Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Choquequirao

Location

Inca

Country

peru

Year of Research

1535

Culture

Choquequirao is a divided hollowed ruined city of the Inca in the south of Peru.

It bears a striking similarity in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu and is called as its sister .

Choquequirao receives far fewer tourists than its sister but the ruin is no less entertaining and is a good substitute to sometimes stuffed Machu Picchu. Unlike Machupicchu, you cannot visit Choquequirao by train and bus.

The only way to visit the site is to go on a scenic 2 day hike from outside Cusco.Presumably it was used as a check point for access to the Vilcabamba Area and as a cultural and religious center for the region. The city also has an important role as a joint between the Amazon Jungle and the city of Cusco.

In 1834 Eugene de Santiges rediscovered the site. In 1837 Leonce Agrand mapped the site for the first time, but his maps were quickly forgotten.

When Hiram Bingham, the discoverer of Machu Picchu, visited Choquequirao in 1909 the site gained more attention.

The first excavations begun some decades later in the 1970s.