The joy of this steep-sided canyon that cuts like a deep gash through the Northern Highlands is that you’re barely aware it’s there until you are practically standing on its lip. Pay the entry fee at a small cabin a short 500m walk east of the tiny village of Huancas and proceed up a short path to a wooden tower for spectacular views of the hidden 962m-deep valley.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
17.44 MILES
Travelers have their heads literally in the clouds when visiting the walled jungle fortress Kuélap in the northern highlands of Peru – the gateway to the…
10.54 MILES
This 771m waterfall somehow escaped the notice of the Peruvian government, international explorers and prying satellite images until 2002, when German…
15.14 MILES
The name Gran Vilaya refers to the bountiful valleys that spread out west of Chachapoyas, reaching toward the rushing Río Marañón. Abutting the humid…
17.71 MILES
A tiered waterfall falling in four sections, Yumbilla, rather like Gocta, was not properly surveyed until the early 2000s. And with all the recent…
25.28 MILES
This historic site protects several brightly colored funerary buildings tucked into limestone cliff ledges high above a valley near the town of Santo…
8.85 MILES
This largely unexcavated archaeological site dates from around AD 1100 and is located 17km south of Chachapoyas near the village of Levanto. A visit here…
11.55 MILES
This extraordinary funerary site hosts six sarcophagi perched high up a sheer cliff face. Each long-faced tomb is constructed from wood, clay and straw…
0.57 MILES
The tiny and agreeably unkempt village of Huancas (pronounced like the English ‘wankers’!) has a small artisan community making clay pots the old…
Nearby attractions
0.57 MILES
The tiny and agreeably unkempt village of Huancas (pronounced like the English ‘wankers’!) has a small artisan community making clay pots the old…
3.91 MILES
A 10-minute stroll northwest along Salamanca brings you to this modest lookout with a city panorama.
3. Instituto Nacional de Cultura Museo
3.96 MILES
This small museum on the Plaza de Armas houses mummies found throughout the region, plus ceramics from several pre-Columbian periods and one of the…
4.04 MILES
This whitewashed church, officially known as the Catedral San Juan Bautista, sits on the Plaza de Armas. Its heavy black wooden doors rarely seem to open…
8.85 MILES
This largely unexcavated archaeological site dates from around AD 1100 and is located 17km south of Chachapoyas near the village of Levanto. A visit here…
9.44 MILES
This large cave is 545m long and guards a spooky selection of stalagmites, stalactites and other trippy rock formations. Also visible around the entrance…
10.54 MILES
This 771m waterfall somehow escaped the notice of the Peruvian government, international explorers and prying satellite images until 2002, when German…
11.55 MILES
This extraordinary funerary site hosts six sarcophagi perched high up a sheer cliff face. Each long-faced tomb is constructed from wood, clay and straw…