Regionaltravel in Peru

Chachapoyas and Kuelap

The city of Chachapoyas is located in the Northern Andes in the Department of Amazonas. Its name is based on the Chachpoya people, which refused to be conquered by the Incas. The main archeological treasure of this culture is the spectacular fortress of Kuelap. They had a unique architecture style with rounded constructions using plane stones and carved decorations on the walls of the buildings. This fortress was protected by huge walls with difficult entrances that made an enemy invasion almost impossible.

A special feature of the Chachapoya culture is the mummification of the dead, their placement within sarcophaguses and the construction of burial sites in the midst of high, inaccessible cliffs (Revash, Karajía). In Leimebamba you can see many mummies that were found in a rock face at the lake «Laguna de los Condores».

Much further south there is another Chachapoya city, still hidden in the dense vegetation of the mountain jungle: Gran Pajaten.

Travel programs:


		PTW-CHK001 Chachapoyas: History and Nature 5 days / 4 nights Travel to the mountains in the north of Peru, where the Chachapoya people once lived, to get to know witnesses of their culture and architecture (Kuelap, Karají) and to marvel at Gocta, the third largest waterfall in the world.

		PTW-TAR003 Tarapoto+Chachapoyas 7 days / 6 nights Combination of two important tourist centers in the north of Peru: jungle area around Tarapoto + Andean mountains with historical sites around Chachapoyas.

		PTW-CHK002 Laguna de los Cóndores 3 days / 3 nights 219 mummies were discovered at the inaccessible lake «Laguna de los Cóndores». Strenuous tour following a secondary Inca trail to a beautiful crystal clear mountain lake. The mausoleum on a rock face high above the lake.

		PTW-CHK003 Gran Vilaya 4 days / 3 nights Hike in the northern Andes through impressive landscapes with small rural villages and archaeological sites belonging to the Chachapoyas culture.

		PTW-CHK004 Inka-Trail 3 days / 2 nights The Inca-Trail through northern Peru offers a great mix of pre-inca archaeological sites, pre-hispanic trails and small colonial towns with wonderful views of the Andes.

		PTW-CHK005 Revash, Leymebamba Day trip The Revash mausoleums are burial buildings that housed several mummies at the same time. The museum in Leymebamba contains more than 2000 archaeological finds from northern Peru, including the mummies from Laguna de los Cóndores.

		PTW-CHK006 Huaylla Belén and Karajía Day trip Huaylla Belén, an exceptional valley surrounded by cloud forest and lush nature. The Karajía sarcophagi are a burial site of the Chachapoyas culture.

		PTW-CHK007 Yumbilla 1 day The Yumbilla Waterfall is located in the «Valley of the Waterfalls» in the municipality of Cuispes in the Amazon region. With a total height of 896 m, it is the fifth highest waterfall in the world and the second highest in Peru.

For more tours that include Chachapoyas see Chiclayo, Trujillo, Tarapoto and Round trips.