Cotahuasi – Abra de Viscos – Abra Viraco – Viraco – Tipan – Aplao
This quiet route in the Departamento de Arequipa begins with a long climb out of the Cotahuasi canyon, loops round Nudo Coropuna to a pass at nearly 5,000m before a long long descent to Aplao. The scenery is great on most of the route, there is a day on roads that are barely used by vehicles, and part of the descent is on a road that goes through a spectacular, deep quebrada. Cycling this route in the opposite direction would mean a tough climb to Abra Viraco, especially if you’re not acclimatized.
| Total dist. | Stage dist. | Description |
| 0km | Cotahuasi (2,710m). Town with accommodation, restaurants, bank that changes USDs but no ATM. | |
| 43.4km | Gentle but long climb. Surface is paved for 15kms and most of the rest of the time is very good. We passed work crews on the climb, so more of it will be paved soon. Great views, with Solimana visible from about 4,000m when you reach the lip of the Cotahuasi canyon, and Coropuna coming into view near the pass. | |
| 43.4km | Abra de Viscos (4,695m – GPS01). | |
| 18.9km | Descend to a bridge (4,280m) 18.3kms from the pass, then continue 0.6kms to a junction. | |
| 62.3km | Junction (4,310m – GPS02). Go L for Viraco road. Straight is the main way to Chuquibamba. | |
| 34.1km | After 2.4kms stay straight/R on the main road at a junction. In a further 5.1kms pass through the small village of Mauco Llacta (inhabited but no facilities). There are three streams to cross in the few kms after the village, but then we saw no water until Viraco still quite a few hours away. 22.6kms after the village stay R on the main road at a junction. 4.0kms from here to the bigger Viraco-Orcopampa road. After Mauco Llacta the surface isn’t particularly good – rocky and bumpy. All rideable though as the climb is gentle. | |
| 96.4km | Junction (4,860m – GPS03), at the base of a hill with a big mast on it. Go R for Viraco, L goes to Orcopampa. | |
| 43.0km | Climb 2.9kms to the Abra Viraco (4,940m – GPS04), then begin the long, long descent. Descend 35.4kms to a junction (3,180m). Surface is very rocky and bumpy – a real bike-breaker. L goes to Machaguay (a small town just off the road), but go R for Viraco and Aplao. Road improves for the 4.7kms from the junction to Viraco. | |
| 139.4km | Viraco (3,200m). Large village with accommodation, restaurants, shops, internet, and the first water we’d seen for a while. | |
| 79.6km | Descend 20.9kms to a junction (2,060m). Stay L (descend) to Aplao, R goes to Pampacolca. Pass through Tipan soon after, where there is a short paved section. 27.1kms (all of which is spent in a spectacular quebrada) from the junction the paving begins, at the confluence of the river you’ve been following and the Colca. About 24.8kms from the start of the tarmac arrive at the main Aplao-Chuquibamba road. Go L and in about 6.8kms arrive in Aplao. | |
| 219.0km | Aplao (630m). Town with accommodation, restaurants, shops, internet, ATM, and more drunks than we saw in the rest of Peru put together. |
| Details | |
| Time taken – 3 days and amount climbed – 3,240m | 6 hours: Cotahuasi – Abra de Viscos (2,000m climb). 6 hours: Abra de Viscos – Abra Viraco (850m climb). 8 hours: Abra Viraco – Aplao (390m climb). |
| Traffic | One an hour to the turn-off to Viraco. One truck in over a day from there to Viraco. Some traffic from here, more as you near Aplao. |
| When we cycled | Late November 2010. |
| Difficulty | 3/4 |
| How much we had to push on this route | Not at all |
| GPS Point | Description | Lat/Long/Altitude |
| GPS01 | Abra de Viscos | 15.3278 S, 72.8456 W, 4,695m. |
| GPS02 | Junction | 15.4185 S, 72.7391 W, 4,310m. |
| GPS03 | Junction | 15.5170 S, 72.4818 W, 4,860m. |
| GPS04 | Abra Viraco | 15.5396 S, 72.4911 W, 4,940m. |
View Cotahuasi – Aplao in a larger map
They have paved 28 km out of Cotahuasi now. There’s currently no work being done on the rest.
Steve – http://www.cyclingthe6.blogspot.com