Salkantay Trek Blog

Choquequirao (Quechua chuqi metal, every kind of precious metal/gold (<Aymara), k’iraw crib, cot, also spelled Choqek’iraw) is an Incan site in south Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terraces at levels above and below Sunch’u Pata, the truncated hill top. The hilltop was anciently leveled and ringed with stones to create a 30 by 50 m platform. Choquequirao (3050 m) is in the spurs of the Willkapampa mountain range in the La…

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Hundreds of thousands of people visit Machu Picchu each year. Some hike the Inca Trail, some take the bus; some stand and take it all in while others are too busy trying to take the perfect photo. It’s an easy place to remain anonymous — unless, of course, you’re of that rare breed known as “The Celebrity.”   Che Guevara (1952) When the asthma-hobbled medical student named Ernesto Guevara departed Buenos Aires on a motorbike with his buddy Alberto Granado,…

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Incas of old-world Peru believed that Pachamama incarnated the Earth. The Pachamama or Earth queen, inhabits in the Urkhupacha, the Underworld, and fits out her harvests to nourish Human. Thus, within the retaliatory nature of the Andes, in August bucolics make offerings named pagapus.   These tributes can contain wine, chicha, unwrought silver, coca leaves and jungle seeds named huayruro believed to have spellful mightiness. These tributes are made to the Apu, the esprits of their predecessors who live within…

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The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and the ancient city of Machu Picchu. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it is referred to as the “Valley of Yucay.” According to recent researches it encompasses the heartland of the Inca Empire. The valley is generally understood to include everything between Calca and Lamay, Pisac, and Ollantaytambo….

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Salcantay or Salkantay is the highest peak of the Willkapampa mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about 60 km (40 mi) west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th highest peak in the Andes, and the twelfth highest in Peru.   However, as a range highpoint in deeply incised terrain, it is the second most topographically prominent peak in the country, after Huascaran. The name Salkantay is from sallqa, a…

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, Saqsaywaman, Sasawaman, Saksawaman, Sasaywaman or Saksaq Waman (Quechua waman falcon sasa place where is satisfied, or by another theory Sacsa full, huma head, so “Place where ideas are clarified” – this theory I like better) is a citadel on the northern edge of the Cusco – city. The complex was expanded and added to by the Inca from the 13th century; they built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. Later the Spaniards began to use Saksaywaman as a…

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