Flora and Fauna along the Choquequirao Trek

Choquequirao is a symbol of the Inca resistance with its unique stone walls located up to the mountain. Discovering its beauty is an exciting, exhausting and unforgettable adventure in which we go trough a road passing by a sight with far snow mountains and endless greenness.

Flora

Flora

Orquidyes are flowering inside the Vilcabamba Valley, which covers the mysterious citadel of Choquequirao around its slopes with a diversity of plants and vegetables, fruits, shrubs, etc. The slopes are composed by giant ferns and a variety of orchids, which highlights the variety of wakanki (Peruvian Orchids). When getting into the great valley we discovered that there is an effect of a thermal stream that runs through the valley and its forests and its mountains, which provide warmth and ideal conditions for a wide variety of crops of coca, achiote, corn, cacao, coffee and fruit.

The main value of these ecosystems, surrounding lush forests which grow on the tops of mountains, is to maintain the water balance in the region capturing the rainwater and leading the water, without causing erosion, towards the Apurimac River.

Wildlife in Choquequirao

According to biologists, ecologists and experts, the wildlife in the environment of Choquequirao is one of the richest in biodiversity, but in this area, no one knows exactly how many species of plants and animals that exist, despite this deficiency and some scarce scientific studies, it has been possible to determine the existence of various forms of life.

Selected species:

Species	Image
The condor
Fox
Skunk
Puma
Bears (Peruvian spectacled bear)

Species	Image
Hummingbirds
Toucan
Tigrillos quetzals
Taruca
Vizcachas

All these species have adapted into the conditions despite variations in temperature as the sun throughout the day and overnight frosts raw. This space also houses the "cock of the rocks"; which is the national bird of Peru.