This thirty-something couple from London did an extensive & active 4-Week tour of Northern Peru taking in:
Chiclayo & Tucume
Chachapoyas
Leymebamba
Laguna de los Condores Trek
Treehouse Lodge in Amazon Rainforest
Beach time in Vichayito, Piura
Here are their thoughts on what they did and saw:
“Sorry for long delay getting back to you. It’s been a busy gear shift since being back from our brilliant trip.
In all we were really happy with the breadth and depth of what we saw and did. Some bits were quite shocking but that is mainly down to Peru and its “life is cheap” mentality - seeing a fatal motor taxi crash was pretty raw and made us feel very lucky to have a safe car.
When we were away in nature it was pretty amazing and never could have predicted how beautiful and awesome the experiences we had were:
What was your favourite cultural destination in the itinerary?
Leafy viewpoint of El Tigre sarcophagi.
Leiymebamba Museum was beautifully curated and inspiring especially as it linked so well with our trek to Laguna de los Condores.
El Tigre sarcophagi were stunning and the walk to them our first real experience of cloud forest proper.
Ollape and La Jalca were also incredible - overlooking Kuelap and potentially an equally important Chachapoyan town … but entirely forgotten and reclaimed by nature.
The town of La Jalca was fascinating, with an amazing church dating back to the first Spanish arrival. The incorporation of the zigzag motif into the church architecture and altar were then echoed in the ruins at Ollape. Probably Brice’s favourite archeological site.
We also saw the Marvelous Spatuletail there!
What were your favourite natural destinations in the itinerary?
For the amount of birds and animals we saw, the Amazon river Treehouse Lodge.
For the experience of untouched nature, the forest around Laguna de los Condores.
Equally the horse trip in Pomac was contrasting with amazing views when we climbed the pyramids amongst the forest.
Who were your guides? How did they perform?
Ron [Watger] was excellent - a very good driver as well, which we underestimated as a crucial skill in Peru. He was attentive and adapted the itinerary to our requests.
Ron has a personal friendship with many of the people we met along the way, which meant we had real authentic Peruvian hospitality. All round excellent guide.
Our other Peruvian guides:
Rodbare - Laguna de los Condores horse guide - incredibly hard working and sweet guy. Went above and beyond.
Willi - Treehouse Lodge guide is a fantastic bird and nature guide. Full of energy and so keen to show us everything!
Which was your favourite accommodation and why?
By far Casa Mallqui in Leiymebamba. This is basically paradise on earth: Ayako has created a beautiful haven. Amazing food and hospitality which was second to none.
I have never been anywhere that made me feel so welcome and cared for. We regularly think about our 4 nights there.
Did you lose or gain weight over the course of the holiday!?
I got Giardia so lost 5kg - Conrad!
What forms of transport did you use? Pros/cons?
Horse, car and plane. The car bit I spoke about in section about Ron.
Did your itinerary involve any hiking? How would you rate it in terms of difficulty?
Loved all the hikes and all fairly easy. Laguna de los Condores was a horse trek, not a hike, but still enjoyed it.
What was the most pointless item in your luggage!?
A book... never read it as too many things to look at.
What were your favourite natural encounters (eg. animal / bird / flora seen)?
165 species of bird in all - amazing.
I loved seeing the osprey arriving at the Amazon for spring!
Did you suffer any insect bites? Other physical discomforts?
Other than touch of giardia, no, we were unscathed!
Did you notice any areas where environmental practices could be improved?
Peru’s attitude to making money (selling off mining rights to China and destroying monuments and forest with littering, farming and tourism) reflects its birth out of poverty and economic Renaissance.
I am in no way judging the Peruvians as every nation goes through some form of economic change, but it was quite difficult to be in that kind of environment sometimes.
Best wishes and thank you for work to put together such a trip”