May 17, 2017
After a few tough days we finally had the opportunity to enjoy some downhill.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: Wild camp on L1-115, Cajarmarca, Peru
Destination: Cachicadan, Cajarmarca, Peru
33.26 km trip, 2:33 time, 32.1 km/h maximum speed, 13 km/h average speed
152 meters climbed, 1242 meters descended, highest elevation 3983 meters
Route Description:
We started our day at the 005K marker on the L1-115. You start the downhill on a gravel/sandy road that isn’t too bad. There’s a few ruts so you do need to pay attention but it’s all rideable. Continue down this road and then you’ll come to a 3-way junction. You take the centre road which immediately veers to the right and this is the L1-117 highway. Continue down this road and again similar road conditions. The further down you go, the worse the condition of the road becomes but still rideable. At the next fork you reach turn left and you will continue down on the L1-117. You continue your descent to below 3000 meters and enter the town of Cachicadan. The road is paved on the main road and we saw at least two hospedajes. We easily found a couple of restaurants with lunch for 6 soles. Many stores for food too.
Accommodations:
There were at least two hotels in this town and we read on other blogs more up the road near the hot springs. We chose one of the first hotels we found called Hostal Esperanza.. It was 35 soles for the night with a private bath. You could get one with a shared bath for 30 soles. We didn’t even inquire with the other hospedeaje down the street.
What happened…
Andrew writes: Not much to mention today. I snapped one of the welds on my back rack, which has happened a few times in the past, and like always, I got it fixed by a local guy with a welding kit for free. But yeah, it was a pretty bumpy ride down to Cachicadan.
Amanda writes: After yesterdays tough day we were happy to have a short day that included a lot of downhill. We rolled into the town around lunch time and checked into a hotel to have a rest. The downhill on this day was really nice and there was very little traffic. As we neared town we again were greeted with many curious faces and we’re finding that more and more people are not so shy about taking our photos. Some people lean out their car windows with their camera phone and snap a shot, others sitting on the side of the road with their families snap a quick picture. It makes me feel less awkward about doing the same with them. I guess they don’t get too many tourists or people from different countries in these parts. After all it’s not really on the way to Machu Picchu.