Today, we take a scenic flight to Northern Peru, and depending on flight availability, we’ll either land at Chachapoyas Airport or Tarapoto Airport.

If we arrive in Chachapoyas, it’s about a 2-hour drive to Milpuj, passing through lush cloud forests and winding mountain roads with stunning views of the Utcubamba River valley. If we land in Tarapoto, the drive is longer, around 6-7 hours, but it’s a fascinating journey as we transition from the Amazon’s tropical warmth to the cooler highlands, traveling through vibrant jungle landscapes and picturesque Andean foothills. Either way, it’s an adventure that sets the tone for the days ahead!

Meals Included: Box Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Milpuj Homestay

We will start our journey by visiting Kuelap, a really important place in Chachapoyas culture. Around 3,000 people lived there, and it has more than 400 structures, making it one of the biggest stone ruins in the Americas. People think it was built to protect the Chachapoyas.

After a two-hour tour, we'll drive to our place to overnight. Get ready to stay at Milpuj and have a homestay experience. It's the perfect chance to relax after our day. This trip is calling your name—jump in and enjoy every bit of it!

Meals Included: Box Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Milpuj Homestay

Start your day at Milpuj with a tasty breakfast shared with our host Lola. After that, head to the Huiquilla nature area for a walk in the forest.

Huiquilla is a private conservation area located in Loguita within the province of Luya in the Amazonas region. It covers an area of 1,140.54 hectares, situated at an elevation ranging from 2 500 masl / 8 200 ft. to 3 500 masl / 11 480ft. This altitude variation allows the territory to host diverse microclimates, enabling the development of various types of flora and fauna. The state has recognized this area since 2006, and it also serves as a settlement for the well-known and valued fortress of Kuelap.

Our tasty local lunch will be served nearby, at Mrs. Alcira's house.

After a pleasant drive to the outskirts of Leymebamba, we enjoy a leisurely break, providing ample time to organize our belongings in anticipation of the challenging trek to Laguna de los Cóndores scheduled for the next day.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Kentitambo - Hummingbird Inn.

Our journey begins in the captivating community of Leymebamba, where we follow the path of an ancient pre-Hispanic road through the unique cloud forest habitat. This habitat is home to a variety of remarkable birds, such as the majestic Andean condor, vibrant Andean toucans, the splendid golden-headed quetzal, and various local tanagers.

Approaching Leymebamba, the route crosses the Atuén River, surrounded by lush shrubby vegetation and terrestrial bromeliads. Along the Atuén's course, a lush corridor of arboreal vegetation unfolds. The nearby town of Quebrada Huabayacu showcases a scenic valley with alternating flat swamps and patches of dense forest.

Despite the area's diverse ecology, it remains largely unexplored, with only a few studies, notably by Flanagan and Vellinga in 2003. A significant expedition led by the non-governmental organization Mundo Azul in July 2000 marked the first multidisciplinary scientific exploration of Laguna de los Cóndores.

Start Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Max Height: 3 400 masl / 11 200 ft.

Min Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Campsite at Pueblo Viejo.

Today, on our walk we have to reach 3 800 masl / 12 467 ft. a place called La Fila, from where we can see the mountain ranges of the branches of the Northeast Mountain Range. From this place we have to descend to the Gran Vilaya in the middle of mountains and canyons with exuberant vegetation. Arrival at the Laguna basic cabin (2600 masl / 11 811) which is where we overnight.

*Gran Vilaya: a complex of many achaeological remains and ruins, spread over a wide area in the Utcubamba Valley in northern Perú. Gene Savoy, an American explorer, discovered and named the complex in 1985.

Laguna de los Cóndores and the Atuén River are located on the border between the departments of Amazonas and San Martín, under the jurisdiction of the peasant community of Leymebamba, which is also the closest city. The area is dominated by montane forests. In addition, there are cultivation fields that are supposed to be a very old practice in the area, due to the presence of old platforms of the Chachapoyas culture.

Distance: 14km / 8.7 ml.

Start Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Max Height: 3 800 masl / 12 467 ft.

Min Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Night in a basic cabin.

After a tasty breakfast we start our tour by boat and also walking along the edge of the lagoon, passing through the remains of an ancient Chachapoya settlement known as Llactacocha, located on the shores of the lagoon at 2600 masl / 8530 ft. If possible, we have the opportunity to use wooden stairs to reach the ledge where the graves are located. These are now empty after archaeologists recovered their contents in 1997 to be placed in the interesting Leymebamba Museum. You can still see pictographs painted on the cliffs and appreciate the surroundings and the importance that the deceased had for ancient peoples. From the place where these tombs were found, there is a spectacular view of the Gran Vilaya and the misterious lagoon.

Walking through the Laguna de los Cóndores enjoying the landscape and the forest where you can see local birds such as tanagers, hummingbirds, the golden-plumed Parakeet (Leptosittaca branickii), Superciliaried Hemispingus (Thlypopsis superciliaris), wild ducks among other birds. 164 bird species are known, including globally threatened and endemic species such as the Marvelous Spatuletail (Loddigesiamirabilis), the Yellow-browed Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus huallagae), and the Pardusco (Nephelornis oneilli). There is no information on their populations.

Start Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Max Height: 2 600 masl / 8 530 ft.

Min Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Campsite in a basic cabin.

Early in the morning, after an invigorating breakfast, we will take our return route. We will follow the same path that brought us here and savor the captivating landscapes along the way.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of cloud forests is their capacity to retain water. The vegetation that blankets the mountains functions like a colossal living sponge, capturing up to 60% of the atmospheric water and directing it through well-defined pathways. Without these forests, there would be a significant loss of species in the low-lying areas. Furthermore, with the onset of rainfall, there would be an increased risk of landslides, severe erosion, and major flooding.

Cloud forests also play a crucial role as carbon sinks. Considering the slow decomposition of organic matter at high elevations, it is estimated that the amount of dead biomass is equivalent to the standing biomass.

Distance: 14km / 8.7 ml.

Start Height: 2 600 masl / 8 530 ft.

Max Height: 3 800 masl / 12 467 ft.

Min Height: 2 600 masl / 8 530 ft.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Pueblo Viejo campsite.

Departure from Pueblo Viejo campsite, today is our last day of the trek. Following the same path until we reach the community of Leymebamba we can have the time to enjoy the nature that surrounds us.

Upon our arrival to Leymebamba we will have the time to visit the most important interpretation center museum of the Chachapoyas Culture.

Opened in the year 2000, the museum covers both the Chachapoyas and later Inca cultures. Among its exhibits are more than 200 mummies and their accompanying funerary offerings, recovered in 1997 from the Laguna de los Cóndores site.

The museum also has a unique exhibition of quipus (the famous 'talking knots' through which the Incas recorded facts and figures, in the absence of a written language). They are in an exceptional state of preservation.

The garden contains more than 100 species of orchids.

Tonight, we will stay in the same hotel where we stayed just before we started our trek to Laguna de los Cóndores.

Start Height: 3 400 masl / 11 200 ft.

Max Height: 3 400 masl / 11 200 ft.

Min Height: 2 250 masl / 7 380 ft.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Kentitambo - Hummingbird Inn.

In the morning, we will be able to relax and rest after a quite demanding walk. The facilities where we will be staying have green areas perfect for spending time surrounded by fresh air, as well as local birds worthy of appreciation. It's worth mentioning that we are in one of the most renowned spots for bird watching in northern Peru.

Later, we head towards the town of Cocachimba, to "Goctalab", our charming accommodation with a unique view of the Gocta waterfall.

Goctalab, as its name suggests, is a laboratory for sustainable technologies focused on well-being and regenerative culture. We are also a living seed bank and guardians of biodiversity. You can visit and enjoy our vegetable and local tuber farm, aromatic herbs, and medicinal plants from the Amazon, exotic fruits, and a variety of fruit and endemic trees. You can taste our fermented sauces, macerated oils, smoked products, "cañazo" (a traditional spirit), and its macerations with fruits, as well as freshly baked bread. Not to mention our exclusive Pirqapata Coffee, a specialty and organic blend harvested under shade from the Amazon region of Peru.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Goctalab - Cocachimba

The impressive Gocta falls are born from the union of three small streams – called Shique, Zuta and Upa – that form in the Amazon cloud forest. Its waters create two falls, one of 231 m and another of 540 m. A German hydroengineer named Stefan Ziemendorff spotted the falls and, in 2006, made preliminary measurements: an astonishing 771m (2,531ft). When the rains load their streams they form a spectacular wall of water that reaches 771 m. which makes it one of the largest in the world.

We have an early start to go to the bottom of the Gocta Falls. From Cocachimba we need to hike about six hours round trip through cloud forest, full of orchids and bromeliads - where Cock-of-the-Rock, Spatuletail hummingbirds and yellow-tailed woolly monkeys are sometimes seen.

After this, our latest adventure, we will stay for one more night in Goctalab. We will savor a super special dinner—an ultimate opportunity to share and exchange our amazing experiences in this corner of the cloud forests of marvelous Peru.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Box Lunch & Dinner.

Accommodation: Goctalab - Cocachimba

Today we take you to the airport of Chachapoyas, in time for your flight out.

Meals Included: Breakfast