Chachapoyas Heritage & Nature

We’ll meet you on arrival and transfer to the city of Chachapoyas for check in at your lodging. Settle in at your own pace and prepare for the days ahead.

We set out from Chachapoyas to the town of San Pablo de Valera – 26 miles away – the starting point for our approach to Gocta Waterfall. From here we continue towards the falls on horseback for about one and a half hours, then on foot for roughly an hour. Along the way we take in diverse flora and fauna and broad views of the cascade. Gocta Waterfall, locally known as La Chorrera, drops 771 metres and is considered among the highest waterfalls in the world. It sits within a vast cloud covered forest that is home to toucans, monkeys, mountain lions and the Andean cock of the rock, with around twenty other waterfalls in the area. After time to appreciate the setting, we return to San Pablo for a traditional lunch.

In the morning, we travel to Kuelap, the monumental complex built by the Chachapoyas culture. En route, we stop for a panoramic view of the Macro archaeological site – often called the Macro Towers – set on a hillside above the Utcubamba River. We continue to Nuevo Tingo to board the bus to the cable car station, then take the modern cable cars – a short, smooth ride – to the starting point of our visit. From here, you may choose to ascend on foot or on horseback to the fortress on Cerro Barreta at around 3,000 m.a.s.l. Kuelap is surrounded by striking landscapes and protected by colossal walls and cliffs on three of its four sides. It rises in three platforms containing circular buildings with rhomboidal and zigzag friezes – evidence of a well organised society. After exploring, we return to Nuevo Tingo for lunch, then continue back to Chachapoyas.

We’ll collect you from your accommodation and provide a transfer to the airport – marking the end to your journey.