Chachapoyas Itinerary - Advice / Comments?!

First of all I highly recommend going to iPeru (tourist info) on the plaza in Chachapoyas. They are very helpful.

In Leymebamba don't miss the museum. We did not hike to the Laguna de los Condores. We stayed at Hotel Petaca on the plaza (40 soles for a double room). We asked our hotel about the laguna hike and were told: 3 days, best with a guide, best with horses, very muddy in rainy season (knee deep), pretty high altitude (up to 3700 m). I believe there is supposed to be a farmhouse or cabin where you can sleep.

A guy we met on our travels got off the Chachapoyas to Leymebamba bus at San Bartolo and the trail to Revash started there. We later met up with him again and he said he was a bit disappointed because he could only view the small tombs from a distance.

We were told the hike up from Tingo is very steep, takes 4 hours or more and is not very scenic. We ended up taking a tour of Kuelap as there were no minibuses going to Maria in January 2016 when we were there. We loved Kuelap.

We loved the Gocta Falls too and here is that part of my trip report:

The bus to Pedro Ruiz dropped us off at San Pablo (5 soles). It was still 6.3 km to the village following the road or 3.4 km on a steep trail. We hoped we could find a ride. A tourist van picked us up. The driver told us his group had already paid for a guide and they were doing a loop and we could join them for free if we paid for transport (8 soles). So we joined them. It turned out it would have been easy on our own as well but the guide was great. There were rubber boots available and horses too. And ponchos. The entrance fee was 10 soles. We hiked from San Pablo to the base of the upper falls. You could get very close to the falls and get very wet. We saw birds and bugs and orchids. Hiking through the cloud forest was great. We then stopped at the very impressive viewpoint. Then we walked to the base of the lower falls. Very scenic. Again, you get pretty close. On the hike back to Cocachimba we saw several Andean cocks-of-the-rock! It is the national bird of Peru. They are quite bizarre looking. The male has a large disc-like crest and brilliant orange plumage. To attract a female he does a lot of bobbing and hopping. They are not easily seen so we felt very lucky. The hike back to the other village was all of a sudden uphill... we hiked 18 km or so that day but it was worth it. I am not sure how we would have made our way back to Chachapoyas if the tourist van driver hadn't offered to take us.

We also hiked from Levanto to Chachapoyas on the old Inca road.

I rather recommend you the Gran Villaya trek, Karajia Belen Congon Choctomal Kuelap Tingo (and possibly Levqnto Chachapoyas) there is accomodation, no need to camp at all.

Soniaberode

Thanks for your response.
I took that advice and found iperu.
Needless to say I have a new schedule now!

Fri 3oth – Gocta, take local transport towards Pedro Ruiz, getting out at Cocanuayco and walking up to San Pablo to begin. Only difference is, I will need to walk from Cocachimbo to Cocanuayco to grab a ride back to Chachapoyas. It will be a long day! But thanks, will keep an eye out for all the wonderful animals you mention.

Sat 31st – Karaja Sarcophagi – this seems a much easier day. Local transport to Luya, then a car ride to Cruz Pata where it is a 45 min walk to the ruins.

Sun 1st – Rest – Bank Holiday!

Mon 2nd – Kuelap (seems straightforward – walk up from Tingo, start very early… but having all the timetables, I cannot see local transport to Tingo before 10.30am. May take a tour here…..

Tues 3rd – Revash - bus towards Yerbabuena, presumably (yet to confirm) – jump out at Puente Santo Tomas, walk the dirt road towards Santo Tomas and on to the ruins. (need to ask about San Bartollo?) – and well, it seems worth it – any comments otherwise??

Weds 4th – Chachapoyas to Leymebamba – day of rest, find hostel, Museo, visit the Comite Turistico on the plaza and organise both Laguna and La Congona/El Molinete/Pumahuanya – (approx. 5-6 days)

…. Some days later… transport direct to Moyabamba.

This seems a far better plan, given New Years and the upcoming public holiday.

There are too many things here to see, you have to choose as best you can!

For Levanto, presumably you go straight there and follow the Incan trail all the way?

willemspie, thanks for the tip. I have done a little research, exactly what I would be into it.
however, not with a tour company... much prefer independent trekking. this seems perfect for that.

at present, I cannot locate a topo map, never mind camping gear.

a little more research required to add this one in.

I have trekked this route on my own, but it is true, i only had a basic sketch map.

The mountain hut in Belen valley must be booked from Chachapoyas, otherwise you may find it is closed. After that you must leave the road for a trail in the forest, which passes an archeological site buried in the jungle.Homestay in Congon, ask them where the trail to Choctomal starts, once on the trail no difficulties, there is a farm which offers food and possibly accomodation on the way.
The onoy tricky orientation is Tingo to Levanto.

It is only 3.4 km from the highway to San Pablo (if you take the trail, not the road) but it is steep. If you can get a ride take it. And hopefully you will also get a ride from Cocachimba back to the highway...

You can also hike to Kuelap from Maria. You probably got the bus timetables at iPeru and they are great but when you go to Gocta you are going to the bus terminal anyway so just ask what time the first bus to Tingo leaves.

For Revash: again, it was the minibus from Chachapoyas to Leymebamba that stopped in San Bartolo (just before Yerbabuena) at the start of the trail to Revash (just say you want to hike to Revash and the bus should stop right at the trail head). We could see the start of the trail from the minibus.

Levanto to Chachapoyas was not all that straightforward. We got lost a few times. At one point we were told to turn right at a cross but the cross was not visible from that direction and we ended up going straight (steep downhill) to a village where they told us to go back up! Here is the relevant part of my trip report:

In Chachapoyas we stayed at Chachapoyas Backpackers, 2 de Mayo, close to the plaza. 40 soles for a double room with shared bath. We told the hostel we wanted to go to Levanto and hike back to Chachapoyas and they told us a minivan would pick us up at the hostel. It was a public minivan but we paid a bit more because of the door to door service (6 soles). Levanto is a village with a cute plaza and close to the plaza is the start of the Inca road that would bring us back to Chachapoyas... or so we hoped. We climbed the Inca stairs at the start of the Inca road, stepped over a sheep and came to a road. We crossed the road and the trail continued behind a house. Then it became harder. There were several side trails. We spotted an old woman and she kept saying we had to keep the pampita on our right. We later learned pampa is a plain. We figured out we had to take the trail that looked most like a road. The views were great. We came to a village but found out we had taken a wrong turn and had to climb back up (the whole idea of going from Levanto to Chachapoyas had been that it was all downhill!). Then a bull blocked our path. I sent my husband first (saying I wanted to take pictures!) and when the bull totally ignored him I quickly squeezed by as well. The 13 km was supposed to take 4-5 hours but it took us 8 hours. We finally got to the road outside of Chachapoyas and were offered a ride which we gratefully accepted. The driver insisted on dropping us off at our hostel.

thanks both - great advice.

I did Gocta yesterday. walked up to San Pablo and made the falls within 3 hours.

absolutely amazing. a must see.

the rain came down very hard after the first fall making the trek downhill to the second a little tricky. slipped down the hill numerous times.

by the time I got to Cocachimba I was worn out. (it does get steep on the way there.. several people on horseback!) overall I would say an easy hike tho.

I got VERY lucky and hitched a ride with a tourist van that happened to have a spare seat. all the way back to Chachapoyas....tip for any independent travelers - prepare to hustle like mad in Cocachimba, you will need the ride. the tourist vans are the best bet.

there was one mototaxi and he had a queue of 7 people trying the same thing on!

final point - the guys at the collectivo terminal here in Chachapoyas are very helpful. basically, just go there early and explain what your plan is - they will get you to the right person and van and have you on your way in no time.

Glad you enjoyed Gocta! Yes, it gets kind of steep there at the end. And I am happy you got a ride back with a tourist van as well. When we started out we thought like you did at first: no problem, we will walk to the highway if we have to. But we were worn out too and very happy to get a ride!

It is like that in most bus terminals. They all want to help and point you to the right bus. Of course sometimes they will twist the truth a bit... when we were trying to go to Kuelap or Maria the guys who were going to Tingo tried to convince us that was very close to Kuelap and we should go with them!