We have had a lovely 5 days in Chachapoyas taking a break from our extreme hiking trips to the forest. We have embraced our inner tourists and done a lot of gift shopping, sightseeing and eating...a lot! Our first trip was visiting the ruins of Kuelap - an old city associated with Chachapoyan culture, dating back to the 6th century AD. According to the lonely planet guide there is nothing that equals to Kuelap except the ruins of Machu Picchu.
On first looking at the outside of the city, the great walls suggest that it was perhaps used as a fortress, however it is now thought that it was a holy city, as there were bones found from several different cultures including the Incas.
On Sunday (5th June) the Peruvian elections took place, it was between Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori and it was very close. In the evening there were celebrations in the central plaza of Chachapoyas, with fireworks and a marching band, Ollanta had won! It was such a contrast to the conclusions of the elections in the UK.
Our next trip was to visit Revash - mausoleums located in the mountains. It was a 1 hour hike from the road (all uphill) and at altitudes approaching 3000 m above sea level, it makes it that little bit more difficult, but at least we have had 3 weeks of practice walking to the El Torro study site.
Today we are returning to La Esperanza, the break has been great and we are now ready to go back to the forest in search of monkeys.
Thanks for reading! :)
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