Chupani Archaeological Site

Chupani Archaeological Site

What I have enjoyed most about this truly challenging year has been our ability to get out and explore hidden places that haven’t even been on our radar prior to March of 2020. Peru is still in a state of restrictions and one of those is a nationwide lockdown every single Sunday. This regulation will hopefully be overturned on November 1. Between homeschooling our daughter and working during the week, Saturday has become our dedicated adventure day. I cannot bear the thought of being in the house two weekend days in a row and Sunday’s are always gloomy because we are on house arrest and not allowed to leave for any reason.

Recently, I came across a blog posted about Chupani Archaeological Site, which is located within a deep valley of Urubamba. Immediately I knew that this was going to be our next outing! What enthralls me most about Peru – and the Cusco region in particular – is the sheer number of archaeological sites that are hidden within the Andes that hardly anyone knows even exist. I love locations such as these – in the backcountry, no cell reception, just you and the Andean countryside surrounded by towering peaks.

Ironically, the only other hiker we saw on this trail was a local man walking his dog when we parked. He actually told us the wrong trail to follow and we ended up summiting a ridgeline several thousand feet above Chupani. What is an adventure without some hiccups? In fact, our day turned out fabulously as this route offered us scenic views and took us to another archaeological site high above the valley below. There are a set of waterfalls farther up the trail from Chupani, but because we took a long detour we weren’t able to visit them this time. However, we could see them from the ridgeline. Next time, we will certainly make time to visit!

Once at the site we meandered around for quite sometime. The stonework isn’t as spectacular as other sites, but otherwise an impressive ruin. Some of the walls still had their original adobe plaster and ichu grass had overtaken much of the ruins. The typical ceremonial trapezoidal windows adorned every building we saw. What was most interesting was that an apparent recent illegal excavation had clearly taken place. A massive, deep hole with a pile of sandy dirt was still visible. A local sheepherder explained to us that a group of people had camped at the site and stolen something that they had found. The police had already been notified. I truly hope they get caught and it is discovered what archaeological artifacts they took. Treasure hunting / grave robbing is very much an issue in Peru. We have seen the deep holes in many places around Cusco. There is still so much hidden from the public about the past and an underground black market ring for archaeological artifacts is a reality here.

The way back (otherwise known as the actual trail) was absolutely lovely! The well-maintained trail follows the river all the way back to the trailhead via a gradual descent. It is adorned with native queuña trees, moss covered rocks and native orchids. It truly felt like hiking through a fairy forest! In reality I was very happy that we made this a loop trail instead of just the out & back. The views were definitely worth the extra elevation gain. Our day was quite enjoyable and this hike exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend this hike to anyone looking for an off the beaten path hike in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Please remember to always adventure responsibly!