Things to see and do Amazonie Péruvienne

As it is difficult to find maps in the area, it is important to plan your trip in advance with a GPS. It is easy to leave directly from the Plaza de Armas de Chachapoyas on foot (1h to reach the start of the Inca Trail at the main road), but you can also ask a taxi to drop you off.

The first step is to reach Levanto(7 to 8 hours walk). The path is well marked and you can take the trail that leads to the ruins of Yalape (although a bit difficult to find). Once past Collacruz, be careful, as the Inca Trail is less obvious to follow. Spend the night in Levanto or bring a tent (at about 2,300 m, a mountain pasture awaits you; you will sleep in the meadows among the cows, with water nearby).

The next day, the destination to reach is Tingo (between 6 and 8 hours of walking). You have to go down to the bottom of the valley, cross the stream and then follow the track going up a bit, before going to the right side of the mountain. After a viewpoint, you go down again and pass in front of ruins buried in the vegetation. Once you arrive at the bottom of the main valley that goes to Tingo, you have to go up a bit until you find a cable to cross the river in a small cart! Finally, follow the road to the bottom of the valley and you will find Tingo.

The last day is dedicated to the ascent to the magnificent siteof Kuélapand to its discovery. Everything is signposted and it will take you about 4 hours.

This lake shaded by high palm trees, 1 hour by boat on the Maldonado river, is a sanctuary for animals such as crocodiles, otters, cranes and turtles. Fishing enthusiasts can indulge their passion. You can get there by a 3 km long path, then explore the site by pirogue (local rowers). It's the best place for birds, small monkeys, caimans and a family of otters if they deign to cross to the part of the lake open to the public (the other is reserved). Sleeping on the shore of the Sandoval allows you to explore it before or after the others.

This institution is dedicated to archaeological and anthropological research on ancient Peruvian cultures. In addition to the mummies and objects found in the Laguna de los Condores, the museum also exhibits textiles and ceramics found in the surrounding area. A modern museum, very well thought out, rich. An essential visit. Don't forget to visit KentiCafé, in a garden on the heights, in front of the hummingbird museum. The museum also offers rooms in the house, in the building on the road opposite, Casa Mallqui.

Family atmosphere and totally local! We bathe in a beautiful place, under the trees, and next to a small river with raging rapids. To get there: the paradero is located Jr. Amazonas 833 (in Chachapoyas); jump in a car and head for Mendoza, 2.5 hours away (S/ 20). Then hail a taxi (S/ 7 per person) to Tocuya. From the tiny village square, retrace your steps a bit to take the wide dirt road on the right: 15 minutes walk.

For those who have the time, this is without doubt the most extraordinary trek and landscape in the region.

Take a Zeta Bus, a kind of 4x4 combi that leaves around 2-3 am. They pass in front of the Huaylla Belen and can leave you there.

First walk of 5 hours. We start from the sublime valley of Belén, where the river flows like a silver snake. From Belén, we join La Pirquilla to the top of La Escalera. Then we go back down towards Congon. Here you can buy food, find local guides and horses.

We advise you to reach Kuélap in 2 days-1 night. From Congon, we follow the Vilaya river for 2 hours, then there are 2 more hours of climbing to Lanche. Finally, from Lanche, 3 hours and a half in the middle of the orchid forest to Punta Yumal (3,800 meters) before descending to Choctomal and the access to Kuélap. All along, we oscillate between 2 000 and 3 000 meters of altitude.

Note that most of the sites are covered with vegetation and you might miss them and therefore not see much if you go without a guide. The trek is not well marked and it is dangerous to attempt it alone. Peru Nativo is a good agency to accompany you. Count 5 days and 4 nights to do it quietly with the visit of the archaeological site. All along the way, you will cross mystical ruins and zigzag among the misty forest with twisted trees covered with moss.

One of the natural wonders of the region, this 771 meter waterfall that rises from the vegetation. It shares the spotlight with Yumbilla, which is even more impressive, but more difficult to access. Here is how to get there easily:

From Cocachimba: from the village you can see Gocta clearly on the mountain in front of you, but the objective is to reach the foot of the waterfall. Count 2 hours of walking downhill (5 km) rather easy. The hardest part is then to go back up. The locals offer horses for rent and they are welcome (count about S/40). The owners pull the horses with a light step, so you don't need to be an expert in horse riding.

If you are doing it alone, take the opportunity to leave early before the many agency groups that start at 9am.

From San Pablo, wemakes a loop. You walk from San Pablo to the birth of the first waterfall (flat path, about 2 hours), you follow the waterfall downhill (about 2 hours and a half downhill), then you arrive at the foot of the waterfall like everyone else and you go back up to Cocachimba. In the village of San Pablo, there are also local guides available to accompany you. This loop will take you all day. You can also do the last part on horseback since you will be following the same path as those who left Cocachimba.

Agencies sell "full day "packages with transportation to and from Chachapoyas and Cocachimba, a "self-paced" ride and lunch.

Located at an altitude of 945 m, these baths are appreciated for their medicinal properties. The colourless, odourless water, at a temperature of between 32 and 40°C, is said to be ideal for the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism, muscular pains and stress. There are also two swimming pools, a restaurant and a children's playground. Quieter during the week. From here continue to Waqanki Orchid Garden or Fundo Alegria for lunch.

Located in the Protección del Alto Mayo forest, at the foot of Cerro Oromina, these sulphur baths (cold, naturally sulphurous water) are known for the many therapeutic properties of their waters. Nearby, you can visit the Cueva del amor (Cave of Love) and the Asnacyacu waterfall, which is characterized by its natural pool of cool, crystalline water. The complex has been renovated and is a great half-day excursion.

Located 4 km from the city on the road to Yurimaguas (direction Las de Ahuashiyacu), it can be the occasion of a pleasant stroll just a few hours away. Restaurant on site. This is the end of weekends for families.

Here, people come to take mud baths. This black mud is composed of 32 different mineral elements and is known for its benefits for the skin. So, you put on your bathing suit and spread it from top to bottom before rinsing off and getting a soft skin. On site, there are also small pebble pools and a pretty little lagoon bordered by green jungle: a place to enjoy a real moment of relaxation.

A floating and popular district that can be reached by canoe during the rainy season from El Huequito up the Itaya River, or on foot from the center along the Malecon Tarapaca. Don't hesitate to go into the alleys, especially the Paquito passage, where you will find all sorts of medicinal plants (including the liana used to prepare ayahuasca). During the rainy season, the dry land disappears. The streets become canals and vehicles are replaced by boats that the kids row with a steady hand. This is undoubtedly the most photogenic time of the year for tourists. Belén is an active commercial center, acting at the same time as a port, a market, a living area (there is even a floating discotheque!) and a meeting point between fishermen, farmers and traders unloading their products of the forest from their dugout canoes. With its houses on stilts, Belén is the exact portrait of an Amazonian port as our western imaginations conceive it: agitated, noisy, interloped, a little ghostly, a little unreal, but always fascinating... In dry season, the place will make you feel very different: colorful and lively, but also very dirty.

To visit the lower part of the mercado, for the safety of your belongings, choose a local guide who will know how to lead you as it should be. Above all, be discreet with your camera. As for all the markets, the visit is more interesting in the morning.

Along the river, a few late 19th-century villas still bear witness to past prosperity; today, they are well deteriorated and used as warehouses and shops. But major beautification work has been carried out to restore a promenade from which there is a breathtaking view of the Itaya River, which then flows into the Amazon and the floating shanty towns of Belén. As evening falls and it gets (slightly) cooler, the place fills up with passers-by, shows and street vendors. Don't stay there too late alone.

These two localities, located on the road leading to the airport (respectively 12 km and 16 km from the center) are two centers of production of traditional crafts. They are worth a visit during the dry season (between May and November), when beautiful white sand beaches are formed all along the Rio Nanay. Uni Suni or Santa Rita, from Santa Clara, are the most quiet. A road connects the two villages. You can get there by taxi.

This center was originally created to receive baby manatees orphaned by hunting. Total success! Some have returned to the wild and visits are now numerous to see the youngest playing in their pool or receiving a bottle. The project has developed and now welcomes other species such as turtles, monkeys, sloths and other victims of animal trafficking in the region. A beautiful project to support.

Its 186 hectares are distributed around a lake in the center of which there is an island of monkeys and wide alleys that lead to the different spaces of the animals. In this zoo, many captured animals are now boarders. There is an otorongo, deer, wild boars, crocodiles, otters, turtles and many birds.

The Museo Antropológico y de Historia Natural is in the same place. There are ethnographic pieces, ceramics and animal fossils.

The inhabitants of Puerto Maldonado will bathe in this small lake, 11 km from the city. Full to break on weekends.

One hour from Puerto Maldonado by boat, this private reserve of 10,000 hectares is home to a multitude of wild animals, an intact flora, numerous aquatic species and the Reserva Amazónica lodge. By reservation, it is possible to organize a 2h30 tour on their Canopy Walkway or suspension bridges. However you will not have priority. To be arranged directly with the Puerto Maldonado office at least 24 hours before. Departure 1.45pm and return 5pm.

It is a birdwatcher's paradise in the early morning. Here lives the perlita of Iquitos(Polioptila clementsi), a bird of the passerine family discovered recently, but also herons. 4 circuits have been designed, dedicated to medicinal plants, fruits, areas along the river and aguajales (small lagoons), count between 30 min and 3 hours on foot. Every morning at 8am, guided tours in Spanish. This reserve is the richest of the sites near Iquitos. Unfortunately, you have to look for information yourself, the management is public, consult the Sernanp.

The collpas are clay cliffs where the parrots and multicolored macaws come to feed themselves with the mineral salts necessary for their nutrition. This ritual takes place every morning from 6:30 am until 10 am. Posada Amazonas has its own small parrot collpa. The most famous are those of Chuncho and even further away, of Colorado (near the Tambopata Research Center). The further away it is, the more grandiose the show is. A festival of colors and sounds that delights.

A beautiful lake, somewhat far from the city, 60 km from Puerto Maldonado, on the border with Bolivia. To reach it, count about 4 hours by motorboat. It is an ideal place for birdwatching and for families who fish around the lake or harvest the famous castañas (Brazil nuts). As it is quite far from the rest, it is only included in the longer stays (5 days minimum) in the lodges located along the Madre de Dios river. On the way, you will notice the gold diggers at work.