6 days as part of a tailor-made holiday in PeruThis pre-Inca fortress is the most dramatic and majestic legacy of the mysterious Chachapoyan civilisation, hidden away in a little-visited corner of northern Peru. The sheer scale of the walls, astride a mountain crest, is staggering. The effort to get there is well worth it; although that said, the infrastructure is constantly improving: the formerly bone-shaking road to Chachapoyas is now paved. There are some good hotels in the region now, including two in the well liked Peruvian Casa Andina chain in Chiclayo and Chachapoyas.
Daily from Chiclayo
6 days, 5 nights
Travel by road from the coastal city of Chiclayo to Chachapoyas, your base for 3 nights, Drive through the desert and the Andes before descending to the Marañon river.
Drive via Karajía, a remote village where you can view the cliff-face huge tombs of Chachapoyan nobles, to the family-run el Chillo estancia for a 2-night stay. A full day’s excursion takes you to Yerbabuena to climb on foot or horseback to the ancient cliff tombs of Revash, and continue to the new museum at Leymebamba, which displays well-preserved mummies.
The highlight of your rural stay is your day trip to the cliff-top fortress Kuelap. Its towering walls and inverted V-shaped entrances made it impregnable. Return to Chachapoyas by public transport for a further night.
On the last full day, a 90-minute drive is followed by 2½ hour trek through sugar cane fields and tropical foliage to the base of the 771m high Gocta Falls. Continue for one night to Jaen. On the final day, depart for Chiclayo. Our Comment
This is a remote and fascinating trip. Until recently, it was a long and uncomfortable journey, but with improved roads and hotels, you can now have a more comfortable experience in an area as yet relatively little visited by tourists.
Chris Parrott, Founding Director
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 The distinctive architecture of Kuelap
 The vast walls of Kuelap fortress
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