Chachapoyas

 

Kuelap and others vestiges of a remarkable culture 

Arriving in Chachapoyas is like arriving at a frontier. The sense of mystery is palpable in the elegant squares and cobbled streets, the bright patios of the old houses and the sea of roof tiles that covers this city located at 7 657 feet / 2 334 meters above sea level. Legendary explorers, scholars and archaeologists have come to Chachapoyas to uncover the secrets of a culture comparable only to that of the Incas.

Hotels


Temperatures 

Max 22ºC / 71.6°F

Min 9ºC / 48.2°F

Useful tips:

  • The rainy season is from December to March.
  • Currently Chachapoyas can only be accessed overland. The journey from Lima via Chiclayo takes around 22 hours, while the drive from Lima via Trujillo and Cajamarca takes approximately 28 hours. The route from Tarapoto via Moyobamba is a trip of between 7 and 8 hours.
  • Kuelap, the most important site left by the Chachapoyas culture, is characterized by great walls rising to heights of around 65 feet / 20 meters, rhomboid friezes, high relief drawings, passageways and sacred temples.
  • The proud sarcophagi of Karajia were discovered in 1984, and the hundreds of funerary bundles now displayed at the Mallqui Museum were found in 1997 at the so-called Lake of the Mummies.
  • From Chachapoyas it is possible to visit the waterfalls at Yumbilla (2 854 feet / 870 meters) and the falls at Gocta (2 529 feet / 771 meters), which are the third and fourth highest waterfalls in the world.