands and jungle.
But the true magnificence of Choquequirao (Quechua chuqui K'iraw cradle of gold), is yet to be revealed. Only 30 percent of the 1,810 hectares of the complex have been "rescued" by the thick vegetation for years if not centuries, covered this jewel of the Incas.
The particular story of Choquequirao, Inca last redoubt is marked by "rediscovery" and later forgetting. The historian Cosme Bueno in 1768, was the first to announce its existence. The French Eugen de Santiges and Leonce Angrand, did the same in the nineteenth century. In 1911, Hiram Bingham, who discovered Machu Picchu in the same year, noted the importance of the buildings.
The archaeological and historical value of Choquequirao, the "Cradle of Gold" of the Incas, is complemented by the beauty of its surroundings, which presents geographic and biodiversity typical of the jungle, which is an additional attraction for visitors who can observe from the majestic flight of the condor to the heavy footfalls of a spectacled bear.
Arriving at Choquequirao is a demanding adventure that starts with a road trip from Cusco to the town of Cachora (Apurimac), where he was born a 30-km winding road that ends at the historic building. The trip to Choquequirao - from Cachora, 60-mile round trip lasts four days of endless walking, which can be interspersed with sections on horseback or mule.
In the long hours of walking or riding, we discover gigantic mountains, cliffs terrifying, magnificent mountains and the roaring spectacular canyon of the Apurimac River, one of the deepest in the world. But that's not all, vegetation and ecological richness of the place they end up seducing the visitor. It's worth the effort. Exhaustion gives way to the magnificence of Choquequirao.
(Fuente:PROMPERU)
