Choquequirao means "cradle of gold" in the Quechua language.
We decided to make the hike down beyond the main ruins to visit
the Llama Terraces. These incredible structures were only discovered in 2004
and they were almost entirely intact, requiring no reconstruction. The walk
down to see them is pretty steep and the steps that the Incan’s used to access
them are even steeper. Walking down them and looking into the valley below gave
me a bit of vertigo, so I only went a little way. We were lucky to see them—usually
the 4-day trek does not include them because there is not enough time. The
trade-off was that we walked back to camp in the dark—which meant that I walked
even s-l-o-w-e-r! But dinner was ready when I arrived!
Looking down the steep steps next to the Llama Terraces. |