At the end of the morning you take a domestic flight to Cajamarca. The city of Cajamarca is located in the northern Andes Mountains of Peru and is the capital of the region of the same name. Cajamarca is close to the equator and has a mild, dry and sunny climate. The soil is fertile. The city is known in Peru for its cheese and other dairy products. Cajamarca is also known for its churches and the Inca baths (hot water baths). Above all, for the Peruvians, Cajamarca is the city where the Inca empire fell. The capture and execution of the Inca emperor Atahualpa took place here.

Halfway through the morning you will be picked up by our guide for a visit to the Cumbemayo aqueduct. The aqueduct dates from the 15th century BC. and is considered one of the oldest structures in the South American continent. A large number of rock engravings can be admired on the aqueduct and the surrounding rocks. The area is beautiful and you can take a nice walk here. The remote region is also called 'the stone forest' because of the natural volcanic rocks that have been shaped by erosion over time to resemble trees. You will be transferred back to your hotel in the mid-afternoon.

Helanderia Holandesa: In the center of Cajamarca you can visit Helanderia Holandesa (the Dutch ice cream parlour), an ice cream parlor, whose name suggests it, was founded by a Dutchman. The ice cream parlor helps underprivileged people from the region, so in addition to a delicious ice cream you also indirectly support a good cause.

Halfway through the morning you will be picked up by our guide again, this time for a visit to the pre-Inca building Ventanillas de Otuzco. The building is built into a rocky hill and has hundreds of niches where the dead were buried. These niches are also called 'ventanas' (windows). In the area you will take a nice walk under the guidance of a guide. At the beginning of the afternoon you will be brought back to your hotel.

The center of Cajamarca is definitely worth a visit. You can do this very well on your own. All sights such as the central square (Plaza de Armas) and the cathedral are within walking distance of the hotel. Don't forget to visit the local market close to the center, where the locals do most of their shopping.

Baños del Inca: About 10 minutes by taxi are the Baños del Inca. The source of these natural hot water baths was already used in the time of the Incas and you can still use them today. At the weekend the hot water baths are visited by many Peruvians themselves, during the week it is usually a lot quieter. You can rent a private bathroom on site. Make sure to ask your hotel about the opening hours of los Baños del Inca, as these can change.

Today you will leave with our private driver Luis from Cajamarca via the town of Celedin to Leimebamba. Count on a travel time of approximately 8 hours. On the way you will pass beautiful valleys with small villages where time seems to have stood still. An advantage of traveling with a private driver is that you can stop at all kinds of beautiful places along the way. Our driver Luis will gladly take you to his favorite restaurant on the route. The specialty in this region is 'Cecina de Chanco', a dish with pork.
At the end of the afternoon you will arrive in Leimebamba. The town is already a lot lower than Cajamarca and the surroundings here are more reminiscent of a tropical environment than the Andes mountains that you saw in Cajamarca.

You have a free day in the village of Leimebamba. In the area, many hanging gram tombs have been discovered in the past decades. The pre-Inca people 'the Chachapoyas' buried their ancestors in this way. In Leimebamba you can visit an interesting museum that has an informative exhibition about the tombs and where many mummies can be viewed. The magazine National Geopraphic has financed expeditions to the hanging tombs and devoted several articles to them. Many hanging tombs are still well intact because their location makes it difficult for grave robbers to get to them. There are a number of beautiful walks around Leimebamba, including along coffee plantations. Your hotel can provide you with more information about this.

Today Luis will take you to your hotel, a half hour drive from the city of Chachapoyas. On the way you will visit the hanging tombs of Revash, near the town of Santo Tómas. In the museum in Leimebamba you have already read and seen a lot about these tombs, here you can see them in real life. The hanging tombs look like houses, hanging from the ledges of high cliffs in the landscape. On the route Luis will gladly take you to one of his favorite restaurants for the local specialty 'Locro de la Zona', a stew with beans, corn and potatoes.
You will spend the night in the beautiful Gocta lodge. From the lodge you will see beautiful views, including the Gocta waterfall in the distance. The lodge itself has a beautiful garden with beautiful orchids and an outdoor swimming pool.

Today you have a free day at the Gocta lodge. From the Gocta lodge you can make many interesting trips. For example, you can visit the city of Chachapoyas, about half an hour's drive from the lodge. It is also possible to take a walk to the Gocta waterfall yourself. This waterfall of 771 meters high is considered the third highest waterfall in the world. The walk to the waterfall starts next to the lodge of the same name, where you will spend the night. Due to the differences in altitude, this walk is often experienced as tough, so take enough time for the walk and bring enough provisions. If desired, we can organize a guide who will take you to the waterfall.

A must during the tour of Northern Peru is a day trip to the beautiful Kuélap, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003. Today you will make a day trip to this magnificent pre-Inca building, also known as the Machu Picchu of Northern Peru. This fortress, only rediscovered in 1843, dates from the 10th and 11th centuries and consists of more stones than the largest pyramid in Egypt! The colossal building is located in a beautiful, green environment and only a few Western tourists have been here. It still happens regularly that no more than a few dozen people visit the colossal building in a day. At the beginning of 2017, the then president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski opened the constructed cable car that should make Kuélap more accessible to the general public.

In the morning our private driver Luis will pick you up at your hotel. Via winding roads and beautiful views you will descend from the Gocta lodge in the northern Andes mountains of Peru to the city of Chiclayo that lies at sea level. Count on a travel time of about 8 hours. Halfway along the route Luis will gladly take you for a nice lunch in his favorite restaurant in the town of Motupe.

The city of Chiclayo is not worth much, but there are many beautiful and interesting things to see around the city, including the most beautiful museum in Peru: Tumbas Reales de Sipán, with the Lord of Sipán as a showpiece. On the first day in Chiclayo you will visit this museum with an extensive collection of gold and silver objects, ceramics and textiles that members of the pre-Inca Moche culture designed. Many of these objects were found in the tomb of one of their great leaders, el Señor de Sipán, a tomb that was uncovered in the late 1980s. Two articles about the uncovering of this tomb were published in National Geographic magazine in 1988 and 1990.
You will also visit the beautiful ruins of Batán Grande. This is an important archaeological site with 50 pyramids and various tombs. The ruins date from the Sicán period (900 - 1100 AD). Next to these ruins is a large forest of locust trees, also called Bosque de Pomac.

The second day you are free in Chiclayo, but you could also visit a number of other interesting museums in the area such as the Bruning museum in the town of Lambayeque with a beautiful collection of pieces from the Moche, Chavín and Chimu cultures. A visit to the National Museum of Sicán in the town of Ferreñafe is also highly recommended. In this museum you can see replicas of one of the largest tombs ever found in South America of el Señor de Sicán (not to be confused with el Señor de Sipán). We can also arrange the excursions for you on this second day in Chiclayo and of course you can also choose not to plan anything on this day and take it easy.

In the morning you will travel by bus from Chiclayo to Trujillo, a journey of approximately 4 hours. At the bus station of Trujillo you will be picked up and taken to the seaside resort of Huanchaco, a short half hour drive from Trujillo. You will spend the night in a hotel on the coast.

Huanchaco is a village known for its beautiful beaches and good surfing waves. For fishing, local fishermen still use reed boats (tortoras). Between Huanchaco and Trujillo, there are a number of beautiful sites to visit, such as Chan Chan, Huaca del Sol, Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Arcoiris. On day 14, you will visit all these sites.

– Chan Chan is the former capital of the Chimu Empire. The city was built around 850 AD and was at that time the largest city on the entire South American continent. Chan Chan, made entirely of adobe, had an area of ​​approximately 20 square kilometers and probably had more than 100,000 inhabitants during its heyday. The city consisted of squares, houses, warehouses, workshops, streets and pyramid-shaped temples. The enormous walls of the city are painted with geometric and mythical figures, among other things. Since 1986, the city has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List, but as an endangered heritage. There is also a museum on the site.

– Huaca del Sol (the Temple of the Sun) is the largest building in Peru from the time before the arrival of the Spanish. The temple, made of adobe, was built around 450 AD and dates from the heyday of the Moche culture in this area.

– Huaca de la Luna (the moon temple) is the smaller of the two Huacas. The complex of the moon temple is however more interesting to many because the Spanish, in contrast to the sun temple, left it more intact. On a number of walls you can still clearly see beautiful paintings in different colours. Huaca del Sol had a military and administrative function – and Huaca de la Luna a ceremonial and religious function.

– The Temple of the Rainbow (Huaca Arcoiris) dates back to the Chimu culture (900 AD). Huaca Arcoiris, also known locally as the Temple of the Dragon, was only discovered in 1960. The temple is still intact because it was covered by a layer of sand until then. It is possible to walk to the top of the temple from where you have a beautiful view. There is a small museum at the complex.

On day 15 you are free. A tip is to visit the beautiful center of the city of Trujillo with its colorful, colonial houses. There are a large number of buses daily between Huanchaco and Trujillo and it is also easy to take a taxi.

If you like fish, this is a good thing, the most delicious fish dishes can be found in this region. Often the fish is caught the same day.

Today you will travel at the end of the morning with a luxury day bus from Trujillo to Lima, where you will arrive at the beginning of the evening after a journey of approximately 7 hours. On the way you will drive a large part through the desert and along the rough coastal region of Peru. You will spend the night again in your hotel in Lima, in the Miraflores district.
In the evening you are free in Lima. Don't forget to enjoy the delicious food and atmosphere in one of the restaurants in the bustling Barranco district. In this district you will also find the photo museum MATE named after - and with work by - the famous Peruvian photographer Mario Testino.

The Paseo de las Aguas

A tip is to visit El Paseo de las Aguas during the North Peru tour. In this beautiful, landscaped park there are many fountains, including the largest fountain in the world. This record is even included in the 'Guinness Book of Records'. The park is also known as 'Circuito Mágico del Agua', or 'the Magical Circuit of Water'. In the park you can enjoy a beautiful spectacle of light, music, images and water.

The last day of the tour Northern Peru. You have a free day in Lima. This day it is possible to make an excursion to Islas Palomino or to visit the colonial center of Lima.