I am delighted after all my bus journeys to be flying back to Lima. I slept for 10hours last night, which was fabulous. I enjoy a leisurely breakfast before reception ring to tell me the airport shuttle will infact be leaving early, so I cram my case shut and rush to the airport.
The flight and transfer into Lima all ran to schedule. Once checked back into my B&B, I head out into Barranco for a haircut and ice cream. I am waiting for Steve to arrive from London on the evening flight, he takes twice as long as me to get from the airport due to the Friday night traffic. We visit the Barranco brewing company for some tasty purple corn pizza and a few beers before crashing early for the night.
The bus was challenging, I had the front seat on the top deck for extra leg room but this also meant I could see all the roads and near misses! Between the curves in the road, the speed bumps and unsealed sections, I would compare it to spending 10hours on a plane in severe turbulence. When I arrive at my hotel, I am annoyed that they charge me for early check in but pay it to grab a couple of hours sleep.
From what I have read Chiclayo is a big city but not attractive or entertaining as others. I have booked on to a day tour to see Moche tombs discovered near the city, ultimately that of the ‘Lord of Sipán. Our first stop is Huaca Rajada in the village of Sipán, where they discovered the tombs of this lord, an older one and a priest among 13 tombs excavated so far in this one pyramid.
The discovery was made in the late 1980s when looters were caught at the site and stopped. The archaeologists then started excavating and found the Lord of Sipán first. From the Moche period around 600AD, he was buried with all his glistening ceremonial clothes and belongings. He died of natural causes but sacrificed to travel with him to the afterlife were his main wife, two concubines, a military leader, a guardian (with his feet cut off so he could not leave), a banner carrier (so everyone makes way for the lord), a dog (to lead the way), a 8yr old child (to open the door), a watchman and two llamas to transport all these belongings to the afterlife. The tomb itself is a perfect 5m cube shape with the lord presented in a central Carab coffin.
The other tombs have similar structures and sacrifices. That of the priest has the gruesome story of a woman positioned face down try to get up as evidence that she woke from the poison to find she was buried alive.
We stop for lunch before heading to see another site in the area where they have found 26 pyramids surrounding a mountain, all waiting to be investigated but showing that different lords would have ruled each region.
Our final stop is the museum, here we see all the artefacts that have been discovered in the tombs. There is a huge amount of jewelry and ornaments, which included headdresses, face mask, a pectoral, necklaces, nose rings, ear rings (massive circular discs inlayed with turquoise). Most of the ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper and semi-precious stones. There is lots of pieces but the detail is incredible, from the banners that had characters that would move to the thousands of seashells used to bead the necklaces. There are also thousands of pots, carrying food for the journey to the afterlife. The bodies of the 2 lords and priest are also here, fabulous museum and unbelievable insight into a period thousands of years ago.
Museum of the tombs of Sipán, shaped like the pyramid siteSome of the thousands of miniatures found inside seashells at the siteHow the temple pyramids looks todayTomb of the Lord of SipánSimpler tomb of the priest
The Gotca waterfall has been known by locals for centuries but remarkable its existence was only publicly shared with the world by a German explorer in 2005! Its claim to be the third tallest waterfall in the world with a cumulative drop of 771m is disputed but it still makes for a impressive sight.
It is set in rainforest and there is a challenging 5km trek to get to it. The forest is brilliant and I enjoy being in a jungle type environment, with huge plants and different flowers. The waterfalls are immensely powerful and I get drenched from about 30ft away. We take our pictures and turn back, trying to beat the rain we can see closing in. This doesn’t work and a good hour of the return is spent in rain, sliding on the already muddy trail. It clears up for the tougher final section up and out of the cleave to the village where we started. Our lunch is waiting and I am starving. We are all feeling tired and wet but elated at our efforts.
A quick cold shower (eek!) and I then kill the hours at a cafe that does a great apple tea and banana pancake. I am on a night bus tonight back down the terrible road to Chiclayo, it is practically empty and I am exhausted so I am hopeful for a decent nights sleep…
Kuélap is another place that has been on my list from the start. I find it fascinating that the Chachapoyans or cloud people chose ontop of a limestone mountain nearly 3000masl to settle. Today as of 2 months ago I can get a Teleférico ride to within a kilometre of it, but the original settlers would have had a arduous hike to leave their city.
Kuélap was established in 400AD and took 8 centuries to complete. At its biggest it had around 3000 people living within the walls with 6-10 per house. They were conquered by the Inca and the history of the Chachapoyans has been lost, with the exception of any Inca writings. It was abandoned in 1570 with the Spanish conquest and was accidentally rediscovered in 1843, when a visiting judge leant on foliage and felt the structure.
The Kuélap settlement is 584m long and 110m in its widest part. It has over 500 circular structures and a couple of rectangular ones the the Incas built. It is amazing to see this place with the huge limestone walls and imagine the effort to build it. We walk through the narrow doorways (3 entrances to the city), and round the upper and lower parts learning a little of what archaeologists are only even now piecing together.
There is evidence of trading with other cultures, Moche included. They have also discovered burial tombs of the more reviered priests in a round urn shaped temple. The longer mountain also has a mausoleum within it, although who knows how they put bodies in there. It is a really interesting place, and I am thrilled to have seen it whilst it is still relatively low key on the tourist circuit.
Huge exterior limestone walls of KuélapSecond doorway, used mainly for traded goodsDramatic parasite plantsBuilt high on a mountain topTraditional circular dwelling with cooking stone and guinea pig runA carved deity facing eastMajor temple, bowl shape was found filled with bones
We arrive an hour and a half late into Chachapoyas, the windy and bumpy roads having played havoc with any sleeping position. The hostel is not far and they have my room free so I can check in early. I manage a few hours sleep before deciding I should shower and go exploring. The town is small with only 20,000 people living here, it is cute though. The main plaza and surrounding streets are all white buildings with dark wooden doors and windows. I chat to a Canadian couple who are cycling across South America on a tandem, crazy people seemed to be enjoying themselves!
There isn’t a lot more to see so I head back to the hostel and get chatting to Manuel and Franzi, lovely childhood friends who have stayed in touch despite moving countries. We enjoy a couple of tasty pizzas including the house special of chorizo and banana.
Sunday today and none of the museums are open which is a shame as my guide yesterday had told me about a good archeological one. I wander around the city enjoying the colourful buildings and their grand doors. The Plaza de Armas is busy with friends and families gathering for conversation, church or maybe lunch. This is one of the things I like about South America, how lively and sociable these Plazas are regardless of the time of day.
Tonight I have my first night bus to Chachapoyas, 13hrs long to arrive at 5am. Needless to say I am not looking forward to it and prepare myself by having a big lunch. I do get slightly squeamish at the type of meat in the soup, but it was tasty as was my mains of chicken and rice.
The bus terminal is very new and grand, you have to pay 30p to get on the platform which I assume is slowly paying for it. The bus itself is fine, good armchair style seat and footrest. We move quickly up to Chicalayo, where they let us off for a 50minute break then we are settled in for the longer haul. Winding our way up the windy roads to Chachapoyas.
Colourful buildings with beautiful features My tasty soup
Trujillo, Peru 🇵🇪
I am very excited about today, as I am visiting the ruins of Chan Chan. These have been on my list since I started planning this trip. I am taking a tour that visits a few significant sites in the area as well as Chan Chan. First stop today is an artisional workshop where they show the traditional Moche pottery process. Taking clay from beneath the sand and firing it in a rudementary kiln. We reach the museum that explains in more detail the Moche period of 50AD to 850AD along with artefacts found whilst excavating Huaca de la Luna. These objects are incredible, so detailed and beautiful by today’s standards. The Moche people really valued craftsman so the pottery is exquisitely made and decorated with faces and significant motifs.
In the base of the Cerro Blanco, we find the Huaca de la Luna. The moon temple of the Moche people that was only used for religious ceremonies and sacrifices. They buried significant people here with artefacts now in the museum, but also built temples on top of temples so there are four discovered here. The place is fabulous, colourful decoration still vibrant so you can imagine how beautiful and revered the temple would have been. The Huaca del Sol is across from this temple and this was where general and professional people lived. The period of rule by the priests at the Luna temple ended during El Niño, when no amounts of sacrifices could stop the natural disasters and thus people stopped believing in the priests.
After a huge traditional lunch of duck with rice we leave for the Temple of the dragon. This is a site similar in style to Chan Chan but with huge restored motifs that display dragons and rainbows. I get chatting to Diego, who is keen to practice his English and becomes my new translator. On route to Chan Chan our driver is stopped by the police for not having a valid license to drive the vehicle, fortunately Luis works with the police department and flashes his badge, asks them to allow us to continue as we have tourists from other countries. Amazingly they allow us to continue instead of arresting our driver, and with breakneck speed we squeeze into the gates of the Chan Chan site before they close the barrier for the day.
Chan Chan, the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America spanned an area of 20square kilometres. Chan Chan is located in the mouth of the Moche Valley and was the capital of the Chimor empire from 900 to 1470, when they were defeated and incorporated into the Inca Empire. When the Spanish conquered the Incas, they founded the city of Trujillo and Chan Chan was ignored except for treasure hunters, until the slow restoration process started in 1969 and continues today.
It is amazing that a structure this old, built using sand, grit and water has survived. The main walls narrow at the top to ensure stability and still reach 12metres in parts only loosing a couple of metres to natural erosion. Chan Chan was built near the sea as Chimor people believed the sea created all living things and based their motifs on sea creatures. The area is vast and parts still have great definition. It is incredible to be able to walk around rooms and along streets as they would have.
The central plaza was purely ceremonial and you can imagine the atmosphere as the priests adorned in gold decorations stood on the far platform making sacrifices whilst the general observers were only permitted to line the sides. The empire was very elitist with the priests having highly decorated chambers, whereas the craftsman and fisherman would be housed in nominal structures outside of the main section.
We leave Chan Chan via road and can still see big parts of it yet unrestored as we head to the fishing village of Huanchaco. This is a big surf destination now but they still use the Totora reeds to make fishing boats as the chimu people did. The boats called Totora cabillito make a nice foreground to a great sunset.
Huaca de la Luna: Sacrifice platform in front of Cerro BlancoMakers mark would have demonstrated your contribution or taxMe in front of the mound that is Huaca del SolExterior facade of the templeTemple of the dragonClear rainbow and dragon motifsChan Chan: with sloped walls for stabilityFish and wave motif representing the seaCeremonial platform where priests would emerge and performLuis and DiegoTotora cabillitosSunset at Huanchaco beach
Breakfast this morning is great, called an ‘American buffet’ just missing, bacon, pancakes, eggs, French toast…in fact anything American. It is an all you can eat usual Peruvian fare with good coffee, so I am still happy. Today is 8 hours on a bus, heading north to Trujillo.
Leaving the mountains of the Ancash region was a spectacularly curved road with great views. Once we hit the coast it was pretty boring, with scenery that looked like we were driving through a sand quarry and felt like it too. In Chambote the driver announced we had to get off for an hour to have lunch. I use this time to book a couple of future buses, securing the last seat on one. This is good news as I don’t have a plan B to meet my scheduled flight to Lima.
We arrive into Trujillo in the early evening and once I am safely checked in I head out to see the centre. The Plaza de Armas is really beautiful, surrounded by colonial colourful buildings. It has a real buzz to it as people meet up for the evening. I find a great restaurant and enjoy steak followed by banana pancake which is all delicious. I have been a bit hit and miss on proper meals with the hikes and my stomach appreciates tonight’s offering.
Big sugar cane production in this areaThe dull quarry like coastal road Delicious banana pancake
This morning I get up at 4.30am for the hike to Laguna 69 and discover that I haven’t booked an extra nights accomodation for tonight. It turns out that the hotel is full and I need to check out, not a great start to the day. My pick up is an hour late, we are crammed into a small van for the 3 hour drive, my neighbour promptly falls asleep on me, oh and the guide doesn’t speak except to tell us how long we have at our breakfast stop. I am pretty grumpy and hope these are not omens for the day.
I sit with Alex (USA), Shelia (Spain) and Andy (OZ) at breakfast who are all nice, friendly people. Alex has an injured hip and so we provisionally agree to take the hike slowly together. We stop briefly to photograph Laguna Llanganuco which is a vivid blue, with twisted orange trees on its shore. Onwards to the start of the trail and we are all glad to get out of the cramped van.
We start at 3,800masl and the valley we walk through is beautiful with lots of wild flowers. The hike is made up of an hour steady incline past several waterfalls, an hour on the flat past some small ponds and abandoned dwellings, then an hour switchback up a friggin steep part. Alex turns out to be the perfect hike buddy, and I enjoy nattering about our travels as we marvel at how beautiful and dramatic this place is. You can see massive jagged rocks and parts that would have once been covered in glaciers.
After much huffing and puffing, I arrive at the top to see the tranquil Laguna 69. We are at nearly 5,000masl, and altitude doesn’t seem to be a problem. I feel really pumped to have made it, very pleased with myself. The Laguna is beautifully clear and marvellous shades of turquoise, surrounded by the mountains. We enjoy lunch admiring this amazing place before having to head back the way we came.
Alex, Shelia, Andy and I keep pace on the way back. A good sociable group that flys downhill to be back in around 2 hours. We are crammed back into the van exhausted but happy, I even manage to doze for part of the bumpy journey back to Huaraz.
Once back at the town, I collect my bag and head out towards a couple of hotels. I bump into Nathan and his grandma who recommend their hotel and I manage to secure the last room at a discount. I am exhausted and after a quick shower I am sound asleep despite the noises of Huaraz.
Llanganuco LagunaWild lupins dot the landscapeMade it! First glimpse of Laguna 69Alex and I, very pleased with ourselves
I am off to part of the Huascaran National park today to hike up to the Pastoruri glacier. The tour is Spanish speaking which is okay as the guide takes trouble to explain some of the more important points in slow broken English for me. I also have Nathan (10) and Luke (6) sat across from me, they are from the USA visiting their Peruvian family and are not only entertaining but are excellent translators.
We stop a couple of times, once for a cup of coca leaf tea and again for good photos of the snow peaked mountains that make up the Cordillera Blanca range. By midday we arrive at the valley of Carpa, where the Puya de Raimondi plant grows. These are strange plants, that are actually the largest member of the bromeliad family (relative of the pineapple), hence the biggest pineapple plants in the world! They grow at altitudes between 3500 to 4700m and can be found in only a few areas of the Andes.
The Puya Raimondi look prehistoric and are actually quite incredible. They grow to 15m over a 100 year period. Once they reach maturity they bloom with thousands of flowers up the stem and then die. Quite amazing to see clumps of plants with these majestic spikes in this rocky landscape.
Onwards to the main attraction and we park at about 5000masl to start the short hike to the Pastoruri Glacier. This takes me about an hour, trying to go at an even pace to avoid altitude issues as we climb up to 5240masl. The Glacier is in a beautiful spot and the rocky landscape has beautiful colours. It isn’t as awesome as the Perito Moreno Glacier I saw in Argentina but still beautiful and the views across the Cordillera are fab. It is really apparent here how climate change is affecting these natural elements. Looking at pictures of this glacier regression it is about a third of the size it was 30years ago. I think another 15-20years and there will be nothing to see, quite a sobering thought to think about how that will affect the area.
Cocoa tea to help with altitude adjustmentPart of the epic Cordillera Blanca rangeMe with a nearly mature Puya RaimondiPastoruri GlacierCoca tea to help with altitude adjustment
