Peru - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 806

9

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
While the city is certainly a pleasant
place to stay, with many good cafés
and restaurants and a couple of small
museums , most people use it as a base to
explore the remains of ancient cultures
littering the Utcubamba valley. Most
famous of all the sights in this region
is Kuelap (see p.812), the cloud citadel
second only to Machu Picchu in terms of
location and magnificence (although it is
significantly older). Birdwatching is also
a big draw, partly as this is one of the few
jumping-off places to see the very rare
marvellous spatuletail hummingbird.
Other popular trips are to the waterfall at
Gocta and the mysterious 1000-year-old
sarcophagi at Karajía .

Another interesting half-day excursion
is to the Ventanillas de Otuzco (daily
9am-5pm; S5), a hillside necropolis
whose graves resemble little alcoves or
windows ( ventanillas ). Combis go here
from Plaza de la Recoleta in Cajamarca
(20min; S1), or you can take an
organized tour.

CHACHAPOYAS
Few tourists make it as far as
CHACHAPOYAS , the capital of the
Amazonas department in the selva alta
(high jungle) - those who come for
thick rainforest will be surprised, as the
altitude and rolling sierras (mountains)
around town don't fit the Amazonian
cliché. There is a surprising amount of
activities on offer, however, not least
the marvellous remains of the Kuelap
fortress. The city itself is a colonial
delight and its citizens are known for
their friendliness. But what “Chacha”, as
the locals call it, really offers is the chance
to get well off the gringo trail and see
some extraordinary sights that easily rival
their southern counterparts.

The museums
The two museums are the only real
tourist attractions within Chachapoyas.
he Museo Gilberto Enorio , at Ayacucho
904 on the Plaza de Armas (Tues-Sat
9am-1pm & 3-5.45pm; free; T 041 477
045), run by the Instituto Nacional de
Cultura (INC), is just two tiny rooms
with some ceramics and a couple of

Huancas

CHACHAPOYAS

P L A Z A
SANTA
A N A

Museo de
Santa Ana

N

S A NTA A N A

S AL A M A N C A

Movil
Tours

Civa

L I

Mercado
Central

National Police

Instituto Nacional
de Cultura

A Y A C U C H O

PLAZA
DE ARMAS

Bank

AMA Z O N A S

Catedral

T R I UN F O

EATING & DRINKING
Café Fusiones
Ciomara Café & Arte
El Eden
Panificadora San José
Romana
Silvias Pub
Terra Mia

1
3
2
5
7
4
6

J UN IN

ACCOMMODATION
Hostal Karajía
Kuelap
Hostal Revash
Hostal Rumi Huasi

3
4
2
1

0 100

P I U R O

metres

Cajamarca via Chiclayo