A Journey In Ancient Peru

The north of Peru is covered in ancient sites left by the many civilisations that lived here before the arrival of the Spanish! Each remaining monument is to be savoured for both its magnificence and its heritage. We travel along the coast and into the high Andes combining spectacular walks with visits to ancient sites. These vary from cliff side burial niches to entire abandoned cities.

We start our journey in Lima, with an introduction to pre-Incan sites and ancient artefacts, before flying north to Chiclayo on the coastal plains. Here, we have a morning walk in the Bosque de Pomac forest, ending at the archaeological site of Sican. We visit the Senor de Sipan museum, built in the shape of the adobe pyramid where the artefacts were discovered. Next, it's south to Trujillo, a desert oasis between sea and mountains. Trujillo is a Spanish colonial city, one of a few Hispanic sites we visit on this holiday. We also visit the ruined city at Chan Chan, where little imagination is required to see what it would have been like in its heyday. A day's drive into the highlands includes a stop at the Chavin site of Kuntur Wasi with its stone monoliths on the way to Cajamarca. Here we can enjoy mountain walks and pre-hispanic ruins in the cooler air.

The spectacular journey to Leymebamba crosses the central Andean mountains chain and the mighty Maranon river. At Leymebamba, we enjoy more stunning mountain scenery and indigenous culture. We continue to Chachapoyas, meaning ‘Cloud People' in the Aymara language, still widely spoken in the area. Here, we visit the Sarcophagus of Karajia, as well as Kuelap, an immense pre-Inca ruined city as spectacular as Machu Picchu but without the crowds. We should be able to use the recently built cable car to visit the city. We will hike to the sacred Gocta waterfall, said to be the fifth highest in the world. Finally, we drive to Jaen to catch a flight back to Lima for our final night in Peru.

Only recently has it been possible to enjoy these spectacular and little known sites. Everything you will see here is every bit as engaging as the more popular highlights in the south of Peru but without the crowds. Be one of the first to discover the area!