Our trek to Gocta Waterfall begins right at our hotel door, which is a short walk from the trailhead. The trek passes along the sides of a beautiful cloud-forested valley, passing through the forest where animals, birds and butterflies are found in abundance. If you’re very lucky, you might even spot (or at least hear) a yellow-tailed woolly monkey, mountain sloth or magnificent cock-of-the-rock (the national bird of Peru).  

The trail to Gocta is well maintain...

After breakfast we’ll drive back down into the beautiful Utcubamba Canyon before crossing over into the neighboring province of Luya. From the village of Luya we will head to the village of Cruz Pata, where we begin our reasonably short and very scenic walk to Karajia (the walk normally takes about 45 minutes).  

When we finally round a bend on the valley side, you’ll see the striking sarcophagi of Karajia standing on ledges on the cliff face above you. T...

In the morning we’ll drive to the village of Tingo where we’ll board the cable car for a fun ride across a canyon up to Kuelap Fortress. After a short walk, we’ll arrive at this hugely impressive archaeological site.  

While not nearly as famous as Machu Picchu, Kuelap is arguably just as impressive – that’s why it’s often called “The Machu Picchu of Northern Peru.” The comparison is perhaps a little unfair, as the two ...

Day 2 begins with a scenic two-and-a-half-hour drive through the hills to a small village called Yerbabuena. From here, we walk for two hours uphill to the enchanting site of Revash, a cliff-side funerary complex (alternatively, we can drive you a further 10 km to the village of San Bartolo, from where it’s an easier 30-minute walk to Revash).  

Built by the Chachapoya culture around 1200 AD, Revash is different from other funerary sites in the region. Rather t...

On our final day we make the trip from Leymebamba to the beautiful colonial city of Cajamarca. The six-hour drive ranks among the most spectacular in Peru. It begins with an ascent to a mountain pass at 3,600 meters above sea level, overlooking the Marañon Canyon. The road then plunges down to the river, passing through many different ecosystems. We’ll cross the bridge at the valley bottom at 850 meters above sea level, then drive up again to 2,400 meters on the western s...