Things to do
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Cañón del Sonche
A gorge some nine hundred metres deep cut by the Sonche behind the village of Huancas, with a railed platform built out over the drop. The cloud usually lifts by the middle of the morning, and condors are seen working the far wall.
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Catarata Gocta
A two stage waterfall of 771 metres falling off the cloud forest escarpment, among the tallest on earth. Paths from Cocachimba and San Pablo reach the lower and upper falls, each a walk of about two hours.
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Catarata Yumbilla
Reaching this tiered waterfall starts at the tourist office in Cuispes, a village off the road to Pedro Ruiz. About 3 km of dirt road lead from there to the forest path, a stretch best covered by taxi. The base can only be reached with a guide, booked in advance, so allow most of a day from Chachapoyas.
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Caverna de Quiocta
Stalactites, cave paintings, pottery and bones fill this cave of about 600 metres near Lámud. It is usually visited on the same day as the Karajía sarcophagi, and a guide is required to go in, so it is easiest to come on a day tour.
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Cocachimba
The village on the south side of the Gocta valley, and the usual start for the walk in to the foot of the falls. Its viewpoint looks straight down the length of the drop, which is the picture most visitors arrive having already seen.
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Gran Vilaya
Several days on foot are needed for this valley of Chachapoya ruins under cloud forest, and the trek begins with a 4x4 ride on dirt tracks to the Belén valley. There is almost nowhere to sleep or buy food on the route, so the trek is made with a local guide.
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Huancas
A pottery village on the plateau above Chachapoyas where the women still build cooking vessels by hand without a wheel. It is the road head for the Sonche viewpoints and for the Huanca Urco platform, and the walk between the two takes about an hour.
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Kuélap
A walled citadel of the Chachapoya culture at 3,000 metres above the Utcubamba, its perimeter running twenty metres high and enclosing more than four hundred round stone houses. Entry is through three passages that narrow to single file, which is what most visitors remember of it.
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Laguna de los Cóndores
The trek starts at Leimebamba, south of Chachapoyas, and the walk to this cloud forest lake takes about ten to twelve hours on foot or by horse. It is usually done as a three-day trip with a guide, starting and ending in Leimebamba.
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Mausoleos de Revash
A cluster of small gabled tombs built into a limestone cliff and painted red and cream, reading from the path opposite like a row of miniature houses. They held collective burials, and the pigment on the rock around them survives at close to its original strength.
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Museo de Leimebamba
The museum built to hold the more than two hundred mummies recovered from the cliff tombs at Laguna de los Cóndores in 1997, kept in a climate controlled room seen through glass. The textiles and quipus found with them make up the rest of the collection.
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Plaza de Armas
Gardens and paths fill the middle of the town's main square, and the white cathedral stands on its edge, with the paths laid out in front of it. It is a place to sit and rest between day trips while the life of the town passes around it.
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Pueblo de los Muertos
Also known as Tingorbamba, this Chachapoya site of stone terraces sits above the Utcubamba near Lámud. It is reached by dirt track and then on foot, and going with a local guide saves searching for the path. Allow most of a day from Chachapoyas.
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Sarcófagos de Karajía
Six clay sarcophagi standing more than two metres tall on a ledge in a cliff face above the Utcubamba, each holding a mummy and topped with a modelled human head. They are seen from below across a small gorge, since the ledge itself has never been reachable.
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Yalape
A Chachapoya settlement of terraced platforms and round houses spread over several hectares in the hills above Levanto, its walls carved with the zigzag and rhombus friezes the culture used. It is barely visited, and it is reached on a path rather than a road.
