Chan Chan, Trujillo & Kuelap Tour

Upon your arrival in Lima, you will be greeted by one of our travel representatives and transferred to your hotel in Lima. Relax and spend the day at your leisure.

After breakfast, transfer to the Lima International Airport to catch your flight to Trujillo. Trujillo is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" because of its year-round spring-like climate.  As the third-largest city in Peru, Trujillo has much to offer. Explore this colonial city, its cathedral, churches and mansions. Pay particular attention to La Merced Church and some of the extravagant houses such as Casa del Mayorazgo, Casa Orbegoso, and Casa de la Emancipación.

Return to your hotel in Trujillo in the evening.

In the morning, visit the two most important Moche ceremonial centers in the countryside of Trujillo. Explore the Huaca, Temple of the Sun, a massive terraced pyramid made of 140 million adobe bricks and called for over 200,000 workers during its construction. Unfortunately, there is no access to the pyramid, but it can be viewed from outside.

Not far away is the Huaca, the Temple of the Moon. The Moche political center recently uncovered friezes of mystical images that are believed to belong to a divinity of sacrifices. Ongoing excavations by Peruvian and foreign scholars reveal the complexity of the structure. Visit the complex and new Huacas de Moche Museum to see some unique artifacts and ceramics found on the site.

Continue to Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient capital of the Chimu Kingdom peaked during the 15th century, after the collapse of the Moche and not long before the rise of the Incas. This huge adobe brick city is the largest in pre-Colombian America. The Chimu named the city Jang-Jang, which in the ancient Moche language means "sun".

Enjoy lunch on your own in the cute village of Huanchaco, known for its "caballitos de totora", a small authentic reed boat used by the local fishermen.

Depart Trujillo and travel north towards the city of Chiclayo. En route, tour the El Brujo archaeological complex, located in the Chicama Valley just north of Trujillo. This complex dates back to the Moche culture (100 BC-650 AD) and is one the most impressive sites of Northern Peru. The complex is famous for its colorful mural ornamentation discovered in the '90s. Admire the well-preserved reliefs painted on the pyramids. Look at the different scenes featuring, fisherman and human figures related to the cosmic world, mythical animals, shamans, warriors and human sacrifice. Also visit the Cao Museum, dedicated to the Lady of Cao, the powerful priest whose tomb was found in El Brujo.  In the evening, arrive at your hotel in Chiclayo.

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and prepare for a full-day tour covering the archaeological highlights of Chiclayo and Lambayeque. From Chiclayo, visit Tucume and the Valley of the Pyramids. This city belonged to the Lambayeque culture (BC 1000 to 1350 AD). Tucume was the capital of the Sican culture, after their former capital Batan Grande was burnt and abandoned. Take your time exploring the 26 adobe pyramids scattered over the deserted forest.

Later, visit the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum and the Huaca Rajada. The museum was built in the shape of a pyramid and tells the tale of the Moche rulers whose graves were unearthed in the 1980s. The Sipan tombs held gold masks, scepters, jewelry and other artifacts from the Moche culture. The museum gives an excellent overview of how Peruvian archaeologists carefully excavated the site over the course of a decade. Also visit the Huaca Rajada, where you can see the actual graves.

Transfer to the city of Chachapoyas (9 hours). The beautiful journey crosses one of the planet's driest deserts, climbs the Andes, descends to the Marañon River, a major Amazon tributary, and finally ascends to Chachapoyas via the fabulous Utcubamba Canyon. Upon arrival, explore the splendor of Chachapoyas, the enigmatic "Kingdom of the Clouds". Visit its principal highlights: the wonderful ruins of Kuelap, the Gocta Waterfalls (one of the world's highest), the sarcophagi of Karajia, the cliff tombs of Revash or the Mummies Museum of Leymebamba, all enhanced by some of the most stunning landscapes of the Andes.

After breakfast, drive to Utcubamba and cross into the neighboring Province of Luya. From the village of Luya, continue to the village of Cruz Pata, where a short 45-minute walk takes you to Karajia. In Karajia you will find striking sarcophagi, sculptured like humans, that have become an icon of the area. For 750 years the statues looked towards the rising sun and undoubtedly mark the resting place for some elite members of the Chachapoya warriors. Snap a few photos of the sarcophagi before continuing to the city of Chachapoyas for lunch.

Continue north to the small village of Huancas, famous for its pottery made by local women. Close to Huancas is a stunning lookout across the 1000m deep Sonche Canyon. Explore the area and return to Chachapoyas in the late afternoon.

Visit the incredible Kuelap ruins today! Nestled in the cloud forest in northern central Peru are the beautiful and nearly untouched Kuelap ruins. Take the new cable cars to the ruins or travel by car.

For the best opportunity for photography, depart your hotel early in the morning for Kuelap.  Admire the towering walls and hundreds of roundhouses capped by verdant cloud forest amaze first-time visitors. Explore the many ceremonial constructions, aqueducts and architecture, with plenty of opportunities to wander on your own.

Return to Chachapoyas, soaking in the beautiful scenery made all the more so by the setting sun.

Tour the Revash & Leymebamba Museum. First, drive to Yerbabuena and begin a two-hour walk uphill for a close-up view of a spectacularly colorful cliff tomb. This extremely photogenic site is perched on a yellow cliff and the tombs resemble mini houses with red pictographs dating back to 1200 AD. Then, continue to Leymebamba and visit the new museum housing 219 mummies found at a nearby lake in 1997.

Today, drive along one of the most spectacular roads in Peru (7 hours). Start by driving up to a pass (3600m) overlooking the Marañon Canyon. The road heads down to the river through many different ecosystems. Cross the bridge at the valley bottom at 850m, then drive up to 2400m to the western side of the canyon. A little beyond is the market town of Celendin famous for its straw hats. Another 3 hours, crossing high rolling hills and agricultural land. Lunch on route. Arrive in Cajamarca and drop off at your hotel for the overnight.

A short drive outside of Cajamarca, Cumbemayo has rolling green hills covered with unusual rock formations and petroglyphs. There’s also an aqueduct, constructed entirely out of stone in the pre-Inca era. The aqueduct runs for nearly a mile and is still functional. The surrounding landscape is covered with petrified forest, called the Frailones (Friars) because the petrified trees look bent over like praying monks.

Later, visit the necropolis of Otuzco, 7km northwest of Cajamarca, which owes its popular name of "windows" to the fact that the square or rectangular graves were carved in consecutive rows on a cliff of volcanic rock. It is associated with the Cajamarca culture which flourished between 500 and 1200 A.D. Then we will continue to Tres Molinos Farm, where excellent kinds of cheese and butter are produced.

The final day, visit the highlights of Cajamarca, a vibrant city on the northern coast of Peru and an important city in Peruvian history as well. It was here that the Spanish conquistadores duped the Inca emperor, Atahualpa, holding him for ransom. The Ransom Room is still intact today, where the Incas reportedly filled the room once with gold and twice with silver in an attempt to free the Inca. Gold and silver from around the Inca Empire were melted down and sent to Cajamarca, where Pizarro eventually reneged on his promise and executed Atahualpa. This tour also includes a visit to the Main Square, the Cathedral, the 17th-century Church of San Francisco, and the Belen Complex. The church houses the Museum of Religious Art, and the Belen Complex has a church built entirely of sculpted volcanic rock. Finally, head to Santa Apolonia Hill for a scenic view of the Valley of Cajamarca.

Then, you will be dropped off at the airport for your flight home or to your next destination.