Northern Peru Explorer

This in depth exploration of Northern Peru delves deeper into the past of this fascinating country and sets off to explore some of the lesser visited ancient attractions and learn about Pre-Inca civilisations. Start your trip in Lima with a visit to the excellent Larco museum for the perfect historical introduction to the areas that you go on to visit in Northern Peru. Depart the capital and fly to Trujillo in the arid Valle de Moche, where you visit the Sun and Moon Temples to learn about the ancient Moche civilisation which flourished around 100-800 AD. A vast range of artefacts are a view into their lives from hunting, fishing, fighting, sacrifice and elaborate ceremonies. Other visits include the vast adobe city of Chan Chan; built during the Chimu period this is the largest pre-Columbian era city in South America. As you travel from Trujillo up the desert coastline to Chiclyao stop in at El Brujo archaeological complex, and see the well-preserved, cloth-swaddled body of the Lady of Cao. Though shrouded in mystery, the presence of weapons in her burial suggests she was a high-ranking individual in the Moche Culture. From Chiclayo you continue your journey through the Moche period of history with visits to the mud brick burial platform at Huaca Rajada, and and the Lord of Sipan tomb. The 26 Pyramid site of Tucume and a taste of the Lambayeque culture concludes your time exploring the desert kingdoms of the northern coast. You leave the coastal cities behind and head inland to explore the state of Chachapoyas where some of Peru's most impressive and least known sites are located. With a lodge close to the Gocta Falls as your base or in a valley just outside of Chachapoyas, you head out each day to the different highlights of the region. These excursions include the imposing Kuelap fortress consisting of more than 400 circular dwellings, topped with thatched roofs and decorated with zig-zag and rhomboid friezes. This hugely significant site was only discovered in 1843, and the scenic cable car across the deep valley of Utcubamba makes for a stunning arrival. Other visits take you through cloudforests to the village of Leymebamba, and the museum housing over 250 mummified remains from the Chachapoyan culture and to the precariously located mountain face mausoleums of Revash, as well as the 2.5m high Sarcophagi of Karajia demonstrating the traditional burial methods of the time. Finally you visit the Gocta Falls, the third highest free leaping waterfall in the world, and the natural highlight of the region. You can hike on a trail leading all the way to the water base, surrounded by some of the unique bird and wildlife of the Amazonas area.