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© 2008
Inka's Empire Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Chiclayo - Chachapoyas - Leymebamba - Cajamarca
Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
This magnificent megalithic construction was discovered in 1843...
its volume is three times that of the Great Pyramid of Cheops...
-- Alvaro Rocha, Chachapoyas: The Architecture of Wonder, Rumbos Magazine
Land Price (7 days/6 nights)
Private US$ 3,040
The land price includes escorted transfers, private excursions with professional guides and chauffeurs, entrance fees, indicated category of accommodations, all meals except beverages, all transportation except air flights, and travel insurance for guests through the age of 59 years. Over that age, there is a supplementary fee. All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. For a detailed description of our services, see About Our Tours. Season: May through October.
We recommend that this tour be preceded by our 5 or 6-night Northern Kingdoms.
Map
Detail Map
Intra-Tour Air Flights & Fares
Air fares are in addition to the land price.
Intra-Tour Air Flights & Fares shows South American air flights needed for this tour and the fares.
Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
The Lost World of Chachapoyas
The pre-Columbian Chachapoyas culture, conquered in the 15th century by the Incas, has left a landscape scattered with villages and burial sites which until recently has been largely overlooked by archaeologists.
Situated in the cloud forests around the town of Chachapoyas in Peru's northern Amazonas Department, these sites are dominated by the mighty fortress of Kuelap, perched majestically atop cliffs overlooking the verdant Andean landscape.
In Chachapoyas, remnants of the past invite discovery by the bold adventurer, and the cultures of the present extend a friendly welcome. This expedition allows guests to explore and discover Chachapoyas and Cajamarca, site of the first contact between the Spanish conquistadors and the Inca civilization. The itinerary is new and specially designed for those people with an interest in archaeology and a taste for adventure. The area is still new to tourism, but we have taken every care to provide as comfortable a stay as possible, with air-conditioned vehicles and expert guides.
The area is known not only for its startling archaeological discoveries but also for being one of the most important centers for birds with restricted ranges. We offer specialized birdwatching programs, guided by some of Peru's best birding guides, which provide an opportunity to look for Marañon endemics such as Marvelous Spatuletail, Peruvian Pigeon, Yellow-faced Parrotlet, Marañon Thrush and Buff-bridled Inca-Finch, among others.
What our clients have to say:
We would not consider these roads passable in this country...
-- Elizabeth Brooks
View from the Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Highlights
Chachapoyas
Day 1: Chiclayo - Chachapoyas. Morning departure from Chiclayo by private car. Starting on the coast, you'll arrive in the cloud forest of Chachapoyas by late afternoon. Box lunch on the way. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
Day 2: Chachapoyas (Kuelap). Visit Kuelap, a spectacular pre-Inca walled city hidden atop a precipitous mountain. Box lunch. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
Day 3: Chachapoyas (Macro - Revash). Morning excursion to observe the burial towers of Macro, an outpost of the Chachapoyas culture built into cliffs overlooking the Utcubamba River. Box lunch. In the afternoon, an excursion by horse to the colorful funereal buildings of Revash, perched on a ledge up high on a cliff. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
Leymebamba
Day 4: Chachapoyas - La Congona - Leymebamba. Morning departure toward Leymebamba. On the way, we'll stop at Las Palmas, for a light trek to La Congona, a spectacular settlement of the Chachapoyas culture. After a picnic lunch, continue to Leymebamba and spend the night in a local hostel. Dinner and overnight in the Centro Mallqui.
Cajamarca
Day 5: Leymebamba - Marañon Canyon - Cajamarca. Morning visit to the Museo Leymebamba, with its amazing collection of well-preserved, pre-inca mummies discovered in the Laguna de los Condores. Continue to Cajamarca, crossing two cordilleras (mountain ranges) and several different habitats, such as cloud forest, agricultural land, desert-like areas and the Marañon Canyon. Box lunch on the way. Dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
Day 6: Lima - Cajamarca (Colonial Quarter & Ventanillas de Otuzco). Cajamarca was a major center of the Inca Empire. It is most famous for being the place of first contact between Pizarro and the Inca army. Morning light trek through the countryside. Then we visit a pre-Inca cemetery. After lunch at El Querubino, an exploration of the major attractions of the city, including the Ransom Room, which Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, filled once with gold and twice with silver so as to obtain his freedom in 1532. At Santa Apolonia Hill, view the scenic Valley of Cajamarca from the ceremonial Inca throne. Return to the hotel to enjoy its swimming pools with thermal waters. Dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
Lima
Day 7: Cajamarca - Lima. Transfer to the airport. Morning Flight to Lima.
Optional tours
For all of our Chachapoyas expeditions, there are options for trekking to Kuelap, light rafting on the Utcubamba River and trekking to La Laguna de los Condores, where the pre-Inca mummies now in the Museo Leymebamba were discovered. For the 6-night tour, there is also an option to spend an extra night in Cajamarca with sightseeing. Please inquire.
Land Price (1 day/1 night)
Imperial US$ 270
Cajamarca (Cumbemayo). Drive to the unusually-shaped rock formations of Cumbemayo and a pre-Inca aqueduct carved into natural stone. Lunch at La Pascan. Afternoon at the Baños del Inca. Dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
Land Price (1 day/1 night)
Imperial US$ 470
Cajamarca (Kunturwasi). Full-day excursion to the archaeological complex and stone monoliths of Kunturwasi, a ceremonial center of the formative period of ancient Andean Civilizaation (1200 - 50 BC). Box lunch. Visit to the museum in nearby San Pablo, which displays gold and other artifacts discovered at the site. Dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
Entry corridor, Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Chachapoyas, which means "People of the Clouds", is the name of a civilization that fought from high forest strongholds in resistance to Inca expansion and Spanish invasion. One of the last kingdoms to succumb to the Inca, its legacy includes one of South America's archaeological wonders -- the defensive fortress of Kuelap. Perched on the shoulder of a 10,000-foot mountain, this 9th century citadel comprises an urban complex of more than 400 stone edifices -- homes, palaces and temples enclosed by a 70-foot-tall stone wall. Their architecture demonstrates decidedly non-Inca features, such as protruding geometric patterns, cornices and friezes. Kuelap's setting is unforgettably beautiful -- a tropical cloud forest festooned with orchids and steeped in mystery.
The Revash Tombs, the Karajia Sarcophagi and the extensive network of Chachapoyas paved trails also serve as a reminder of the greatness of this vanished nation. Archaeologists just now are mapping and excavating many important Chachapoyas sites. The museum in Leymebamba, which displays 200 mummies recovered from the remote Lake of the Condors, describes the extraordinary embalming methods of the Chachapoya, their lifestyle and culture. The Museum also houses a collection of knotted Quipu, the record-keeping device of the Incas.
The "Torreón", a watchtower inside the Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 1: Chiclayo - Chachapoyas
Morning departure from Chiclayo by private car, crossing four different Peruvian departments: Lambayeque, the south of Piura, the north of Cajamarca and Amazonas. Starting on the coast, you'll arrive in the cloud forest of Chachapoyas by late afternoon. Box lunch on the way. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
A house inside the Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 2: Chachapoyas (Kuelap)
Breakfast. Visit Kuelap, a spectacular pre-Inca walled city hidden atop a precipitous mountain. Although Kuelap was discovered 60 years before Machu Picchu, it is not as well-known to the outside world. Nevertheless, recent amazing discoveries in nearby areas that relate to Kuelap and its history have captured the attention of archaeologists, international magazines and film companies. Box lunch. Following your visit to Kuelap, return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
Characteristic Chachapoyan rhomboid design in friezes inside the Fortress of Kuelap.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 3: Chachapoyas (Macro - Revash)
Breakfast. Morning excursion to observe the burial towers of Macro, an outpost of the Chachapoyas culture built into cliffs overlooking the Utcubamba River. Its unique location allowed for communication via signal fires with the fortress, high above in the mountains and visible through a cleft in the valley hills. Box lunch. In the afternoon, an excursion by horse to the colorful funereal buildings of Revash, perched on a ledge up high on a cliff. They overlook a valley and tributary of the Utcubamba near the town of Santo Tomas. The cliff walls at Revash are decorated with geometric designs and figures of camelids. Some of the tombs are decorated with T and cross-shaped niches. Return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Hostal Estancia Chillo.
Sarcophagi, Karajia tombs.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 4: Chachapoyas - La Congona - Leymebamba
Breakfast. Morning departure toward Leymebamba. On the way, we'll stop at Las Palmas, for a light trek to La Congona, a spectacular settlement of the Chachapoyas culture. In this area, you'll discover outstanding friezes and defensive towers still virgin in the jungle. After a picnic lunch, continue to Leymebamba and spend the night in a local hostel. Dinner and overnight in the Centro Mallqui.
Leymebamba.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 5: Leymebamba - Marañon Canyon - Cajamarca
Breakfast. Morning visit to the Museo Leymebamba, with its amazing collection of well-preserved, pre-inca mummies discovered in the Laguna de los Condores. Continue to Cajamarca, crossing two cordilleras (mountain ranges) and several different habitats, such as cloud forest, agricultural land, desert-like areas and the Marañon Canyon. The journey from Leymebamba to Cajamarca, by way of the Maranon Canyon, is one of Peru's most spectacular road trips. The Maranon River forms one of the world's deepest canyons, and you will descend through different ecosystems from over 10,000 feet in altitude to the town of Balsas, at 4,000 feet. After crossing the river, you then ascend back through the various habitats to nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Box lunch on the way. Dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
La Iglesia de San Francisco, Cajamarca.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Cajamarca is a city of colonial charm, rolling Andean countryside, and home to the important archaeological sites of Ventanillas de Otuzco and Cumbemayo. It is a place of great historical significance -- in this city Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured, imprisoned, ransomed and executed Inca Emperor Atahualpa, unleashing the destruction of Inca civilization. Travelers may stroll in the town square -- site of the first and decisive battle between the Spanish and the Inca -- and visit the ransom rooms that were filled with gold and silver by legions of loyal Inca subjects in the attempt to buy the freedom of their doomed regent.
Day 6: Cajamarca (Colonial Quarter & Ventanillas de Otuzco)
Breakfast. Cajamarca was a major center of the Inca Empire. It is most famous for being the place of first contact between Pizarro and the Inca army, which he defeated shortly thereafter in a one-sided battle during which he captured Atahualpa, the last of the independent Inca monarchs. Although the Inca city was razed to the ground, Cajamarca boasts many beautiful colonial buildings as well as the Inca-era "Ransom Room," where Atahualpa was kept as a prisoner of the Spaniards before being garroted.
Pre-Inca Ventanillas of Otuzco, Cajamarca.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Morning light trek through the Cajamarca countryside to see local people in their daily activities, including children going to school. Then we visit the Ventanillas de Otuzco, a pre-Inca cemetery that features a gallery of secondary burial niches. After lunch at El Querubino, an exploration of the major attractions of the city: the Main Square, the 17th century Cathedral, the 18th century San Francisco Church with its Museum of Religious Art, the Ransom Room (which Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, filled once with gold and twice with silver so as to obtain his freedom in 1532) and the Belen Church, constructed entirely of sculpted volcanic rock. Along the way, we'll take a delicious cup of coffee at a local cafeteria. At Santa Apolonia Hill, view the scenic Valley of Cajamarca from the ceremonial Inca throne. Return to the hotel to enjoy its swimming pools with thermal waters. A massage at the spa is optional at additional cost. Farewell dinner and overnight in the Hotel & Spa Laguna Seca Hot Springs -- Suite.
Inca aqueduct, Cumbemayo, Cajamarca.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Chachapoyas Tours & Travel
Day 7: Cajamarca - Lima
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima.
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© 2008 Inka's Empire Corporation, Luxury Peru Tours & Travel. All rights reserved.
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