(c) Hugh Thomson
The news that Choquequirao, sister city to Machu Picchu, is finally to get opened up to mass tourism obviously raises mixed emotions in me – at first romanticising my own early visits to Choquequirao 30 years ago when still covered in scrub, as in the photo I took here – and more recent visits with just a few others there, after a 5 day trek – but is that being selfish? If managed well – and I do think the Peruvians manage Machu Picchu exceptionally well given all the problems of access – then opening up Choquequirao is all to the good and a cable car may be better than having lots of buses going up a road….
The fascinating new discoveries of just the last couple of years make it even more worthwhile seeing the site now that it’s cleared, as below. And the vantage point 6,000 feet above the Apurimac makes its position in some ways even more spectacular than Machu Picchu.
.