Peru route advice & safety ( Cuzco/Ayacucho area ).

[levelo]

Hi everyone,

So I've been riding ( cycling ) in South America for 18 months.

I'm currently in Cuzco, Peru, wondering which route to take on my way north to Ayacucho/Huancayo.
My #1 option is to continue to Ollantaytambo , up the Abra Malaga pass, down to Santa Maria/Santa Teresa ( I'd visit Machu Picchu from there ) and then the dirt track that goes north to Quillabamba then east to Kiteni through the " jungle " and eventually to Ayacucho over the Abra Tapuna pass.

Has anyone ridden or driven it recently ?

It's considered off limits and dangerous on all foreign official travel advisory websites mostly for drug producing & trafficking reasons. I spoke to a few locals here and they've also told me that it's a bit dicey.

I speak fluent Spanish, if it matters.

L.