DESERTS AND HIGHLANDS OF NORTHERN PERU

Day 1 Arrive Lima

Arrive in Lima, the capital city of Peru. Relax for the evening close to the airport for convenience in anticipation of your early flight north tomorrow. 

Overnight: Costa del Sol Wyndham Lima Airport

Day 2 Lima – Trujillo

Catch a morning flight to the northern city of Trujillo. Head to Huaca del Sol y de La Luna, a fascinating archaeological site dating back to 500 AD. Standing at 45 metres, the Temple of the Sun is the largest pre-Columbian adobe structure in the Americas and comprises 140 million blocks. Close by, the Temple of Moon is somewhat smaller and noted for its magnificent coloured friezes and reliefs. Continue on to the ancient city of Chan Chan, a UNESCO world heritage site and the largest adobe city in the world, covering some 11 square miles. The city was once the capital of the Chimu Kingdom, with a population of 100,000, though fell to the Incas around 1470. Although much has been destroyed by adverse weather over the centuries, it is still possible to make out the ancient friezes within the corridors, cloisters and sunken chambers.

Overnight: Libertador Trujillo Hotel

Day 3 The Moche Route

This morning, head to the archaeological site of El Brujo, 28 miles to the northwest. Much like Huaca del Sol y de la Luna, this site features tiers of polychromatic friezes and also served as a religious and sacrificial complex. As recently as 2006, archaeologists uncovered the preserved body of a 1500 year-old female along with jewellery and weaving tools in a mud brick building on the site. Later this afternoon, transfer to Túcume, also known as the Valley of the Pyramids. The site is said to possess spiritual powers which local Shaman tap into when performing rituals. An excellent museum here exhibits the work by archaeologists, Thor Heyerdahl and Wendell C. Bennet.

Overnight: Casa Andina Select Chiclayo

Day 4 Tombs of the North

This morning you will explore the Witch Doctor's Market, a local market with a plethora of interesting trinkets and exotic ingredients for sale. Continue on to explore the Royal Tombs Museum, housing the world famous collection of burial artifacts from the Lord of Sipán’s burial chamber and other tombs uncovered at the Huaca Rajada archaeological site.

Overnight: Casa Andina Select Chiclayo

Day 5 Chiclayo to Leymebamba

Take a scenic drive from the coast up into the Andes to the village of Leymebamba. The journey will take you through fertile agricultural valleys with rice paddies and coconut groves to steep mountain ravines as you climb higher into the Andes mountain range. Upon arrival, check in to Kentitambo, a delightful boutique hotel set in a cloud forest inhabited by hummingbirds.

Overnight: Kentitambo

Day 6 Tombs of Revash

Continuing to the Tombs of Revash, you will take a winding drive through the hills with scenic views of the landscape, to the village of San Bartolo. High on the hills of Peru’s northern cloud forest, this collection of tombs from the Chachapoya civilization sit on the edge of a limestone cliff. Built from mud-set stones, the tombs resemble small houses and are painted in red and white and topped with gabled roofs.

Overnight: Kentitambo

Day 7 Kuelap

Highlights today include the impressive pre-Inca ruins of Kuelap. Inhabited by 3,500 'Cloud Warriors' from 6AD to the 16th century, Kuelap is one of the largest ancient stone complexes in the western hemisphere, a giant in comparison to its southern sister, Mach Picchu. A feat of engineering, the fortress sits at 3,000 metres above sea level on a ridge overlooking the Utcubamba Valley. It was constructed by the Chachapoya civilisation and is believed to contain three times more stone than the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. The ancient city accommodated its population in approximately 400 circular house protected by vast outer walls, the remains of which still stand today as testimony to a lost era. Kuelap was abandoned following compulsory displacement of native communities in the 16th century and only rediscovered in 1843 by a local judge.

Overnight: Gocta Natura Cabins

Day 8 Gocta Waterfalls

This morning, take a one to two hour walk to the impressive Gocta Falls hidden in the cloud forest. Although known to local communities for centuries, it wasn’t until a German hydro-engineer prompted the measurement and documentation of the falls in 2002 that Gocta was declared the third highest waterfall in the world.

Overnight: Gocta Natura Cabins

Day 9 Depart Jaen

Follow the path of the Utcubamba River to the city of Jean where you will catch your flight to Lima and your onward flight home.