0nly 3 days around Chachapoyas--please recommend

Take hat, sun protection, water & do not expect to find any shops near Gocta.

Chachapoyas and tours of the area---First, there are many lower cost accomodations that are not listed in LP. Very nice and clean and helpful was Hotel Vista Hermosa (S/40 for matrimonial room w/no breakfast). Located at Jiron Puno 285, telephone 477526. Also, Hotel Orquideas. On the other hand Puma Urco -- not as nice as LP says.

Tours-- the agencies on the Plaza will tell you anything to sell their tours. The fact is that there are not enough English speaking guides to go around. But, they will all promise that you'll have an English speaking guide -- lies, lies and more lies, as you'll find out at 7 or 8 in the morning when you pile into the van. Also, the answer to the question "how many people will be on this tour?" will invariably be 3, or 4 or 5. Guaranteed to be a lie!!! And Revash Tours are the worst as far as the lies go.

Try this--Hotel Orquideas has a small tour agency--the owner's English isn't perfect, but he'll do his damndest to find an English speaking guide for you.

Totally agree with 11. comment on Revash Tours (In Revash Hotel --Called Atlas Tours). Wanted to go to Gocta but they were not going so I said I would book with another agency I knew was going. One hour later they said they had two more people so I could book with them.

Turned out I was booked with a teenage girls school trip plus two teachers. Started at 4am and returned at 10.00pm (after the girls went to a disco in town on the way back!!). If I had booked with the other agency I would have departed at 8.00am and returned at 6.00pm. Lesson learned about that agency!!

Nice hotel but liars re tours (plus they start out more expensive until you negotiate hard!)

Gotca was great!

Some old guide-books say that Revash was the best in towm, maybe that has changed since there are so many agencies today in Chachapoyas.