0nly 3 days around Chachapoyas--please recommend

We plan to take night bus from Trujillo to Chachapoyas (Movil tours bus). Then we will start our visiting around Chachapoyas.

We have only 3 days. On the night of the third day, we will leave Chachapoyas by night bus to Chiclayo. But we want to visit Kuelap, Leimebamba(for the Museum), and Karajia (or Pueblo de los Muertos, for the sacrophages). We also want to do this in a not-too-expensive way (That's why we don't want to book a tour in Chicalyo.)

Please recommed the best way (transportation, local tour,etc.) to visit these places for budget travelers. If It's not possible to visit these sites all, please recoomed the site most worth to visit.

Thank you for your help.

The way to go is to use shared taxis. Find 1-2 other travellers and it is very affordable.
You can see the highlights in 3 days easily, I would add the Gocta waterfall:

day 1: shared taxi to Kuelap, see the ruins in the morning, continue to Leymebamba around noon, see the museum in the afternoon and taxi back to Chachapoyas

day 2: join an organized daytrip to see Gocta waterfall

day 3: shared taxi to see Karajia, agree to be dropped back in Chachapoyas in time for the bus
(Karajia takes less than half a day to visit from Chachapoyas)

An alternative on day 2 would be a combined tour to Wangli and Karajia, I found Wangli absolutely beautiful because of the walk there and the natural setting. You may still be able to see the waterfall on day 3 if your bus is late enough at night.

oh, forgot to mention, all those daytrips or slightly differing combinations may be booked at short notice at the tour operators around the plaza in Chachapoyas. So if they have a group going, you pay a fixed price and dont have to pay the whole taxi by yourself.

Are there any "hassle free" ways to get to Iquitos from Chachapoya? I know there are no roads to Iquitos, but how close can you get before taking boats. Thanks.

Are u aware that the trip takes about 8 to 10 hours from the nearest city in the coast (CHiclayo). If you consider 3 days from there thta's just in time to go and visit the site and then go back.

Leymebamba can be done in the route, but I don't know if u can trust the bus schedule, Karajía is usually done in a day from Chachapoyas.

Yu might need some extras days to do the route u want, say 5 days.

pesh, there is no easy way at all. Search for "yurimaguas", there are several recent threads describing the route. Yurimaguas is the place where you take the boat.

You can do it perfectly in 3 days. I did it last year, Karajia, Kuelap and amazing Gocta falls. Just take the organized tours that tour operators around the plaza in Chachapoyas are offering, VERY CHEAP, around 25/ 35/ the most expensive was Gocta, around 40/45. You will love Chachapoyas. :o)

Search Yurimaguas

There are some road works around Pedro Ruiz, delaying the bus from the coast to Chacha a little, overnight.
It is a good idea to ask about any others on your itinerary. Others reported delays between Tarapoto & Yurimaguas.

Thanks all the reply. You all are amazing!! It helps a lot!!

I guess it will be easier to find organized tour or affordable taxi because we are 9-person backpacking group.

But two of us are elder between 50-60-years-old and one of us is 11-years-old. Will the trip to Gocta fall be extremely physically consuming ?

I went with a group and there was a couple of 50-60, dont worry at all, just walk slowly, that is all...

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.