PeruNorth's musings on events & destinations in Northern Peru, Amazonia ... and beyond. Detailed tour reviews.
Read the testimony of Sam Watkins, a UK national living in Malaga, Spain, who travelled solo to Northern Peru in July 2022.
He stayed in the little-visited village of Cuispes, from where he visited Yumbilla, Cristal, Medio Cerro and Gocta waterfall.
He did a day trip to El Tigre Sarcophagi; and finished by visiting the Chachapoya citadel of Yalape (in lieu of Kuelap that was closed owing to restoration work).
The last night was spent in Chachapoyas city; and much of the transport was by mototaxi, in order to keep costs down.
One of PeruNorth's first forays into Northern Peru was in 2006, to see first-hand Catarata Gocta, which had just been claimed as the third-highest waterfall in the world. At that time, we learned that Gocta was just one of many drops from this one plateau in the Amazonas province.
In the subsequent years, another of these waterfalls, Yumbilla, had been surveyed by Peru's Geographical Institute (IGN), and found to have a total drop 125 m (407 ft) higher than Gocta. So, it went to top of our list of must-see natural attractions.
The Kuelap cable car is one of the most important tourism projects in the country, which will offer an additional mode of access for visitors to the archaeological site. When completed, the four kilometre (2.5 mile) route, that goes from 2,000 m (6,562 ft) to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) above sea level, will be covered in 20 minutes.
The water in the vast Amazon River system is largely run-off from the Andes Mountains, and some of the most spectacular scenery and interesting wildlife can be found in the region of Northern Peru where these two gigantic geographical features meet - an area known in Spanish as ceja de selva (literally 'jungle's eye-brow') and incorporating a wide range of eco-systems between the altitudes of 500 m (1,640 ft) and 3,000 m (9,840 ft) above sea level.
Even at a slightly higher elevation, the heat can be stifling, and so a nice swimming pool is extremely welcome for the purpose of cooling down and calmly taking in one's surroundings. We therefore list below some of our favourites in the high Amazon provinces of San Martin and Amazonas.
The first week of June sees the city of Chachapoyas indulge in a celebration of the region's culture, that includes dances, cuisine, music, costumes and artwork. Known as Raymi Llacta (or Llaqta), which means 'town festival' in Quechua, it has been a fixture on the Northern Peru calendar since 1996.
Gocta Falls is the second highest waterfall in Peru, yet was not scientifically measured until 2006, at which time they were declared the third highest in the world (an opinion since revised several times). They are barely 32 km (20 miles) north of Chachapoyas as the crow (or condor!) flies, and yet had escaped the attention of travellers and researchers.
Ten years later, just how remote and unexplored is Chachapoyas?
Do you know which is the world’s 3rd highest waterfall? And the 5th? And the 16th? Well, depending on which source you read, they are all Gocta Falls, in the Department of Amazonas.
Whatever their official ranking, it is incredible that they have only recently come to general attention.
