Peru Travel Now is glad to offer its Northern Discovery Tour, which shows visitors the adventure, art, and archeology that exists in Peru. The tour takes place in the northern tropical areas of Peru, which is almost entirety made up of vegetation. The northern highlands are surrounded by the Marañon and Huallabamba rivers, where kayaking and hiking are some of the many common activities among visitors. The tradition and culture this area has to offer, goes back hundreds of years, to the Pre-Inca Chachapoyan civilization. There are a number of archeological remains, such as Kuelap, known as the "Machu Picchu of Northern Peru," and traditional crafts are available to look at and buy in local markets.
| Minimum | : | 02 pax |
| Operating Seasons | : | all year |
| DEPARTURE: Daily |
|
| FROM | $1995 |
| PER PERSON SHARING A DOUBLE ROOM |
|
 |
|
Arrival to Lima, welcome reception and transfer to your hotel. Stay in Lima.
Day 2: Lima - Huaraz - (Breakfast included)Transfer to bus station and board your bus to Huaraz. Stay in Huaraz.
Day 3: Huaraz - (Breakfast & Lunch included)Drive along the magnificent Callejón de Huaylas Valley watered by the Santa River and located between the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra mountain ranges. On the way, you visit picturesque towns such as Carhuaz, Mancos and Yungay. Turning east the mountain scenery becomes increasingly spectacular as you ascend the slopes of the Cordillera Blanca. Exacting peaks such as Huandoy (6,395 masl) and Huascarán (6.768 masl) form the granite walls of this U-shaped glacial-eroded canyon with its two turquoise Llanganuco lakes. We are in the heart of Huascarán Biosphere Reserve. This is a giant natural history laboratory where you learn about high tropical Andes species and ecosystems. We make a short hiking along the Chinacocha path, appreciating the high altitude Andean ecosystem. After we visit Orcococha lake and Cebollapampa balcony where we enjoying a spectacular view of the most important mountains of the Cordillera Blanca. After enjoying the wonderful scenery and take the photographs we descend to Yungay. Lunch. Return to Huaraz. Stay in Huaraz
Day 4: Huaraz - Trujillo - (Breakfast & Lunch included)We traverse the Cordillera Blanca to visit Chavín de Huántar (1300 to 4000 BC), South America's oldest and most advanced culture, and one of the six independent centers of civilization in world prehistory, predating the Incas by about 2000 years. Chavín's monumental granite pyramids and ceremonial plazas are linked by colossal carved stone staircases and platforms. Subterranean chamber complexes, known as galleries, are built in a most sophisticated architectural engineering style. In the Old Temple we visit the Lanzón Gallery with its supreme deity of Chavín, a large stone idol of 4.5 m carved with human, Jaguar, Anaconda, and Harpy Eagle iconography. Chavín de Huantar has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lunch is included.
In the afternoon we visit the museum, where we will appreciate Chavin ceramics and lithic sculptures like the famous “Tello Obelisk”. Return to Huaraz and transfer to bus station.
Transfer to bus station to continue your trip to Trujillo (Night on board). Bus Huaraz-Trujillo is included.
Overnight on board.
Day 5: Trujillo - (Breakfast & Lunch included)Visit the Pyramid of the Moon, the best preserved Mochica ceremonial center. On its interior walls, artisans painted and carved the principal characters that populate their iconography. The most imposing figure is that of their executioner god, Ai Apaec, and there are assorted scenes depicting ritual sacrifices that most likely took place in this temple. You will see across from it, The Pyramid of the Sun, which is the tallest adobe structure in the Pre-Hispanic Americas: a large, 345 m rectangular building upon which were built several platforms and truncated pyramids, some of which rise 42 m into the sky. Lunch is included
Continue the tour by visiting Chan Chan’s walls. These are made of adobe, and its foundations are stone and earth. The walls are carved in high relief with images of sea birds, fish, and other representative figures from Chimu iconography. Its streets and alleyways are laid out in a maze, opening up into large ceremonial plazas, terraces, and truncated pyramids. Within the confines are water reservoirs, canals, and wachaques or sunken fields. The city is comprised of nine units or palaces in total, each one bearing the name of a famous Peruvian archeologist or scientist, such as Uhle, Tello, or Tshudi. The Tschudi unit is the best preserved and named in honor of Juan Diego Tshudi.
Stay in Trujillo.
Day 6: Trujillo - Chiclayo - (Breakfast included)Transfer to the bus station and departure on regular bus to Chiclayo. It is a three hour ride to enjoy the beauty of the valleys. Transfer to the hotel.
The tour starts with a visit to Huaca Rajada, archaeological site in which the Lord of Sipan remains were found. Then it’s off to the Pyramids Valley in Tucume, an impressive urban center and the most important of its time, located at only 33kms from Chiclayo. The legend of the Naylamp god and the Cetemi queen, who came from the sea, still lives strong among the settlers. We’ll have lunch at one of the restaurants in the area for a chance to try the best traditional local cuisine: a varied and spiced arrange of flavors for our palate. To end the day, a visit to the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, known also as the 21st Century Museum. It was built as an exact representation of the original tomb and it is home to amazing gold, silver and precious stones treasures. An incredible experience you will never forget.
Stay in Chiclayo.
Day 7: Chiclayo - Chachapoyas (Breakfast included)Transfer to the bus station and board the bus to Chachapoyas
Stay in Chachapoyas
Day 8: Kuelap - (Breakfast & Lunch included)To get the best opportunity for photography we leave the lodge early and drive for 1.5 hours to Kuelap. The towering walls and hundreds of roundhouses capped by the cloud forest at 3,000 meters (9,900 feet) above sea level always amaze first time visitors. We'll explore the many ceremonial constructions and brilliant layout as a group with plenty of opportunities to wander on you own. After our visit we drive down to the main valley overnight in Chachapoyas.
Day 9: Revash & Leymebamba Museum - (Breakfast & Lunch & Dinner included)We drive to Yerbabuena (1 hour) and we walk for a steady 2 hours 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 are like mini houses with red pictographs dating back to 1200 AD. We continue on to Leymebamba (45 mins) and visit the new museum housing the 219 mummies found at a nearby lake in 1997. Stay in Leymebamba.
Day 10: Leymebamba to Cajamarca - (Breakfast & Lunch included)Today, drive along one of the most spectacular roads in Peru (6-hours). Start by driving up to a pass (3600m) overlooking the Marañon Canyon. The road heads down to the river through many different eco systems. Cross the bridge at the valley bottom at 850m, then drive up 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.
Arrive in Cajamarca & Stay.
Day 11: Cajamarca - (Breakfast included)Early morning, transfer to the region of Cumbe Mayo, found at 3500 meters over the sea level. Along the road we will visit the towns of Bellavista, Layzon and a forest park, until arrive to the aqueducts of Cumbe Mayo. From there you will see incredible landscapes. And we will visit a stone Forrest; which contains giant stones that resemble human shapes, animals and even a procession of monks
In the afternoon, visit Cajamarca city. The city of Cajamarca offers its visitors lovely churches, representing diverse religious orders, built during the part of the colonial era from the 17th century through middle of the 18th. Visitors can appreciate the Church of San Antonio de Padua (also known as the San Francisco Church), the Santa Catalina Church, or the Cathedral of Cajamarca. The Belen (Bethlehem) Monument Complex, which includes the Church of Our Lady of Piety, is quite possibly the most interesting example of Cajamarcan architecture to be found, with its carved rock expression of the fusion of the Andean and Spanish cultures.
The Cuarto del Rescate, or Ransom Room, is the last vestige of Inca influence that has been preserved in Cajamarca, but is nonetheless one of the most important archeological treasures in northern Peru. True, this small enclosure served physically as the storage room for the gold and silver treasures offered by the Incas in exchange for the freedom of their Emperor, the Inca Atahualpa. But in the larger sense, it represents the end of one of the most important and distinct cultural epochs in human history, and the beginning of the colonization and cultural transformation of Peru.
Stay in Cajamarca
Day 12: Cajamarca - Lima (Breakfast included)Transfer to the airport to board you flight back to Lima
| Highlights: LIMA, HUARAZ, TRUJILLO & CHICLAYO, CHACHAPOYAS, CAJAMARCA |
OVERVIEW
DAY BY DAY
RATES & TERMS