Northern Peru 2022
In the second half of June 2022, Rena and I spent 2 weeks traveling around Northern Peru. I was already in Peru on an organized raft and kayak trip on the Rio Maranon, a tributary of the Amazon. Photos from that trip can be found at
https://adventureplus.smugmug.com/Kayak/Rio-Maranon-2022/
At the conclusion of the raft trip I took a bus to Chachapoyas and met Rena who had flown there from the US via Lima. Terry and Bruce Turner, who had also been on the raft trip, were with us for several days. We spent 5 nights in the charming city of Chachapoyas. Rena and I also did a 4-day trek in the surrounding cloud forest to see ruins - popular ones along with some less visited ones that had not been excavated.
The trek turned out to be quite difficult. Day 2 included a 3,800 foot descent on a steep muddy trail through heavy brush. Our guide, Roger, used a machete to hack a path at times. We regrouped on Day 3. One of our main objectives in Northern Peru had been to see the Kuelap ruins which are well known and rival Machu Picchu in size. When we arrived in Peru, we learned that due to a landslide, the ruins had been closed to visitors. It turned out that Roger’s family home was very close to the ruins and that is were we spent night 3 of the trek. The following day, we walked next to the walls and did a horseback ride circling part of the ruins. We saw no other tourists. We also explored a little visited burial cave high on a cliff. That was one of the highlights of our trip.
Next was the town of Leymebamba where we had booked 2 nights at the Kentitambo Inn. Also called the Hummingbird Inn, it was a delightful place with beautiful rooms and great food. Although we didn’t see as many hummingbirds as we had anticipated, we really enjoyed the stay and the visit to the nearby museum to see mummies and artifacts that had been gathered from nearby tombs. Finally, we hired a car to take us to Cajamarca where we spent 2 nights before returning home.
The itinerary below is for my entire stay in Peru. This photo gallery covers only the time Rena and I spent after the Rio Maranon raft trip. All the photos have captions and provide a “slide show.” An iPhone 13 Pro max was the only camera used.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY
1 - Tue 5/31 - Fly LA to Lima via Mexico City
2 - Wed 6/1- Arrive Lima 6AM, fly to Trujillo w Gary, visit Chan Chan w Gary, Mike, Alex, Rocky - Naylamp Hostel 1
3 - Thu 6/2 - Visit Trujillo and Huacas del Moche w Gary, Mike, Alex - Naylamp Hostel 2
4 - Fri 6/3 - Pre trip meeting - Naylamp Hostel 3
5 - Sat 6/4 - Van from Trujillos to Chagual (KM 210), 13 hr bus ride on challenging road - Hotel California
6 - Sun 6/5 - R1 - Camp KM 233 (23 Km )- IK1 solo
7 - Mon 6/6 - R2 - Camp KM 263 (30 Km) -IK2 w Terry
8 - Tue 6/7 - R3 - Camp KM 287 (24 Km) - Hike in morning, see Muro Paso waterfall in afternoon - IK3 solo
9 - Wed 6/8 - R4 - Camp KM 307 (20 Km) - Hike to tombs - IK4 w Terry+Tina
10 - Thu 6/9 - R5 - Camp KM 323 (16 Km) - SamoSierra rapid - Class 10 on Grand Canyon scale
11 - Fri 6/10 - R6 - Camp KM 357 (34 Km )- Near Balsas (dinner in Balsas)
12 - Sat 6/11 - R7 - Camp KM 382 (25 Km) - Lunch in Mendan - IK5 w Steve
13 - Sun 6/12 - R8 - Camp KM 410 (28 Km) - Tupac Grande
14 - Mon 6/13 - R9 - Layover Day - Hike, lunch in Tupac Grande
15 - Tue 6/14 - R10 - Camp KM 444 (34 Km) - Big rapid day - four 4’s
16 - Wed 6/15 - R11 - Camp KM 476 (32 Km) - Lin Lin rapid, swim in pools - IK6 w Mike
17 - Thu 6./16 - R12 - Camp KM 488 (12 Km) - Palaguas rapid, Rio Silaco - IK7 solo
18 - Fri 6/17 - R13 - Takeout at Puerto Malleta KM 501 (13 Km) - IK8 solo - Drive 2 hr to Jaen - Hotel Betania
19 - Sat 6/18 - N1 - Rich bus to Chachapoyas, Rena arrives from Lima - Chacha Backpackers 1
20 - Sun 6/19 - N2 - Visit Hiancas, see Mirador Canon del Sonche - Chacha Backpackers 2
21 - Mon 6/20 - N3 - Chacha Backpackers 3
22 - Tue 6/21 - N4 - Gran Vilaya Trek 1 - Pueblo de Los Muertos, Carajia, camp at Huaylia Belen
23 - Wed 6/22 - N5 - Gran Vilaya Trek 2 - Long trekking day, La Pirquilla ruins, Congar GH
24 - Thu 6/23 - N6 - Gran Vilaya Trek 3 - Drive, visit Marco ruins, stay at Roger’s family house near Kuelap
25 - Fri 6/24 - N7 - Gran Vilaya Trek 4 - Kuelap, horse ride, see tomb, Chacha Backpackers 4
26 - Sat 6/25 - N8 - Chacha Backpackers 5
27 - Sun 6/26 - N9 - To Leymebamba - private car, stop at Ravish, Yerbabuena market, Kenticomba Inn 1
28 - Mon 6/27 - N10 - Leymebamba - Visit museum, Kenticomba Inn 2
29 - Tue 6/28 - N11 - Private Car to Cajamarca - El Portal del Marques Hotel 1
30 - Wed 6/29 - N12 - Cajamarca, Otuzco, Nikoles Puga Museum, Historic Plaza de Armas- El Portal del Marques Hotel 2
31 - Thu 6/30 - N13 - Apolonia Hill, Fly Cajamarca to Lima
32 - Fri 7/1 - N14 - Leave Lima early morning for LA via Mexico City
KM = Distances in kilometers = River days
N = Northern Peru days
IK = Rich’s days in inflatable
Total Distance - Chagual to Balsas Bridge = 93 miles, Balsas to Puerto Malleta 89 miles, Total = 182 Miles (294 KM)
Read Morehttps://adventureplus.smugmug.com/Kayak/Rio-Maranon-2022/
At the conclusion of the raft trip I took a bus to Chachapoyas and met Rena who had flown there from the US via Lima. Terry and Bruce Turner, who had also been on the raft trip, were with us for several days. We spent 5 nights in the charming city of Chachapoyas. Rena and I also did a 4-day trek in the surrounding cloud forest to see ruins - popular ones along with some less visited ones that had not been excavated.
The trek turned out to be quite difficult. Day 2 included a 3,800 foot descent on a steep muddy trail through heavy brush. Our guide, Roger, used a machete to hack a path at times. We regrouped on Day 3. One of our main objectives in Northern Peru had been to see the Kuelap ruins which are well known and rival Machu Picchu in size. When we arrived in Peru, we learned that due to a landslide, the ruins had been closed to visitors. It turned out that Roger’s family home was very close to the ruins and that is were we spent night 3 of the trek. The following day, we walked next to the walls and did a horseback ride circling part of the ruins. We saw no other tourists. We also explored a little visited burial cave high on a cliff. That was one of the highlights of our trip.
Next was the town of Leymebamba where we had booked 2 nights at the Kentitambo Inn. Also called the Hummingbird Inn, it was a delightful place with beautiful rooms and great food. Although we didn’t see as many hummingbirds as we had anticipated, we really enjoyed the stay and the visit to the nearby museum to see mummies and artifacts that had been gathered from nearby tombs. Finally, we hired a car to take us to Cajamarca where we spent 2 nights before returning home.
The itinerary below is for my entire stay in Peru. This photo gallery covers only the time Rena and I spent after the Rio Maranon raft trip. All the photos have captions and provide a “slide show.” An iPhone 13 Pro max was the only camera used.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY
1 - Tue 5/31 - Fly LA to Lima via Mexico City
2 - Wed 6/1- Arrive Lima 6AM, fly to Trujillo w Gary, visit Chan Chan w Gary, Mike, Alex, Rocky - Naylamp Hostel 1
3 - Thu 6/2 - Visit Trujillo and Huacas del Moche w Gary, Mike, Alex - Naylamp Hostel 2
4 - Fri 6/3 - Pre trip meeting - Naylamp Hostel 3
5 - Sat 6/4 - Van from Trujillos to Chagual (KM 210), 13 hr bus ride on challenging road - Hotel California
6 - Sun 6/5 - R1 - Camp KM 233 (23 Km )- IK1 solo
7 - Mon 6/6 - R2 - Camp KM 263 (30 Km) -IK2 w Terry
8 - Tue 6/7 - R3 - Camp KM 287 (24 Km) - Hike in morning, see Muro Paso waterfall in afternoon - IK3 solo
9 - Wed 6/8 - R4 - Camp KM 307 (20 Km) - Hike to tombs - IK4 w Terry+Tina
10 - Thu 6/9 - R5 - Camp KM 323 (16 Km) - SamoSierra rapid - Class 10 on Grand Canyon scale
11 - Fri 6/10 - R6 - Camp KM 357 (34 Km )- Near Balsas (dinner in Balsas)
12 - Sat 6/11 - R7 - Camp KM 382 (25 Km) - Lunch in Mendan - IK5 w Steve
13 - Sun 6/12 - R8 - Camp KM 410 (28 Km) - Tupac Grande
14 - Mon 6/13 - R9 - Layover Day - Hike, lunch in Tupac Grande
15 - Tue 6/14 - R10 - Camp KM 444 (34 Km) - Big rapid day - four 4’s
16 - Wed 6/15 - R11 - Camp KM 476 (32 Km) - Lin Lin rapid, swim in pools - IK6 w Mike
17 - Thu 6./16 - R12 - Camp KM 488 (12 Km) - Palaguas rapid, Rio Silaco - IK7 solo
18 - Fri 6/17 - R13 - Takeout at Puerto Malleta KM 501 (13 Km) - IK8 solo - Drive 2 hr to Jaen - Hotel Betania
19 - Sat 6/18 - N1 - Rich bus to Chachapoyas, Rena arrives from Lima - Chacha Backpackers 1
20 - Sun 6/19 - N2 - Visit Hiancas, see Mirador Canon del Sonche - Chacha Backpackers 2
21 - Mon 6/20 - N3 - Chacha Backpackers 3
22 - Tue 6/21 - N4 - Gran Vilaya Trek 1 - Pueblo de Los Muertos, Carajia, camp at Huaylia Belen
23 - Wed 6/22 - N5 - Gran Vilaya Trek 2 - Long trekking day, La Pirquilla ruins, Congar GH
24 - Thu 6/23 - N6 - Gran Vilaya Trek 3 - Drive, visit Marco ruins, stay at Roger’s family house near Kuelap
25 - Fri 6/24 - N7 - Gran Vilaya Trek 4 - Kuelap, horse ride, see tomb, Chacha Backpackers 4
26 - Sat 6/25 - N8 - Chacha Backpackers 5
27 - Sun 6/26 - N9 - To Leymebamba - private car, stop at Ravish, Yerbabuena market, Kenticomba Inn 1
28 - Mon 6/27 - N10 - Leymebamba - Visit museum, Kenticomba Inn 2
29 - Tue 6/28 - N11 - Private Car to Cajamarca - El Portal del Marques Hotel 1
30 - Wed 6/29 - N12 - Cajamarca, Otuzco, Nikoles Puga Museum, Historic Plaza de Armas- El Portal del Marques Hotel 2
31 - Thu 6/30 - N13 - Apolonia Hill, Fly Cajamarca to Lima
32 - Fri 7/1 - N14 - Leave Lima early morning for LA via Mexico City
KM = Distances in kilometers = River days
N = Northern Peru days
IK = Rich’s days in inflatable
Total Distance - Chagual to Balsas Bridge = 93 miles, Balsas to Puerto Malleta 89 miles, Total = 182 Miles (294 KM)
