Playa Rosalina in Perú is a paid camp next to the river with a pleasant landscape, bonfires in each place, bathrooms, showers, a very basic food store and a kitchen that prepares simple food. Rosalina Beach is located at 1,550 meters above sea level / 5,085 feet.
The Playa Rosalina campsite in Perú is basic but it has toilets and showers (cold water, of course), something important after a hard day of hiking. It is also a fairly large campsite with space for 20 or 30 tents - there are usually not many people on the Choquequirao Peru trail but even if you go during the high season you will have plenty of room to relax.
Playa Rosalina on the route to Choquequirao is the best option to camp during your first night on the Choquequirao trail. It is located on the banks of the Río Apurímac River, about a six-hour walk from the Mirador de Capuliyoc. When you come down from Capuliyoc, you will be tempted to stop at Cocamasana, another campsite an hour and a half above Playa Rosalina, but I recommend you make the effort to continue to Playa Rosalina near Choquequirao.
For those who start the walk directly from the town of Cachora, this site on the banks of the Apurímac River is a good place to spend the night. It is also the last resting point before the ascent to Choquequirao. However, for those starting at Capuliyoc Lookout, it is highly recommended that you make your way to the next camp, which is called Santa Rosa.
Services at Playa Rosalina in Perú
Camp in Rosalina Beach
Once again, bring your tent and you will be provided with an earth patch. Good cold showers and baths exist in Playa.
Food cooked at Playa Rosalina campsite in Choquequirao
No food available for purchase.
Food to buy
There was a small kiosk where you could buy chips, cookies, chocolate, and coca leaves. It was not well supplied, but it had enough to survive.
Toiletries
I don't recall seeing any toiletries here, but I suspect toilet paper would be available for purchase.
Trek to Choquequirao
The trek to the Inca citadel begins in the small town of Cachora, to cross the Apurimac canyon until you reach the Choquequirao ruins. It is a difficult circuit, 3 times more demanding than the classic Inca Trail, since on one day you go down 1 kilometer (which takes approximately 5 hours) and the next day you climb it again (and then you have to go back). But the effort is rewarded every second thanks to the impressive views that the canyon offers. While in Machu Picchu you fight side by side with 2500 tourists to take the best photo, approximately 30 people a day arrive in Choquequirao in high season, making it the true lost city of the Incas.
How far is it to Choquequirao?
From the town of Cachora to Choquequirao you walk about 31 kilometers without including the tour of the ruins. Back would be the same distance (62 km in total). A large part of the route involves going down a large mountain, while the other half is uphill.
How high is Choquequirao?
The citadel is at 3,035 meters above sea level and at the lowest point of the walk you will be at 1,461 meters above sea level. The climate is similar to that of Cusco so it is advisable to condition yourself to the heights before the trek.
How to get to Choquequirao?
There are two alternatives, the classic Choquequirao Trek 4 Days with transfers from Cusco (includes the return), the Choquequirao Trek 5 Days and the larger Choquequirao to Machu Picchu Trek on an 8-day trek. The information in this article corresponds to the classic circuit. It is important to mention that, to ease your burden, there are muleteers who carry camping equipment and your backpack on mules, from one camping to the next.
Information and route
- Duration: 4 days
- Distance: 32 kilometers
- Difficulty: High
- Trails: The trail is well maintained and easy to follow.
- Maximum height: 3050 masl
- Entrance ticket: 60 soles per person / 30 soles students
- Best time: May to October.
How to trek to Choquequirao?
The road to Choquequirao consists of practically two different mountains. The one that goes down that belongs to the department of Apurímac and the one that goes up that belongs to the department of Cusco. The initial section goes up to the Capuliyoc viewpoint, then the entire route is a steep descent, sometimes zigzagging, and then connected with a great climb of 1,500 meters.
The road as mentioned above is hard and luckily everyone can travel at their own pace. There are several camps so it is unnecessary to say where to stop or how much to walk per day. Estimate approximately that every 3 hours there is a camp.
Along the way there are several camps run by the townspeople who have begun to attend to the visitors. If you don't bring a tent, they rent it to you and it is possible to find campsites every three hours of walking. There they have bathrooms and common spaces for cooking.
Again, it is a rough road of big ups and downs. A reasonable average to arrive is 4 nights / 5 days.
What to bring to Choquequirao?
The sunscreen is essential as well as repellent and glasses and something to cover the head would not hurt. In addition to your camping equipment (flashlight, tent, kitchen utensils, medicines and purifying pills, rain poncho, ventilated clothes and coat) do not forget
Considerations for this trekking:
- Altitude sickness: Altitude sickness or soroche is the way some people are affected by a lack of oxygen at heights. For this there are pills for "soroche" highly popular in all Andean pharmacies where there are travelers. Other recommendations are simple sugars (such as caramels) and coca tea. It is always recommended to have a previous acclimatization of a couple of days when you are going to do activities at heights.
- Food: Stock up on everything you need in the city of Cachora and try to carry as little weight as possible unless you are accompanied by mules. At the campsites, families may offer you dishes between 7 and 15 soles that you could take advantage of.
- Water: It is important to bring a water supply for the walks. You can also choose to boil or purifying pills.
- Avoid going up in the sun, especially near noon as this is where many find the greatest difficulty of the walk.
- Preferably do not do this walk in rainy seasons (between January and March) or in extreme heat (July, August). Rains can cause landslides on the road to make it inaccessible and the heat can add more complications to your exhaustion.
- Optionally, some residents make available to visitors the rental of mules to carry heavy luggage, tents and others. Especially for groups.
- There are also some agencies that offer the guided tour, however many of them to save could offer you rhythms that are not appropriate for you. The advantage is that they can take you to Cachora, prepare food and set up tents in certain camps.
- The path is signposted and can be done independently. However for safety it never hurts to do this route in company. It is a remote destination. If you travel with travel insurance, verify that it offers evacuation from areas like this.
- Try to avoid carrying all the unnecessary weight with you. Minimize to the extreme and look for the essential to achieve it.
