Getting Off the Gringo Trail

This overland odyssey through Peru’s northern highlands is for those who want to get off the Gringo Trail and experience a mind-blowing cross-section of Peru’s geography.

DAY 1
Arrive in Lima, fly to Trujillo, and take a taxi to Huanchaco Beach for a two-night stay.

DAY 2
Tour Trujillo area: see colonial mansions, the Huaca de la Luna, and the Museo Cassineli.

DAY 3
Morning visit to the Chimu capital of Chan Chan. Take an afternoon bus to Cajamarca (four–five hours).

DAY 4
Tour Cajamarca, where Francisco Pizarro captured Inca emperor Atahualpa and ransomed him for a room of gold. Besides Atahualpa’s chamber (called the Cuarto de Rescate), Cajamarca offers baroque churches, the carved aqueducts at Cumbemayo, and a stunning pastoral setting.

DAY 5
After a morning visit to Cumbemayo, begin the rough overland journey to the cloud forest of the Chachapoya. The first leg of the trip involves an afternoon bus to the charming country town of Celendín (four hours).

DAY 6
Bus ride to Leimebamba (eight hours)—a spectacular, bumpy ride down and up the Marañon Canyon, which is deeper than Arizona’s Grand Canyon and ranges from high-altitude grasslands to the subtropical valley floor.

DAY 7
Explore Leimebamba with a visit to the Museo Leimebamba and a hike to the lost city of La Congona. That afternoon, take a colectivo down the Utcubamba Valley to Chillo or Tingo (1.5 hours). Plan on a two-night stay at one of the charming country lodges at the foot of Kuélap.

DAY 8
Hike to the Chachapoya citadel of Kuélap.

DAY 9
Take a colectivo to Pedro Ruiz (one hour) to get back on paved highway, and hop on a bus for Tarapoto (eight hours).

DAY 10
Relax in Tarapoto by visiting Laguna Sauce or hiking to the local waterfalls.

DAY 11
The most adventurous part of the trip begins with an early-morning colectivo over the muddy, potholed road to Yurimaguas (six–eight hours). That afternoon, board a cargo boat down the Río Huallaga bound for Iquitos.

DAY 12
Rest up in Iquitos by swinging on a hammock, eating bananas, and watching the Amazon float by.

DAY 13
Disembark at riverside village of Nauta. Or you can choose to disembark before Iquitos and cap off your stay at one of the excellent lodges upriver—or head all the way to Iquitos and meet your boat to a jungle lodge there.

DAYS 14–15
Jungle tour.

DAY 16
Return to Iquitos for celebration dinner—or keep floating on into Brazil!

DAY 17
Fly to Lima and return home

Several days can be chopped off this trip by starting from Chiclayo, from where a newly paved highway leads into Peru’s interior. In Chiclayo you can see the Treasures of Sipán at the Museo Tumbas Reales and pyramids left behind by the Moche and Sicán cultures. Smooth pavement leads from here to the lodges beneath Kuélap, a journey of 10 hours up spectacular cloud-forest valleys. Then the itinerary would proceed as in the original version.

If you are hankering to visit the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria, get off the Yurimaguas-Iquitos cargo boat in the middle of the first night at the town of Lagunas. Here guides can be hired for a week of paddling in a dugout canoe and camping in the reserve.