Northern Highlands - Peru - page 882

Sleeping & Eating
Kuélap itself has limited sleeping options, though one extended family operates a few ba-
sic options down an often muddy trail from the ruins. Nearby towns provide a good range
of accommodations and can be used as a base for exploring the area.
Hospedaje El Bebedero ( 98-978-3432; r per person S15) and Hospedaje El Im-
perio ( 94-173-5833; r per person S10-15) are the best choices just beneath the
Kuélap ruins. Neither have electricity but Imperio, run by Teodula Rocha, the friendly
wife of the aforementioned Don José, has running water. She has a concession on the
snack stand near the ticket booth every other week, so look for her there or inquire with
Don José. Bringing your own sleeping bag is recommended. Home-cooked meals at either
run S5 to S10. The nearby INC Hostel has free camping, but the rooms are permanently
occupied by the Kuélap excavation team.
The next closest sleeping choices are in the hamlet of María, a two-hour walk from
Kuélap and connected to Chachapoyas by daily minibuses. Here you will find a cottage
industry of half a dozen charming and near-identical hospedajes (r per person S15) - they
all go to the same sign-maker for their signs. All offer clean, modest rooms with electric
hot water and some will cook up hearty meals for guests for about S6. Hospedaje el Tor-
reón ( 94-170-8040; Av Kuélep s/n; s/d S20/30) is your best bet, with perfectly decent
rooms accented with colorful bedspreads, and hot water. The friendly owner doesn't cook,
though, so you'll need to hit a restaurant or buy some of her cakes that she sells to towns-
folk.
In Tingo Vieja, 3km below Tingo Nuevo at the far base of Kuélap, there's the basic
Hospedaje León ( 94-171-5685; s/d S15/25, without bathroom S10/20) , with tiny, bu-
colic rooms, electric hot water and run by a friendly older couple who capitalized on a
tourism vision years ago. Estancia Chillo ( 041-63-0510; www.estanciachillo.com ; r
per person incl breakfast & dinner S120) , 5km south of Tingo Viejo, is one of the coolest
and quirkiest places to stay in the area. The beautiful hacienda-style compound has rustic
and well-designed rooms with the requisite gaudy bedspreads, rounded out by ranch
props, wagon wheels, brightly colored pet parrots wandering the grounds and dangling
bougainvillea. All the fixtures you see were handmade by the owner Oscar Arce Cáceres,
who let us know he is selling, so things here could change. Call ahead. You can organize
guides from here (per day S150) as well as horses (per day S40 to S200) to go out and ex-
plore nearby ruins.