Chachapoya - the Cloud People

We made it! Completely shaken, we arrived in Chachapoyas after a 12-hour drive. Fortunately, most of the journey took place in the dark, so we only saw occasional deep abysses that went directly down next to the road. Definitely not 'German' what is called a road here - no guardrails, countless potholes, and really narrow gravel paths.

Early in the morning, we walked to our hostel with all our belongings, where we first recovered with a nap. Then we explored the town and hobbled up to Huancas Canyon in a minivan. After initial rain, the sky cleared up and we were totally impressed. With a length of over 11 km and a depth of almost 1,000 m, the canyon stretches through the landscape and is crossed by a river.

The next morning, the tour to the long-awaited Kuelap began. We had read a lot about it and couldn't wait to see these ruins live. The ride in the small bus went down to the canyon we visited the day before and up on the opposite side. (Knock on wood, I didn't get sick despite the many hairpin bends) Arriving at the cable car, we took a short bus ride to the next station and then got into the cable car, which took us to the entrance of Kuelap in 20 minutes. From here, it was another 15 minutes hike up to the ruins - in pouring rain. However, we didn't let it spoil our mood. Our funny group was mixed and very sociable. Tour guide Carlos provided interesting information, Louisa from Rottweil told us about her previous adventures in Peru, and the other participants from Vancouver, Hamburg, and Tokyo had a lot to tell. The main access to the ruins was unfortunately closed due to maintenance work. So we entered the ruins of the former village of Chaychpoya through the eastern entrance. At an altitude of over 3,000 m and high above the clouds. The fortress was built between 800 and 1,300 AD. It is also referred to as the Machu Picchu of the north, but it is older, higher, and larger. Interestingly, three times as much material was used as in the construction of the Cheops Pyramid. In Quechua (an ancient language), Chachapoya means 'the Cloud People'. The excavations and research are still ongoing, but progress is slow due to lack of funding. The majority of state funding is invested in Machu Picchu. This not only angers the Peruvians here, but also surprises many tourists who have seen both fortresses and found Kuelap more impressive. We are curious to see how we will see the comparison. However, it is certain that Kuelap fascinated us incredibly and we could have spent eternity here.

In the evening, we went to the bus station, where we had arranged the trip to Tarapoto. Not very excited about the upcoming 8-hour drive, we stood alone at the bus stop. We waited... waited... waited... At some point, we asked around at the other bus counters what was going on. Apparently, the road was blocked. Some said it was due to a landslide, others said it was a strike. However, it was certain that no buses were going to Tarapoto that evening - great! With all our luggage, we went back across the city to the hostel. Fully booked! Luckily, a hostel around the corner had a free room. So we didn't start for Tarapoto until the next morning. Our little streak of bad luck continued, as the minivan was really small and the ride was completely cramped for the two of us. Shortly before our destination, the aforementioned strike occurred. The Peruvians had actually blocked the entire access road. Kilometers of bus and truck traffic jams marked the road. For us, it meant getting out of the minivan (Hallelujah), getting into a tuk-tuk, walking across the strike to the center, and getting back into a tuk-tuk towards the jungle lodge. That turned out to be more complicated than expected as well. The path led off the road onto a pothole-riddled track. After the tuk-tuk's chain jumped off twice, we decided to walk the rest. However, there was no path indicated on our offline map here, so how were we supposed to get to the lodge? We asked some passersby, but no one knew for sure. So we had no choice but to continue the path, in the middle of the midday heat with a felt 100% humidity and all our luggage. Our savior in distress was a pickup truck that eventually drove us to the lodge.

We finally arrived! The next four days we will spend here in the middle of the jungle - what an adventure!