Itinerary

Day 1: Chiclayo : Sipan, Tucume and Tumbas Reales Museum                         (-/L/-)

Very early in the morning, you arrive in Chiclayo, where you are met by our representative and transferred to the Casa Andina Select Chiclayo.
Here, you engage in a full day excursion into Chiclayo. Visit Sipan Archaeological Complex, one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the last few years, whose importance has been compared to the unearthing of Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt. Between 1987 and 1988, Dr. Walter Alva was the director of the excavations and study of the archaeological site where the remains of an important personage, ‘The Lord of Sipan’ of the high society Moche, was found.
Continue your adventure with the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. This museum is located in Lambayeque at 11 kilometers at the north side of Chiclayo.  The tomb, found in 1987, contained the most riches ever found in the western hemisphere, and, by 1990, it was the richest series of tombs found anywhere in the world for a century. The new museum, built to resemble the iconic pyramids of ancient civilizations, is also an attraction in its own right.  This museum conserves all the archaeological material found in Sipan.
The exhibit also displays a reconstruction of the Lord of Sipan tomb with his valuable jewels of gold, silver, copper. It also includes the tombs of other warriors from the same time period.
This museum is the result of years of effort on the part of an archaeological team lead by Walter Alva.
Lunch is provided by a nearby restaurant that serves typical Peruvian food.
Finally, visit Tucume Pyramids. This archaeological site is composed of 26 pre-Inca pyramids and is located at 33 kilometers at the north side of Chiclayo. In years gone by, this area was the kingdom of Naylamp, god of the Chimus. There is a site museum that exhibits artifacts found in the archaeological site. Visitors walking amongst the pyramids can find pottery fragments.

Day 2: Chiclayo / Kuelap                                                                                      (B/BL/D)

Travel by private transportation from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas, following the Pan-American Highway, and then the Trans-Andean route. The trip crosses one of the driest deserts of the planet, then climbs the Andes, descends to the Marañón River, and finally ascends via the great Utcumbamba canyon. Box lunch included.

CASA ANDINA CLASSIC CHACHAPOYAS
This boutique hotel, a colonial-style hacienda in a lovely rural setting just beyond the city of Chachapoyas, is the perfect gateway to the largely undiscovered but richly rewarding region of Amazonas. The elegantly rustic two-story structure features a red-tile roof and wooden balconies that open onto a colonial courtyard with gardens and a fountain. The majority of the 21 rooms are in the antique hacienda, with an additional 8 in the “Casa Nueva,” a new modern annex. The hacienda sits on an estate with a grove of chirimoyas (tropical fruit trees) and on the banks of the River Utcubamba. The hotel, despite its traditional appearance, has all the modern necessities, with an inviting outdoor pool and jacuzzi, free high-speed Wi-Fi in the hacienda public rooms, and an auditorium suitable for group or corporate retreats.

Day 3: Chachapoyas - Cliff tombs of Karajía                                                           (B/BL/D)

The sanctuary is located 48km north-east of the city of Chachapoyas, accessible by a 2-hour car ride plus a short 20 minutes hike.  The sarcophaguses of Karajia are 2 meters high, empty inside. Outside, they are made of a mix of clay, straw, and pebbles that is laid over a wooden structure.
One of the figures has been destroyed by falling rocks, and one damaged. The others are intact. The heads are made of clay and have angular, stylized faces, while the bodies of the figures are covered in brightly painted designs. On top of the heads sit skulls, but whose skulls they were, we can only guess at, as these figures have been left undisturbed, not studied by archaeologists, and thankfully not destroyed by looters. How the ancient Chachapoyans reached this place to create this burial site for their elites is still a mystery.
At lunchtime, you enjoy a box lunch and later visit the Quiocta Caverns, another nature attraction which is located in Lamud district, province of Luya. Among the typical vegetation are the amazing calcareous needles, whose different shapes and sizes are known as stalactites and stalagmites. Afterwards, you return to Chachapoyas.  

Day 4: Chachapoyas – Kuelap: The Cloud People´s Ancient City                          (B/L/D)

It is a majestic Chachapoya architectural work located in the upper part of the Utcubamba River Valley, near the hamlet of Kuelap. The fortress of Kuelap was buit and inhabited by the Chachapoyas between A.D.  1000 and 1400.
Called ‘The Fortess’ and built atop a high mountain, it is Peru’s mountainous jungle’s most important archaeological complex that is available to visitors. Travelers who enter its great walls find themselves inside an unconquerable stronghold, surrounded by cliffs and a precipice on three of its four sides.
The walls and the hundreds of circular houses that fill the space within are covered by cloud forest fauna, being at 3000 meters above sea level, a fact that always surprises the visitors that see it for the first time.
Although Kuélap was discovered 60 years before Machu Picchu, it is not recognized worldwide. However, recent discoveries related with Kuélap in nearby areas have captured the attention of archaeologists of international magazines and film companies. (EXAMPLE)
Lunch is served in a local restaurant. Afterwards, you return to Chachapoyas.

Day 5: Chachapoyas – Gocta Falls                                                                             (B/L/D)

In Cocachimba village, inhabited by about 200 families, starts the hike to the Gocta waterfall considered the third highest in the world, at 771 meters. To get to the bottom of Gocta, travelers must negotiate a five-kilomenter-long footpath that weaves through the dense rainforest. After two and a half hours, an hour of horse riding and a hour and thirty minutes of trekking, you arrive at the falls, where you can marvel at the sights and sounds of nature. It is said that the impressive waterfall had remained unknown to outsiders until now, because local people feared the curse of a beautiful blond mermaid who lived in its waters, if they revealed its whereabouts. The falls are supposed to be protected by a white haired mermaid like spirit whose hair can be seen flowing down the massive U shaped walls at the bottom of the falls.  You then return to the village and have lunch in Gocta Lodge. Afterwards, return to Chachapoyas.

Day 6: Chachapoyas / Chiclayo / Lima                                                                        (B/-/-)
After an early breakfast, you return to Chiclayo by road. You arrive in Chiclayo in the late afternoon and transfer to the airport to board your flight to your next destination. We provide assistance with your luggage, and airline check-in procedures.

More information from Adventure Associates:

• View trip on provider's website
  www.adventure-associates.com/page_content.asp?id_page=659…
• Company profile, experience, and history
• View all of their trips