Kuelap & Gocta Falls

The next day it was time to take a bus to Cajamarca, city of the famous showdown between the Incas and the Spanish. The short version of the history is the Atahualpa was captured here, pointed to a level on the wall of his ransom chamber that his subjects would fill with gold and silver for his release. After this happened he was then executed in the plaza. I arrived there on a Monday to find out that sadly the ransom room was closed as were the nearby Incan baths, the only other thing that I wanted to visit. Long story short the next bus was out in the morning and I was on it, welcome to northern Peru where tourist convenience is yet to be considered.

After much reading, searching and venting of frustration as to the lack of real information on getting to Kuelap I left the next morning bound for the small town of Tingo . The ride is supposedly spectacular, which is Peruvian tourism code for long, windy, a lot of climbing and descending without really going all that far. The small town of Tingo seemed like the easiest place to hike to Kuelap from, however this was a bit of guesswork as there isn’t much information on the subject (sad given this is rated as the second best archeological site) . Tingo is a small little town on the bus route of little more than 10 buildings but it does provide a convenient if a little quiet base to start what is actually a reasonably marked trail.

The trail begins from Tingo and takes you up 1200m over 10 kilometers (annoyingly the first 15 minutes is both up and down). The walk is very peaceful as you would expect given this is the untouristy part of Peru and I encountered probably five times as many locals as I did other tourists (i.e. about 10 as opposed to 2!). The trail takes you up hill through the villages that go up the hill and it is a stiff climb and it is only about 15 minutes from the top that you turn a corner to gaze in awe at the giant walls (and I meant giant) of Kuelap, the Chachapoyan fortress. As you finally reach the entrance walls the sheer size and amount of stonework that is involved in constructing the fortress becomes really apparent and you can’t help but feel small and in awe of the fortress. Then once you turn around you can see exactly why they built it here with the location at the top of the hill with a spectacular view over the valley and river below second to none – shame about the rain today. One last little bit of frustration is that once you get to the top you have to walk past the ruins for 20 minutes to the road to get your ticket and then walk back to enter!

Once you get your ticket however you walk through the giant gate, realizing once you are through that this main gate would have acted as a death corridor should you not come in peace such is the way it is designed. Inside the fortress opens itself to be a giant city complex as well with the ruins of many houses present, and one completely restored. The incredible thing the sheer amount of stone used to construct this fortress (believed to be more than giant pyramids). The other thing that I did appreciate is that because it not overly visited (a discussion with the caretaker revealed on a very good day they get 40 visitors) you can actually see the excavation work that is still going on at the site. The site is great to be able to walk through at your pace without any of the hassles of other tourists or the micro economy that comes with them in Peru. A peaceful and worthwhile site to visit for those that make it to the north of Peru, not as complete as Machu Picchu but about 800 years older and still in the process of excavation which is great to see. I would definitely recommend that tourist get up and see this before it becomes overly developed and over run with tourists.

The next day it was time to continue northwards to Chachapoyas a decent sized city in the region that less than 10 years ago they discovered just happens to be the gateway to Gocta falls. Depending on what you read and what you want to believe these falls are between the third and fifth highest in the world at 770 metres and certainly look impressive as you walk towards them.

Getting there was a little bit more fun than we planned, with the car dropping us off at the road from where we had an hour walk to the entrance. After 2 hours and some poor signage (i.e.) none and poor directions (i.e. completely wrong) from the locals we arrived at the entrance to the falls to begin our next two hour walk to the base of the falls. For others wanting to go there take a car towards Pedro Ruiz and get out at the sign for Gocta falls (or pay extra and take a cab to the top) and stay on this road, don’t exit even if locals tell you too and you will arrive at the gate to the falls.

The walk towards the falls is nice as you leave the hot and arid hills and descend down into the tropical zone and head around the point to the falls. The falls are mostly out of view until the last half an hour but when they come into view its quite incredible. As you get close to the falls you get covered in the mist coming off such is the height from which its dropped. The view at the bottom is incredible with a glacial pool that flows into the river at the bottom of the falls and no evidence of civilization anywhere. Simply an incredibly peaceful place and one that you could sit at for hours such is the sheer beauty and tranquility in front of you.

With the lack of tourism frustrating me three times, once due to a lack of buses,other due to a lack of affordable hostels and opening days once again I decided shoot through Chicalayo to continue further north to Ecuador. I was however not quite as frustrated as my friend who got stuck in Chachapoyas two more days because the laundry took his clothes on friday afternoon and then didn't open on Saturday!

Ecuador will be my first new country in a long time and I will be finally leaving Peru behind probably for the last time. Peru has definitely been once of my favourite countries with a lot of variation in things to see and opportunities to get off the beaten track and see what most organised tours don't. I'm looking forward to Ecuador and seeing a slightly different culture and country and the adventures that it produces.