Alma Andina

Alma Andina is a gravel cycling event starting in Cusco, the historic former capital of the Inca Empire high in the Peruvian Andes, with distance options of 450 and 620 kilometers. Cusco sits at approximately 12,000 meters elevation, and any route departing from the city immediately confronts riders with serious altitude considerations from the very first kilometer, traversing terrain that likely includes high Andean passes, traditional agricultural terracing, and remote indigenous communities throughout the Sacred Valley region. The event’s name, meaning ‘Andean Soul’ in Spanish, reflects its framing as a cultural and spiritual journey through the heart of indigenous Andean Peru as much as a physical endurance challenge.

Cusco and the surrounding Sacred Valley represent one of the most historically and culturally rich regions in South America, home to extensive Inca archaeological sites, traditional Quechua-speaking communities, and some of the most dramatic high-altitude landscapes on the continent. The July timing falls within Peru’s dry season in the Andes, offering the most stable weather conditions for high-altitude cycling, though riders must still contend with cold nights and the physiological demands of sustained effort above 3,000 meters.