Laguna 69, Huaraz

Set in the spectacular Huascaran National Park of Peru, the trek to Laguna 69 starts at 3950m altitude and climbs to 4600m. Battling cold weather, rain, alpine cattle, and altitude sickness, the climb was definitely rewarding once we reached the top. Part of the Cordillera Blanca mountains, Laguna 69 Is surrounded by phenomenal glaciers and snow capped peaks.

Job, our Dutch friend, who spent the entire day trying to glimpse monkeys! ...  :) Good luck!

Laguna 69 ... breath-taking ... literally!

Quick dip in a glacial lake ... sure! They got out of the water VERY quickly!

Catarata Gocta

At 771m tall, Catarata Gocta is the third tallest waterfall in the world! Known an shunned by the local Chachapoyan people due to superstitions about mermaids that will drown you if you get too close, the world only learned about Gocta after an expedition in 2005.

Revash, Chachapoyas

In a beautiful valley surrounded by high cliffs the site of Revash surprises every step of the 400m climb.  Walking up a steep trail surrounded by cliff faces, the further you walk along the trail the more astounding the ruins become.  As you walk closer to each cliff the vast number of mausoleums become visible.

Scattered across the cliffs the mausoleums of Revash were built by the excavation of overhangs and constructed by stone and decorated with colour, symbols and deities. 

The mummy's found inside the Mausoleums of the Chachapoya were carefully prepared by the removal of all internal organs, preserved with salt and plant extracts, tied with ropes and wrapped in beautifully coloured woven cotton fabric.  We were lucky enough to visit Leymebamba Museum which houses a collection of hundreds of Chachapoyan Mummy's as well as many culturally significant artifacts of the Chachapoya and the Inca.

After walking for 5 hours to visit Revash we were cut off from returning to Chachapoyas due to a landslide over the road ...  Luckily we were able to cross the landslide on foot and find another car to get us home.

Kuelap, Chachapoyas

The city of Chachapoyas, located in the mountains to the north of Peru, was the seat of a spectacular pre-Incan culture, the Chachapoya. Surrounded by dozens of ruins, sarcophagi (containing mummies!) , and mausoleums (more mummies!),  as well as the third tallest waterfall in the world (Catarata Gocta), Chachapoyas is a magical place with only a few tourists taking advantage of the wealth of attractions.

Kuelap is a spectacular ruin situated along a very high ridge, 600m x 110m in size, surrounded by a massive stone wall 19m tall, and containing hundreds of circular buildings. The Chachapoya occupied Kuelap from around 600 AD until the mid 1500's, when they were conquered by the Inca. A fortress, a sanctuary, a religious site ... Kuelap was many things - and continues to be simply spectacular!

Llamas!!!

Reconstucted circular building - imagine 300+ more of these on the narrow stone ridge!