Scenes from the Highest Road in the World

The section of road from Huancavelica to Ayacucho in the Peruvian Andes is considered to be the longest stretch of road in the world continuously above 4,000 meters. For more than 110 km, the road does not dip below 4,000 meters, and along the way it crests several high passes, including the highest drivable pass in the world at 5,029 meters ( ft). All of it, of course, is on the sweet grinding joy of dirt roads.

Between wind and snow, biting cold and chewing coca, thin air and thinner apprehensions, I pedaled away with a smile each day, meeting more llamas and alpacas than people, camping high each day, and speaking more Quechua than Spanish to the few alpaqueros I had the fortune of coming across.

Roads in the Peruvian highlands are forever ascending or descending.

An alpaca gazes out at the beauty of Lago Choclococha

Morning greetings after a snowy night at 14,200 feet.

One of the many strikingly beautiful alpine tarns along the highest road.

Alpacas, alpacas are everywhere!

The summit of Abra Huayrajasa (5,029 meters), the highest drivable pass in the world with a storm chasing behind.

When I finally descended back down to the realm of men and women, I decided to camp amidst a stand of beautiful Eucalyptus trees.

The Royal Inca Highway – El Camino de Inca

Stretching across a network of over 25,000 miles, the Royal Inca Highway was a system of roads reaching across the Andes from the southern border of present day Colombia all the way south as far past as Santiago, Chile.

The roads were used as an artery of communications and transport, and were vital to the administration of the vast Inca empire. Since the Incas did not have wheeled vehicles or mountable horses (such as horses and donkeys), they utilized 'chasquis,' or long-distance runners who ran at full pace across the length of a horizon (anywhere from 10 to 35 km).

Chasquis stopped at various 'tambos,' or waystations, sprinkled along the route as hotels, relay stations, and supply depots.

The Inca nobility in Cusco could thus enjoy fresh fish from the coast, hundreds of miles away and listen to the daily news from across the empire in luxury thanks to the Chasqui runners and the intricate system of Inca highways.

My route along the highlands of Peru has for the most part followed the Royal Inca Highway all the way to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, where I'm writing from. Hundreds of ancient ruins, remains of Inca walls and roads still dot the countryside. Although the Inca empire has long fallen, judging by the vibrant prevalence of the local Quechua language, and the perpetually rosy cheeked children who smile shyly as I pedal by, it seems to me that their legacy has left a mark that is unlikely to disappear as time draws forward.