Northern Peru

Visited: July 2019

Duration of visit: 17 days

Capital city: Lima

Population: 34 million (2022)

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

• Colorful tuk-tuks and stunning sunsets in the surf paradise of Máncora.
• Lord of Sipan Museum – among my favorite museums in the world.
• Questionable grandeur of the Incan ruins in Kuelap.
• Extended hike to powerful Catarata la Chinata.
• Tasting unique fruits and observing exotic meats at Mercado de Belen in Iquitos.
• Navigating Amazon River from Yurimaguas through Iquitos to Las Tres fronteras.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to explore the final major region in Peru that I had not yet visited – the Amazon rainforest. This area comprises 60% of the country, it is covered with tropical forest and mostly navigable only on rivers.

I combined Amazon with the northern area, crossing the border from Ecuador in Tumbes and making stops in Máncora, Chiclayo, Kuelap, Catarata la Chinata, Tarapoto, Yurimaguas and Iquitos, before reaching Las Tres fronteras.

In this article I describe my trip to Northern Peru in 2019: surf, sun, beach and fun in Mancora, fantastic museum in Sipán, Caballitos de Totora in Pimentel, Kuelap – Machu Picchu of the north, La Chinata Waterfall, navigating Amazon River to Iquitos.

More articles about my Peruvian adventures are available here:

I passed by Máncora on my previous trips, believing that as a surf town there wouldn’t be much to do for a non-surfer. The vicinity is renowned for its turquoise beaches and good waves, representing the best surfing destination in the country. It is true that the beach town mostly attracts a younger crowd with its fun ambiance, but I highly appreciated the atmosphere of a relaxed town.

The Pan-American Highway serves as Máncora’s main boulevard; bars, restaurants, shops and street vendors compete in a non-aggressive way for customers, why many surf schools and rental shops have their own clientele.

Colorful tuk-tuks, driftwood bars, smoothie shacks, beginner waves, opportunities for more advanced surfers, pleasant beach for swimming and absolutely fantastic sunsets, makes Máncora a nice stop in the north of Peru.

The region is also notably famous for its turtle population. In Ñuro, a brief journey from Máncora, I managed to float alongside green sea turtles. The designated swimming area is limited and delineated by floats and ropes. The turtles, on the other hand, are at liberty to enter and exit as they wish.

Swimming with the turtles is certainly a unique experience, but it is not without controversy. The endangered green sea turtles, which can live up to 80 years, are protected from exploitation in most countries. It is also illegal to collect their eggs or harm them.

There are people who would prefer to have the waters around Ñuro untouched. However, proponents of turtle-human interaction in El Ñuro argue that the practice causes people to feel a closer connection to the turtles, which results in increased concern for their conservation. Swimming with the turtles brings additional tourism revenue into the area, which helps raise the standard of living in the local communities, and helps sustain a conservation-minded population.

The Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque is one of my favorite museums – worldwide. I visited this place 15 years ago for the first time and during this trip I wanted to show it to my kids.

Basically, the whole museum is about a royal tomb of the Lord of Sipán, discovered in 1987.

The Lord of Sipán was an ancient Mochica ruler from the 3^rd century, whose discovery proved far-reaching for world archeology as his tomb was the first royal burial site found intact in South America, belonging to a Peruvian civilization prior to the Inca Empire.

The exhibition shows the tomb in the original status as it was found after centuries. The work of archeologists and restaurateurs, who cleaned, polished, reorganized and combined the pieces back together into their original shape is exhibited in an attractive way. Around 600 objects of great historical and monetary value were recovered in the tomb of the Lord of Sipán: ceramics, carved wooden, pieces of gold, silver and precious stones, gold and turquoise earmuff.

Eight other bodies were excavated in the same vault, where the sarcophagi of the monarch was found. Mochica ruler was 1.65 meters tall, approximately 30 years old and probably died in the 3^rd century. The tombs of The Priest and the Old Lord of Sipán were also found near the tomb of the Lord of Sipán.

Almost 700 meters long, the Pimentel Pier is recognized as the longest in Peru. Its construction was carried out in 1911 to facilitate the transport and trade of products. But this is not the cause why I would stop in this rather unattractive town.

The main reason why I visited fishing village Pimentel on the Pacific Ocean are Caballitos de totora – typical boats invented more than three thousand years ago with reed stems and leaves.

These small and light boats fulfilled multiple functions that evolved over time, but have been mainly used as a tool for artisanal fishing, as well as a survival tool.

Considered as Cultural Patrimony of the Nation, caballitos de totora measure 3 to 4 meters in length and in width of up to one meter. When they are dry, they can weigh between 40 and 50 kg and are capable of supporting up to 200 kilos of payload. They are designed to carry one person, a fisherman who stands on board and paddles through waves out to the ocean, transport their nets and collect fish in their inner cavity.

There is a very simple rule, who can manipulate the boats. According to tradition, the fisherman who cannot load his raft should not go into the sea, since he would not be able to control it. There are more interesting facts about caballitos de totora. They are made from the same reed, the totora, used by the Uros people on Lake Titicaca.

The name caballitos de totora is not the original name, as horses (caballitos) were not introduced to South America until after the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

When I visited Machu Picchu in 1997, my journey through the remains of magnificent pre-Columbian civilizations in Central and South America was completed. Of course, new discoveries materialize again and again, but they are smaller and more difficult to access. Kuelap might be an exception.

The city of Kuelap was constructed between 6^th and 10^th century by Chichapoya people. The Incas added a few buildings after they conquered the territory in the 1470s. Kuelap laid forgotten by the outside world, until its re-discovery in 1843 by a local judge.

This is the largest and most important Chachapoya site, beautifully located at about 3,000 meters above sea level, on a craggy mountain-top overlooking the Utcubamba River valley, giving superb views to the surrounding mountains and valleys. A cable car was installed to take visitors to the top of the mountain, where a fortified city, one of the most impressive and significant pre-Columbian ruins in all of South America is located.

Kuelap is ready to become next Machu Picchu in a tourist sense, but I believe the splendor of it cannot reach the uniqueness of The Lost City of Incas.

Kuelap is an imposing stone structure protected by an outer wall up to 20 meters high, built of large limestone blocks, situated at the top of a mountain amid a rugged landscape. The main structure is an awe-inspiring, walled stronghold, almost 600 meters long and 120 meters wide.

The scene, when this urban citadel was inhabited by the estimated 3,000 inhabitants, must have been fascinating.  Inside, over 400 round buildings were found, which would have been covered with steep, conical thatched roofs.

La Chinata Waterfall is a wonderful source of water that emerges from a height of 580 meters, whose name means spring that falls from the sky. The unique geographical environment is characterized by the diversity in its flora, especially orchids, ferns and mosses. The waterfall cascades over three (some sources say five) tiers and then disappears into the jungle.

The starting point of the hike to La Chinata waterfall is the town of San Carlos. I was not very convinced that the kids would be motivated to walk 2 hours without too much complaining. However, but to our surprise, a street dog began to accompany us, keeping the children entertained for the duration of our walk.

A warm and rainy climate most of the year tends to cover the waterfalls with mist and clouds. Nevertheless, we were fortunate on that day, as the predominantly sunny weather permitted us to admire La Chinata from multiple locations along our journey.

Iquitos is accessible only by river and air, with the exception of a road to Nauta, a small town roughly 100 km south. This incredible fact of inaccessibility was probably the main reason why I wanted to visit Iquitos.

The capital of the Peruvian Amazon is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road that isn’t on an island.

There were not too many options to navigate the Amazon River from Yurimaguas, the last accessible town by road. The only slow boat ready to leave down the river within the next three days had just left and I could only watch it slowly cruising in the distance of tropical forest. We missed it for 15 minutes. What remained, was the night ride with a smaller speedboat and an early start to Iquitos on a bigger, more comfortable and princely speedboat.

To avoid spending several days in the unremarkable Yurimaguas, following morning at 6:00am we boarded a fast motorboat the, accompanied by approximately 40 other passengers, mostly locals. While the plastic seating provided minimal comfort, we rapidly moved along the Amazon River, powered by the power of two strong engines.

In between, lunch was cooked and served. We made a few stops in smaller villages along the river. In the late afternoon, we arrived in the town of Nauta, where we switched onto buses and proceeded the rest of the way by road to Iquitos.

Iquitos was established in 1757 as a Spanish Jesuit reduction on the banks of the Nanay River. In the late 19^th century, during the Amazon rubber boom, the city became the center of export of rubber production from the Amazon Basin. The plantations owners, rubber barons, were rich and built luxurious houses for themselves, which gave the city an inimitable style.

The historic center around Plaza de Armas is surrounded by European-influenced buildings dating to the beginning of 20^th century boom in rubber production.

My most memorable remembrance of Iquitos are motorized tricycles, whizzing manically through the streets and making noise.

I quickly found out that due to rainy season and lack of tourists, jungle tours were going to be too expensive and too dangers due to swarms of mosquitoes, which would be biting us all day long. Therefore, I postponed jungle excursion to Leticia in Colombia.

Iquitos itself has no real sighting opportunities, beside always colorful open-air street market Mercado de Belén and rustic stilt houses lining the Itaya River.

Aside from the usual stalls of everyday goods, Belen market offers an ample display of traditional Amazon medicine, exotic food, jungle fruits, roots, herbs, and animal extracts that are said to cure all sorts of diseases. Here are my highlights from the market:

Suri worms are larvae of the palm weevil, a white grub that lives in trunks of the same tree that produces aguaje. Usually they are skewered, grilled, roasted and layered onto sticks, but in Iquitos they can be also boiled. Very inexpensive; three pieces for one Peruvian sol (less than 0.30US$). Suris taste as a snack that’s crispy on the outside, yet creamy on the inside. The texture is both rubbery and crunchy, with a bitter flavor. Delicious and a good source of protein.

Aguaje is an oval-shaped fruit with curved edges, similar in shape to an egg, virtually unknown outside of the Amazon. It grows on moriche palm tree, native to the region. When purple scales are removed, they reveal a bright yellow-orange flesh that surrounds a large seed. The pulp is used most often in juices, jams, sorbets, and various desserts, besides being extremely rich in essential fatty acids and has a high vitamin A and C content.

Aguaje fruits are exhibited in very attractive – photogenic form. I tried it plain, but the taste is unknown to me; not pleasant.

One item that drew my attention in the Mercado de Belén was the caiman tails. While indigenous communities have permission to hunt and eat wild game, the sale of it is not allowed. Selling caimans on the market is primarily illegal, but nevertheless the business seems to be running without too much opposition.

The last Peruvian stop of this trip was the area of Tres fronteras – the border of Colombia, Brazil and Peru – tree cities from different countries border each other along the Amazon River: Tabatinga (Brazil), Leticia (Colombia), and Santa Rosa de Yavari (Peru).

Later, I continued my journey on the Amazon River aboard a slow boat to Manaus in Brazil.