Llama terraces
Stone mosaics.
Bryan Dougherty (bryand_nyc) from New York City, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · JORGE DIAZ RIVAS — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JORGE DIAZ RIVAS — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JORGE DIAZ RIVAS — CC BY-SA 4.0
An Inca city on a steep mountainside about 3,050 metres up, overlooking the deep Apurímac River canyon, nicknamed the «sister of Machu Picchu» for its similar architecture and terraces. It was one of the last strongholds of Inca resistance against the Spanish under Manco Inca. It spreads over a wide area of which only about a third has been uncovered, the forest still covering most of it. Its best-known feature is terraces whose walls are decorated with white-stone mosaics of llama herds, unlike anything at other Inca sites. The secret of its calm is how hard it is to reach: no road and no train, but a four- to five-day round-trip trek from Cachora village, descending about 1,500 metres to the hot floor of the Apurímac canyon, then climbing the same back up to the site. So you may share it with just dozens of visitors a day, instead of Machu Picchu's thousands. The trek is demanding and needs good fitness and acclimatisation, and is usually organised with a guide, pack mules and camps. The dry season from May to September suits it best, and the canyon floor is very hot by day.
Stone mosaics.
1,500 m down and up.
Few visitors.
Vilcabamba range above the Apurímac canyon; on foot only from Cachora village, about four hours' drive from Cusco
No: there is still no road or train, only a four- to five-day round-trip trek from Cachora, though you can hire mules for the luggage.