Almost all tourists who come to Peru do so to see the famous Machu Picchu and to spend a few days in Lima, the capital of the country. But fortunately there is much more to see and the north of the country offers many possibilities to visitors despite not being a top tourist destination.
One of the main treasures that you can discover in the north of Peru is Chachapoyas , which is one of the oldest cities in the country and has a long history that is also highly influenced by the Spanish colony. Its funny name (don’t tell me you hadn’t thought about it), comes from the indigenous word Chachapoyacuno, which means forest or mountain of fog. In this city you can see several squares linked by a street, Victoria Street, named in honor of the citizens there who paraded through it after the colonial wars. The Cuyana Fountain is a very important point in Chachapoyas, since, according to legend, Santo Toribio de Mogrovia managed to draw water from it when the city is plunged into a deep drought. It is on the Luya Urco hill , west of the city.
In the north of Peru you can find other very attractive places such as the Citadel of Kuelap , an hour’s drive from Chachapoyas and 5 kilometers from the city of Tingo. It is a marvelous colossal structure that took about 200 years to build and is located between the Utcubamba and Marañón rivers, both tributaries of the Amazon. From here you can head to the Gotca Falls , which are located a couple of hours from Chachapoyas and which remained hidden from the world until 2002. They are more than 800 meters high and are the third highest waterfall in the world. There you have a spectacular landscape that you can enjoy doing one of the hiking trails that are available and that usually last three hours that are undoubtedly worth it.