Itinerary Highlights
- Larco Museum
- Chan Chan archaeological site
- El Brujo and Lady of Cao
- The Lord of Sipan Tomb
- Tucume Pyramids
- Kuelap Fortress
- Gocta Falls
- Sarcophagi of Karajía
What's Included
- Flights
- Accommodation Throughout
- Transfers
12 nights from £3,595 per person
Kerry Cook
Travel Specialist
This in depth exploration of Northern Peru delves deeper into the past of this fascinating country and sets off to explore some of the lesser visited ancient attractions and learn about Pre-Inca civilisations. Start your trip in Lima with a visit to the excellent Larco museum for the perfect historical introduction to the areas that you go on to visit in Northern Peru. Depart the capital and fly to Trujillo in the arid Valle de Moche, where you visit the Sun and Moon Temples to learn about the ancient Moche civilisation which flourished around 100-800 AD. A vast range of artefacts are a view into their lives from hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice and elaborate ceremonies. Other visits include the vast adobe city of Chan Chan; built during the Chimu period this is the largest pre-Columbian era city in South America. As you travel from Trujillo up the desert coastline to Chiclyao stop in at El Brujo archaeological complex, and see the well-preserved, cloth-swaddled body of the Lady of Cao. Though shrouded in mystery, the presence of weapons in her burial suggests she was a high-ranking individual in the Moche Culture. From Chiclayo you continue your journey through the Moche period of history with visits to the mud brick burial platform at Huaca Rajada, and and the Lord of Sipan tomb. The 26 Pyramid site of Tucume and a taste of the Lambayeque culture concludes your time exploring the desert kingdoms of the northern coast. You leave the coastal cities behind and head inland to explore the state of Chachapoyas where some of Peru's most impressive and least known sites are located. With a lodge close to the Gocta Falls as your base or in a valley just outside of Chachapoyas, you head out each day to the different highlights of the region. These excursions include the imposing Kuelap fortress consisting of more than 400 circular dwellings, topped with thatched roofs and decorated with zig-zag and rhomboid friezes. This hugely significant site was only discovered in 1843, and the scenic cable car across the deep valley of Utcubamba makes for a stunning arrival. Other visits take you through cloudforests to the village of Leymebamba, and the museum housing over 250 mummified remains from the Chachapoyan culture and to the precariously located mountain face mausoleums of Revash, as well as the 2.5m high Sarcophagi of Karajia demonstrating the traditional burial methods of the time. Finally you visit the Gocta Falls, the third highest free leaping waterfall in the world, and the natural highlight of the region. You can hike on a trail leading all the way to the water base, surrounded by some of the unique bird and wildlife of the Amazonas area.
Itinerary
Day 1 UK - Lima
Depart from the UK today on your flights arriving into Peru. On arrival into Lima you are collected from the airport and driven to your hotel in the Miraflores district of the city, an area with a good range of accommodation, bars and restaurants.
Day 2 Lima
Today you explore the city of Lima and you visit both the modern and colonial parts of the city also known as the "City of Kings". You begin in the upmarket residential districts of Miraflores and San Isidro. The road passes the impressive Huaca Huallamarca pre-Incan site before making a stop at Parque del Amor in Miraflores where you soak in the magnificent views over the Pacific Ocean. Continue to colonial Lima’s downtown area including the Main Square before you conclude the tour with a stop at the Larco Museum. Here you find an exceptional private collection of more than 45,000 artefacts; known as the Treasures of Ancient Peru spanning more than five thousand years of the history. The museum is an excellent introduction to the periods of history that you learn more about later in your trip.
Day 3 Lima - Trujillo
Today you take the short flight north to the city of Trujillo with it's fine colonial centre full of conquistador history. The town was founded in 1534 by Diego Almagro and retains a unique Spanish feel. The wide plazas are lined with elegant mansions featuring wrought-iron grills, wooden balconies and many buildings are painted pretty pastel colours. You are given an introductory tour of the city on arrival from Lima.
Day 4 Trujillo - Sun and Moon Temples, Chan Chan and Hua
Today visit the archaeological highlights in and around Trujillo City. First you visit the Sun and the Moon pyramids, the original centre of power in the Trujillo Valley during Moche times and these huge structures are made up almost entirely of individually made Mochica mud bricks. Continue into the Chimu culture with visits to the “Arco Iris Temple” or “Dragon ceremonial Temple”, before you head to the seaside town of Huanchaco to see the local fishermen on their traditional “Caballitos de Totora” reed boats. You have lunch overlooking the sea, before you visit the ancient mud-brick City of Chan Chan, and ancient capital of the Chimu empire. Originally home to 100,000 inhabitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the Inca Empire, the remains of Chan Chan, are well preserved and the adobe structures offer a fascinating insight into this period in Peruvian history.
Day 5 Trujillo - Chiclayo via El Brujo Complex and Lady
Today you are driven north up the Desert coastline towards Chicalyo. Located at 34 Km north of Trujillo in the Chicama Valley the El Brujo pyramid rises about 98 feet above the surrounding desert and covers an area of roughly 330 by 330 feet. It was built with thousands of adobe bricks and the walls are covered with polychrome reliefs that show war themes, fauna, flora and net-fishing representations. Just some years ago, a well preserved tattooed mummy of a young woman, who belongs to the Moche Royalty, has been discovered deep inside El Brujo pyramid. She has been called “Señora de Cao” and she is exhibited in the Lady of Cao Museum. After your visit you drive approximately 3 more hours on to Chiclayo city.
Day 6 Chiclayo - the Lord of Sipan and Tucume
Today you explore the archaeological highlights around the city of Chiclayo. In the morning you are collected and taken to the magnificent mud-brick burial platform of Huaca Rajada where the world famous Tomb of the Lord of Sipan was discovered. Here there are fabulous gold artefacts on display and various precious significant to the ancient Moche civilization’s history. Next you continue towards Túcume, an imposing 26 pyramid site of the Lambayeque culture. Afterwards, visit the brand new Tumbas Reales Museum before you stop for lunch, and then return to your Chiclayo hotel later in the afternoon.
Day 7 Chiclayo - Chachapoyas
This morning you are transferred to Chiclayo airport where you board your flight to Jaen via Lima, and the entry point for the Amazonas region. You are met at the small airport of Jaen, and driven approximately 3 hours towards the town of Chachapoyas. You can choose to stay either close to Gocta with views across the valley to the falls, or alternatively near the town of Chachapoyas in an attractive lodge by the Utcubamba River.
Day 8 Gocta Falls
Today you are taken on the impressive trails towards the Gocta Falls. You start your trail on the Cocachimba route passing across sugar cane fields until you reach a cloud forest area rich with flora and fauna, but particularly look out for bird life. The views across to the falls are spectacular throughout the walk, and a local guide accompanies you along the way to explain about the delicate ecosystem that surrounds the area, as well as the history of its community and the waterfalls, said to be the third tallest in the world.
Day 9 Leymebamba and the Mausoleums of Revash
Today head south and explore the area south of Chachapoyas. You are driven towards the town of Leymebamba and your first stop is at the town's small Museum, a place dedicated to the Chachapoyan culture. In its five rooms you see the 261 mummys and 200 funeral accessories that are stored in the temperature controlled rooms. Next you continue towards the mausoleums of Revash, a site that belongs to the same culture, and these collective tombs are located in natural caves or in clearings made on the precarious rock face. On Sundays, the visit to Revash is replaced by a visit to Yerbabuena, a place where the region’s largest market takes place and due to the very low number of tourists who visit the region, maintains its traditional essence.
Day 10 Kuelap Fortress
Today you are taken to Kuelap, probably the most important archaeological site in the northern Peruvian Andes. Travel by road to the town of Nuevo Tingo where you board the modern cable car which takes you to the entrance of Kuelap fortress. Take in spectacular views of the deep ravine of the Utcubamba Valley and the vast landscape of the Andes, a patchwork of fertile fields carpeting the surrounding peaks. On the guided visit you learn everything about this monumental fortress, reaching up to 600 metres in length and with walls up to 19 metres in height. The complex interior of circular structures is made up of religious, ceremonial and residential areas, which are proof of the detailed organisation of its ancient inhabitants; the Chachapoyan people or otherwise known as the Warriors of the Clouds.
Day 11 Karajia Sarchophagi and Chachapoyas City
Today for your final day in the region you visit the Sarcophagi of Karajía and the town of Chachapoyas. The first stop is a drive west of Chachapoyas town to the human-like coffins known as the sarcophagi of Karajía. These were the traditional method of the Chachapoyan people for burying important people and families, and made of clay and straw standing up to 2.5 meters tall. You have some time to explore the area around this impressive site, before you are then driven back towards the charming city of Chachapoyas. Surrounded by countryside, you are walked through the attractive cobbled streets, and see many interesting examples of the classic architecture of the region, in stark contrast to the modern city that has developed around it.
Day 12 Jaen - Lima - UK
Today at the agreed time time you are collected from your hotel and driven around 3 hours back to the region's main airport of Jaen. You board your flight back to Lima where you have time to connect on to your international flights back to the UK that travel overnight arriving tomorrow. If you wish to extend your trip in Peru then you could perhaps consider some of the highlights in the south, or on to the Amazon and all connections are possible from Lima.
Kerry Cook
Travel Specialist
Pricing Information & Dates
12 nights from £3,595 per person
Kerry Cook
Travel Specialist
Price Includes
- Return International Flights as per the itinerary
- All airport taxes and security charges
- Accommodation and meals as specified
- Transfers as specified
- Activities and excursions as specified
- All entrace fees on sightseeing tours as specified
International and domestic flights, local guides in each destination and accommodation on a B&B basis.
Price Excludes
- Travel Insurance
- Any meals not specified in the itinerary
- Tips and gratuities
- Optional excursions
Meals and excursions not described in the itinerary, gratuities and taxes payable locally.
Pricing Notes
Prices are based on two people travelling.
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