This 9 day tour provides a fascinating introduction to a little-visited corner of northern Peru with engaging and well-connected trip scholar, Mariana Watson. Highlights include a curated visit to one of Lima’s top museums, several walks culminating with views to sites of archaeological interest or natural beauty, including an insider’s view of the hill-top site of Kuelap.

Spend a day in Lima, visiting the pre-Inca site of Huaca Pucclana and the Larco Museum (probably Peru’s leading private museum with exhibits covering 5,000 years of history). Fly north to Chachapoyas and start a 5 day exploration of this little-visited area. Based at two separate hotels for ease of access visit Leymebamba Museum, which houses over 200 mummies; Revash (14th century mausoleums); Karajía (funerary figures placed high along limestone cliffs); Kuelap; and (6km walk each way) to spectacular Gocta Falls. Return to Lima and visit the colonial city centre and the Inca site of Pachacámac. A reasonable level of fitness is required as access to most of the sites involve walks of 2 to 4km at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,200m.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Visit the walled hilltop site of Kuelap, at its peak from 1000 to 1300AD.
• Learn about Chachapoya culture both ancient and modern.
• Walk to Gocta Falls (the world’s 5th tallest) through cloud forest which is home to Andean cock-of-the-rock and the endangered marvellous spatuletail hummingbird.

ITINERARY

The full itinerary can be found on the Last Frontiers website.

Peru tour