Apurimac

Apurímac is one of Peru's most rugged and least-touristed Andean regions, tucked into the southern highlands between Cusco to the east and Ayacucho to the west. Its name comes from the Quechua Apu Rímac — "the lord who speaks" — a reference to the thundering Apurímac River, which carves one of the deepest canyons on the planet through the region's heart. This is high country: deep gorges, snow-dusted summits like Nevado Ampay, terraced valleys, and remote villages where Quechua remains the everyday language. The regional capital, Abancay, sits at roughly 2,377 m, ringed by mountains and within sight of the Ampay glacier.

For travellers, Apurímac is defined by what it isn't: it lacks the polished tourist machinery of neighbouring Cusco, and that is precisely its appeal. The region is the gateway to Choquequirao — the sprawling Inca citadel often called the "sister of Machu Picchu" — yet sees a tiny fraction of the visitors. It is also the historic homeland of the Chanka people, fierce rivals of the early Inca, whose legacy lingers around Andahuaylas and the Sondor ruins above Laguna Pacucha.

Expect dramatic, winding mountain roads, warm rural hospitality, and a sense of genuine discovery. Apurímac rewards travellers who value authenticity, hiking, and living Andean culture over convenience — it is best approached with time, patience, and a head for altitude.

The dry season, roughly May to September, is by far the best window. Skies are clear, mountain views are sharp, and — crucially — the trails to Choquequirao and around Ampay are firm and far safer than in the rains. June through August are the prime hiking months, though high-altitude nights are cold (often near or below freezing in the mountains), so pack accordingly.

The wet season (November to April) brings heavy afternoon rain, slick switchback roads, frequent landslides on mountain routes, and obscured peaks. The upside is lush green landscapes and the region's most vivid festival season.

The standout cultural calendar date is Pukllay, the great carnival of Andahuaylas, held during Carnival (February–March). If you can tolerate the muddy roads, it is one of the most colourful festivals in the southern Andes. Late July, around Peru's Independence holidays, also sees lively patronal and traditional celebrations across the region's towns.

Apurímac is mountainous and distances feel longer than the map suggests — plan around hours, not kilometres. The region straddles the main Cusco–Abancay–Andahuaylas–Ayacucho highway corridor, which is the backbone of overland travel.

• Abancay ↔ Cusco: roughly 195 km, about 4–5 hours by bus along a paved but winding mountain road. Frequent intercity buses run this route; expect approximately S/30–50.
• Abancay ↔ Andahuaylas: roughly 135 km of serpentine highway, about 4–5 hours despite the modest distance. Buses and shared colectivos connect the two cities.
• Abancay ↔ Cachora (Choquequirao trailhead): a few hours by colectivo or taxi toward the village of Cachora, from which the Choquequirao trek begins.

Air: Andahuaylas has a small commercial airport (Andahuaylas Airport, ANS) with intermittent flights to Lima — useful for skipping the long road journey. Abancay has no airport; the nearest major hubs by air are Cusco (Velasco Astete) and Ayacucho.

Within towns, taxis and mototaxis are cheap (short hops typically a few soles). For mountain villages and trailheads, shared colectivos depart when full from town terminals — start early in the day.

• Abancay — the regional capital and main gateway; base for Ampay National Sanctuary and the launch point for journeys deeper into the region.
• Andahuaylas — the region's lively second city and cultural heartland, home of the Pukllay carnival, Laguna Pacucha, and the Chanka legacy.
• Choquequirao — the remote, breathtaking Inca citadel reached by a demanding multi-day trek from Cachora; Apurímac's signature adventure.

Apurímac's cooking is hearty highland Andean fare, built on potatoes (in dozens of varieties), maize, beans, and freshwater trout from cold mountain streams. The regional showpiece is cuy chactado — guinea pig, flattened and fried until crisp — served on festive occasions and at traditional picanterías. Trucha frita (fried trout) is ubiquitous and excellent, especially near lakes and rivers.

Other staples worth seeking out include chicharrón (fried pork), tallarín de casa (home-style noodles, a Sunday favourite across the southern Andes), humitas and tamales made from fresh corn, and slow-cooked stews thickened with native potatoes and chuño (freeze-dried potato). Soups — a hot caldo to start the day at altitude — are a regional ritual.

To drink, look for chicha de jora (fermented maize beer) in rural settings and ponche, a warming spiced drink, on cold highland nights.

For the best of it, head to the local markets and picanterías of Abancay and Andahuaylas, where traditional dishes are cheaper and more authentic than in tourist-facing restaurants. Vegetarians can manage with potato, corn, cheese, and soup dishes, but should expect meat to dominate menus and to ask directly, as broths are often meat-based.

Apurímac is deeply traditional, overwhelmingly Quechua-speaking in its rural reaches, and proud of a heritage that predates the Inca. The region was the homeland of the Chanka confederation, and that identity remains a living point of pride around Andahuaylas.

• Pukllay (Carnival, February–March): Andahuaylas's signature festival and the cultural high point of the regional year — days of music, dance troupes, traditional dress, and exuberant celebration drawing communities from across the province.
• Yawar Fiesta (around late July / Independence season): a dramatic and controversial traditional festival historically associated with Andean towns such as Coyllurqui, symbolically tying together the condor and the bull. (Approach respectfully and check current local practice.)
• Patronal and Independence festivities (late July): towns across the region mark Peru's national holidays with processions, dances, and fairs.

The region's craft traditions run to textiles and weaving, ceramics, and folk music played on Andean instruments, with dance central to every major celebration.

• The Choquequirao trek: the definitive Apurímac adventure. From the village of Cachora, a strenuous multi-day trek descends into the Apurímac canyon and climbs to the vast, terraced Inca citadel of Choquequirao — far less restored and far less crowded than Machu Picchu, often shared with only a handful of other hikers.
• Ampay National Sanctuary: just above Abancay, this protected reserve shelters the Nevado Ampay glacier (around 5,235 m), Andean intimpa forests, and the glassy Laguna Uspaqocha — superb day hikes and acclimatisation walks with big mountain scenery.
• Laguna Pacucha & Sondor: near Andahuaylas, a serene highland lake paired with the Sondor archaeological complex, a Chanka-era ceremonial site crowned by a pyramidal hill with sweeping valley views.
• The Apurímac River canyon: one of the deepest canyons on Earth and a candidate for the most distant source of the Amazon — a place of genuine geographic drama, and renowned among adventurers for world-class whitewater on the Río Apurímac.
• Pukllay in Andahuaylas: timing a visit to coincide with the carnival delivers one of the southern Andes' most vivid immersions in living Quechua culture.