Meet Adriana - dedicated to Chachapoyas conservation Adraiana von Hagen is a Peruvian writer, archaeologist, research associate of the Leymebamba museum and owner of Kentitambo guest house right next door. She is a close friend of Marisol Mosquera, Aracari's owner and CEO, and together they are embarking on efforts to protect and revitalise the precious cloud forests of Chachapoyas. Here's her story. Born in Peru to a German mother and American father – the explorer, and writer Victor Wolfgang von Hagen, Adriana has spent most of her life living in Peru, punctuated by stints living abroad. Previously working in journalism and travel, she says her father’s legacy has influenced her fascination with Peru’s past and her work in archaeology and conservation. Adriana has written several books on Peruvian history, including The Incas (Ancient Peoples and Places) published in 2012 by Thames & Hudson. Adriana tells me that her father had been to Chachapoyas in 1954, so she had always felt compelled to visit the area. The opportunity came in 1997, when Adriana was invited to be part of a salvage mission to recover over 200 mummies and their burial offerings in 1997 from Laguna de los Cóndores. The mission involved cataloguing and creating an inventory of the precious artefacts which had been damaged from looters. Leymebamba Museum This led to the establishment of the Leymebamba Museum in 2000, of which Adriana is a research associate, and now houses the special collection of mummies and burial artefacts. Adriana offers Aracari guests special guided tours of the museum, including exclusive access to the mummy depository, not usually open to the public. Read our blog on visiting Leymebamba Museum. Kentitambo - the Hummingbird Inn Later Adriana and her partner started buying land adjacent to the museum and started a small café for museum visitors to enjoy a
Meet Adriana – dedicated to Chachapoyas conservation Adraiana von Hagen is a Peruvian writer, archaeologist, research associate of the Leymebamba museum and owner of Kentitambo guest house right next door. She is a close friend of Marisol Mosquera, Aracari’s owner and CEO, and together they are embarking on efforts to protect…
Known as the 'Machu Picchu of the North', Kuelap is the largest ancient stone structure in South America. Here we provide our roundup of the best Kuelap hotels to base yourself at to visit these impressive ruins. Best Kuelap Hotels hand-picked by Aracari Accommodation is concentrated in the charming town of Chachapoyas, which offers three-star or B&B level options. Alternatively you can stay in the small town of Cocachimba, right by Gocta Waterfall, which is home to a couple of properties with spectacular views of the falls. These options can all be easily reach by road in 4-5hrs from Jaen airport, which has daily direct flights from Lima. Kuelap is an easy full day trip from all these options. The low footfall in this region means there are not many hotels of a high standard. Luckily, there are a few hidden gems that we've scouted out and personally tried and tested! Below are Aracari's top handpicked Kuelap hotels for a visit to the archaeological site and the wider Chachapoyas region Read Aracari's Peru's Best Kept Secret Kuelap and Chachapoyas itinerary and contact us today to start planning your adventure! Gocta Natura - immerse yourself in the cloud forest This place is our top pick of Kuelap hotels. Offering eco-friendly boutique accommodation, the five individual cabins are built with privacy and comfort in mind, and tastefully decorated with beautiful touches. Located on the outskirts of the village of Cocachimba, the Kuelap complex is a 2-hour drive away, making it the perfect base for a day trip. The other main attraction is Gocta waterfall, which you can hike to directly from Gocta Natura then rest weary feet in the hotel pool after your walk. Delicious home-cooked meals are served communally on the deck of the main cabin; this is also the owner's home, creating a true home-away-from-home feel. Wifi is being implemented
Known as the ‘Machu Picchu of the North‘, Kuelap is the largest ancient stone structure in South America. Here we provide our roundup of the best Kuelap hotels to base yourself at to visit these impressive ruins. Best Kuelap Hotels hand-picked by Aracari Accommodation is concentrated in the charming town of Chachapoyas,…
Marisol, Founder & CEO of Aracari, and the Aracari team are just back from an in-depth research trip to Kuelap and the Chachapoyas region. We've been hard at work (and play!) testing out accommodation, hikes, and other excursions to ensure that we're experts on, and offer the very best of, the region. Aracari's Trip to Kuelap and Chachapoyas Why 2017 is the time to visit Kuelap and Chachapoyas There is now a daily direct flight from Lima to Jaen, improving access to Kuelap and Gocta waterfall, two of the area's main attractions. A new cable-car system has been built at Kuelap (due to open 2017), cutting down the journey time and offering stunning panoramic views of the cloud forest and valleys. Now that Aracari has done an extensive inspection trip, we have hand-picked properties, tried and tested activities, and established 'insider-access' experiences to offer through Marisol's contacts. Check out our 5-day 'Peru's Best Kept Secret' itinerary Day 1: Flight Lima-Jaen, transfer to Gocta Natura and Gocta Lodge After a quick flight we were met at the airport in Jaen by our guide Julio to begin the journey to Gocta. The drive was very scenic with the vegetation changing from fertile agricultural land with rice paddies and coconut groves to steep mountain ravines as you climb higher. There are a few interesting stops along the way including the rivers, views down the valley, and a waterfall. Once we arrived to Gocta (the nearby village is Cocachimba), our group split in two, to stay at Gocta Natura and Gocta Andes Lodge. For dinner we reconvened at Gocta Natura and enjoyed a lovely home-cooked meal on the terrace. Aracari insight: Gocta Natura is our top pick - think homely lodge with style. The owner Rocio treats you like visiting friends with her home-cooked meals and hospitality. Gocta
Marisol, Founder & CEO of Aracari, and the Aracari team are just back from an in-depth research trip to Kuelap and the Chachapoyas region. We’ve been hard at work (and play!) testing out accommodation, hikes, and other excursions to ensure that we’re experts on, and offer the very best of, the…
Only an hour's drive away from Gocta Waterfall - the main attraction in this beautiful part of Chachapoyas, in Northern Peru, Yumbilla waterfall offers a great second hike if you'd like an extra day exploring the mystical cloud forest. I visited Yumbilla on a recent inspection trip with my colleague Claudia, one of Aracari's travel planners. A quieter trail, very few people venture to Yumbilla or have even heard of it, and because of that you'll be rewarded with a serene and tranquil walk through the forest - we only passed one small group the whole day (and it was a weekend!). As a result, we had the spectacle of Yumbilla all to ourselves. To hike to Yumbilla waterfall as part of a private trip to Peru, have a look at Aracari's sample itinerary, Peru's Best Kept Secret, which can be tailormade to suit your interests and timeframe. As a city dweller, there's nothing more relaxing that being immersed in nature, far away from roads, traffic and human settlements, where instead of car horns and the sounds of construction, the soundtrack is the natural melody of birds, tree frogs and running water. The hike to Yumbilla waterfall offers just that! Yumbilla waterfall - one of the tallest in the world According to the World Waterfall Database, Yumbilla waterfall is the fifth highest in the world! Most other sources rank it a bit lower, but the point is it's pretty tall, absolutely mesmerising, and the hike to get there is equally rewarding with two other waterfalls along the way. Yumbilla and the two other cascades offer beautiful focal points for this scenic excursion through the cloud forest of Chachapoyas. Along the trail there are various look out points, giving you several perspectives on the beautiful waterfalls and panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Claudia and I were collected from the
Only an hour’s drive away from Gocta Waterfall – the main attraction in this beautiful part of Chachapoyas, in Northern Peru, Yumbilla waterfall offers a great second hike if you’d like an extra day exploring the mystical cloud forest. I visited Yumbilla on a recent inspection trip with my colleague Claudia, one of Aracari’s travel…
High on the hills of Peru’s northern cloud forest, this collection of tombs from the Chachapoya civilization sit on the edge of a limestone cliff. Built from mud-set stones, the tombs of Revash resemble houses and are painted in red and white hues, collectively forming miniature villages along the face of the cliff. Aracari Travel specializes in private, tailormade trips to Peru. Visit Revash as part of Aracari's 5-Day Peru's Best Kept Secret itinerary, which takes in the highlights of the Chachapoyas region. On a recent Aracari FAM trip to Chachapoyas, I had the pleasure of visiting this pre-Inca site, with our incredibly knowledgeable Aracari guide, Julio, leading the way and bringing the history to life for us. Leaving from Kentitambo where where we spent the night and visited the Leymebamba Museum, we enjoyed a winding drive through the hills with scenic views of the landscape, until we stopped at a small village. Here we registered to visit the site, and then set off on the trail with Julio. The trail is well maintained, and paved for most of the 30 to 40 minute walk, getting steeper and uneven towards the end. Julio pointed out the first small mausoleum in the cliff face, before we continued for another five minutes to the most impressive set of tombs. One of several burial methods used by the pre-Inca Chachapoya people, the mausoleums were not used individually – rather they were collective tombs for the wealthy and powerful of their society. In the 1980s archaeologists found 12 skeletons, along with musical instruments and tools made of bone. Along with the tombs, there are paintings of animals, people and geometric designs. There is a small sheltered viewpoint offering a great perspective of the tombs above and some makeshift benches to sit and rest your legs. Julio explained all about the construction
High on the hills of Peru’s northern cloud forest, this collection of tombs from the Chachapoya civilization sit on the edge of a limestone cliff. Built from mud-set stones, the tombs of Revash resemble houses and are painted in red and white hues, collectively forming miniature villages along the face of…
The Chachapoyas people buried their important dead in high, difficult to access locations, facing the rising sun or a village, and always close to water. The sarcophagi of Karajía stand proudly on a ledge above a river gorge in the Chachapoyas region - a stunning site in a quiet, unassuming location in Chachapoyas - very easy to miss if you don't know where to find it - which is why we recommend visiting the sarcophagi of Karajía on a private tailormade Chachapoyas tour. I visited Karajia with Yasmin, one of Aracari's travel planners, as part of an Aracari team inspection trip to Chachapoyas, and here's what we thought of the experience. Aracari Travel specialises in private, tailormade trips to Peru. Visit Karajía on our 5-day Peru's Best Kept Secret with an expert guide, accommodation and private excursions included. The inaccessible ravine location has protected the sarcophagi from looters over the centuries, although one of the original eight was lost in 1928 when an earthquake caused it to fall. Standing 2.5 meters tall, the figures were constructed of clay, sticks and grass, and then painted white with yellow ochre and red pigment. Showcasing one of three types of Chachapoya burial techniques, each is home to an individual mummy, arranged in the foetal position. They are unique because of the human skulls that sit atop their heads. This excursion offers the chance to get up close to the sarcophagi while enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery. After being collected from Gocta Andes Lodge where we spent the night (next door to Aracari's favorite Gocta Natura), we enjoyed a scenic drive through the cloud forest of Chachapoyas, with much of the journey on bumpy unpaved roads until we arrived at the remote village of Shipata, where the trail to the sarcophagi begins. After registering to visit the site, we set
The Chachapoyas people buried their important dead in high, difficult to access locations, facing the rising sun or a village, and always close to water. The sarcophagi of Karajía stand proudly on a ledge above a river gorge in the Chachapoyas region – a stunning site in a quiet, unassuming location…
