Chachapoyas

Get in

It is possible to fly from Lima directly to Chachapoyas, or to Jaén or Tarapoto.

Flights to Tarapoto can be as cheap as $30, but it is eight hours away from Chachapoyas. Jaen is slightly more expensive ($50) to fly to, but is just four hours from Chachapoyas and has 2 daily flights with Latam. The bus is not cheaper if you book flights in advance.

As of 2022, ATSA has direct flights to Chachapoyas once daily from Lima that cost $70 each way if booked in advance.

Movil Tours has direct buses Lima/Chachapoyas that pass through & leave Chiclayo.

Civa has daily bed buses from Lima taking about 22 hours with movies and meals furnished on board like Movil Tours. Cost is about US$45 one way from Lima.

Zelada offers daily service at a bit of a discount, and Paredes Estrella has a bed bus, but you must get off at Pedro Ruis and take a combi leaving about every hour for a 2-hour trip for about $2.

Most of the bus stations are in La Victoria a walk apart, but to get downstairs for a "full bed" you may need to buy your ticket in the day on the double deck bus to reserve. These leave in the evening, so with a sleeping pill, the long trip isn't bad at all. Take a throw or blanket for the night.

There are nightly service from Trujillo (4PM) and Chiclayo (7PM and 8PM) & arrive in Chachapoyas around 5AM. Civa three times a week from Lima and nightly from Chiclayo. Transervis Kuelap and Transportes Zelada have nightly buses from Chiclayo.

A more arduous route takes 2 days from Vilcab…

Get around

There are daily vans & taxis from Chachapoyas to Kuelap, Leymebamba and Luya. Most leave from their respective stations 2 to 3 blocks from the main square.

thumb|Restored Building Kuelap

See

Kuelap - an ancient stone city with walls up to 12 m high - the largest pre-Inca ruins in South America. Some older information you may find says that you need to walk for several hours to get there but there is now better access by car, and even better, a newly finished (2017) cable car. Cable car ticket (S/26 as of May 2024) sales is slightly above Nuevo Tingo (walkable but a bit up hill for 300m), where you board a frequent bus that goes to Platform 1, and a thrilling 20 minute ride across the large valley that offers spectacular view over the entire landscape, with the highest distance from the ground sitting at a whopping 220 meters, saving you a 2 hour journey around this deep gorge. Once on Platform 2, it is a newly constructed visitor center with bathrooms, souvenir stands, interpretation center, and a restaurant. Here you can also hire a horse (S/25 each way) up to Kuelap entrance. Recent collapse on the south wall in 2020 resulted in a different approach to the city, which involves a 1.5km walk, mostly uphill that takes around 30 minutes. A guide hire is recommended as there is no information board anywhere inside the ruins, and each group is limited to 12 and the entire circuit is roped to restrict movement and damage. Day tours are available from Chachapoyas on a daily basis (S/100). Karajia - anthropomorphic sarcophagi built on a narrow cliff ledge. Tours (~S/90 as of May 2024, infrequent tours offered by Turismo Explorer, said to be 2-3 times a week) combine thi…

Do

There are many agencies and guides available, and trekking offers from the 1-day trip to Gocta (a 6-hr walk there and back) to a 4-5-days trip visiting other archaeological sites.

Turismo Explorer does day trips and a trek to Gran Vilaya. Vilaya Tours higher end tours and treks all around the Chachapoyas area.

Tourist Week is the first week in June, with a large parade from many villages of all the provinces of Amazonas participating on the Sunday. Lots of traditional clothes and customs to be seen.

The Patron Saint of Chachapoyas is the Virgin of Asunta and they celebrate the festival in Her honor during the first two weeks of August.

Sleep

There are many hotels and hostels in the budget and mid-range categories within two blocks of the main plaza.

Go next

Kuelap on your own account. There is no public transport (combis) from Chachapoyas to Kuelap. You can take a public combi to nearby Pueblo Maria (about 2 hours travel)and from there follow the road to Kuelap, an easy 2 hours walk. You may find a taxi in Pueblo Maria but do not count on that. Combis and colectivos to Pueblo Maria leave Chachapoyas early in the morning (around 5AM), look for the office of Roller´s two blocks down from the plaza, passing the market. At Pueblo Maria you can stay the night in one of the several rooms made for visitors by villagers. There are several restaurants as well at Pueblo Maria (good trout). You can go back to Chachapoyas by public combi or walk down to the village of Tingo which lies halfway on the road between Chachapoyas and Leymebamba. The walk from Kuelap is interesting but quite long, going down about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet). About 2 to 3 hours walking. There is a basic hotel in Tingo and 2 restaurants and a hospedaje. In Tingo you can pick up a bus or combi to travel on to Leymebamba (about 70 minutes) or Chachapoyas (about an hour). Combis to Chachapoyas pass by around 6AM.

You can also go from Tingo to Leymebamba picking up one of the combis or the micro passing at about 1PM, 3PM and 5PM.

A few companies (e.g., Rojas, Virgen del Carmen) run daily minibuses from Chachapoyas via Leymebamba and Celendín to Cajamarca and vice versa. From Chachapoyas, the bus takes about 9 hours to reach Celendín. From there you may need to transfer…