Our journey then took us up into the mountains. After the first hour we started our climb from the very flat coastal strip into the hills. We reached a height of 2130 m before descending once again. The scenery was spectacular. The road was not good and there was evidence of many landslides. The tarmac gave way to gravel and potholes early in the journey but we finally arrived at Chacapoyas in the evening.

Next day we visited Kuelap. High up in the mountains this ruins of this unique site are situated on a ridge overlooking deep valleys. The Chachapoyans were one of the most advanced pre Inca cultures. It was built between 900 and 1100 AD and parts are still in a good state of repair. The most memorable part is its position on a cloud forest ridge with many bromeliads and mosses.

One full day was not really long enough in Chachapoyas but we had to move on. Our next night was spent in Leymebamba, a delightful small town. On our way we visited a museum devoted to the 219 mummies found at a burial site twelve hours walk away from Leymebamba. It was at the museum that we were fortunate to see a young Alpaca, only six hours old.

Another very long day followed as we journeyed to Cajamarca. The road, all unmade, firstly took us up to a height of 3600 m, often in the clouds, then down to 850m as we reached Balsas on the Maranon River. Then it was up again to 2400 m before our decent to Celendin. Re fuel and then on to Cajamarca. Of the eight villages we passed through, five were in the last four hours. The journey took about twelve hours.

Cajamarca is a pleasant town with many historical sites. It was here that Inca Chief Atahualpa lost his life to Pizarro and the Spanish conquerors. An easy day around the town visiting a number of the historical sites. The following day in Cajarmarca we took a minibus up to Cumbe Mayo to look at some Petroglyphs from the Chavin culture. The pre-Inca water channels that run for 9 kms. Are said to be the oldest man-made construction in South America. It was a very pleasant area and our walk around the outcrops in the hills and the walk back to town gave us the chance to see the activities of the local people at the weekend. After our activities of the day we took the overnight bus from Cajarmarca to Trujillo on the coast. We left at 22.45 and arrived at 04.30 and in bed by 05.30!

There was to be no lying in bed however, Zoe had us in the minibus by 9.00 a.m. for our first visit of the day to the Temple of the moon. A short drive across cultivated fields brought us to the site. This remarkable place was only really excavated in the 1990’s. Until the Spanish arrived its neighbour the Temple of the Sun was the largest man-made building in the western hemisphere. The temple of the moon is , however much more interesting as it contains more than 6000 sq. m. of remarkable wall paintings. For more details of this site click here for a slideshow. The next site visited was Ciudadela of Tschudi. This was part of the largest pre Colombian adobe city in the world and dates back to the Chimu period.

Time for lunch at Huanchaco and to see the well known Reed boats still being used by local fishermen. Then it was off to visit Chan Chan, probably the most well known of the sites in Northern Peru. This is part of the original Chimu City and apart from the relief designs on the walls it is the size of the structures, which are most impressive.

After an early morning walk around the square we squeezed into a Land Rover type vehicle for our journey up into the hills. We started by travelling along the Pan American Highway for about ninety minutes before we turned off on to a dirt road. The road followed the Rio Santa through tunnels and eventually through a gorge only six metres wide. We arrived at the very pleasant town of Caraz after about eight hours. The lovely hostel was to be home for the next three nights. Wow!

Our first day trip took us up into the mountains. We drove up to Lake Paron where we walked a short distance around the lake with views of snow topped mountains rising to over 6000 m. We were at 4140 m. In the evening we celebrated Roger’s 70^th Birthday with Cuy (Guinea Pig).

An early start for some of us as we went to the market to buy food for our evening meal that we were going to help prepare. Then it was off again to the mountains. On the way we stopped to view the town of Yungay, this was the town, which in 1970 was hit by a massive earthquake. Further up the valley we passed two lakes to reach the Portachualo de Llanganuco at 4767 m. Back at the hostel we helped to make Causa, a chicken, avocado and potatoes, as a starter with Papa Rellena as the main course.

Our last bus journey! We reluctantly left Caraz for Huaraz where we joined the bus for Lima.

This was the end of our Tico Tico journey together. We had travelled many kilometres mainly over very rough roads in a variety of transports. In just three weeks we had journeyed from Quito to Lima, seen many historical sights, experienced life with the local people, seen so amazing scenery but above all enjoyed the company of the group.