Most tourists cross the Peru-Ecuador border near the Pacific Coast at Aguas Verdes. However, if you are adventurous, have time and speak some Spanish, I recommend crossing inland at La Balsa and seeing the region’s spectacular sites.

A post about my May 2017 visit to the area, part of a 2 year trip around South America and Cuba.

After a night bus from Huaraz, I enjoyed a day in Trujillo before another overnight Movil Tours coach ride to Pedro Ruiz. Adventures began early morning when the bus stopped face to face with an oncoming truck. Rain-induced landslides had narrowed the road to one lane.

Yumbilla Falls and other Cascading Delights

From Pedro Ruiz I took a mototaxi (15 soles) up the hill to the village of Cuispes, gateway to Yumbilla Falls. At 896 metres, Yumbilla is the world’s 5th highest waterfall.

From my accommodation La Posada des Cuispes I joined fellow backpackers Marc and Oriol on a journey to Yumbilla Falls. We obtained national park entries (10 soles each) and then shared a mototaxi (15 soles total) up the hill to the park entrance.

Hiking through the cloud forest along the well designed but muddy track was worth it. The falls were spectacular and that’s without seeing Yumbilla’s highest waterfall. This is not a major tourist attraction and we had the view to ourselves.

If doing this hike, be prepared to get wet – from the rain, the humidity and walking around Medio Cerro Falls. In Australia a waterfall like Medio Cerro would be a major highlight; not in Amazonas, Peru, where it is comparatively tiny.

Between Cuispes and Yumbilla we could see the impressive 580 metre-high Chinata Falls tumbling down the neighbouring mountain range.

Additionally, further south lies 771 metre-high Gocta Falls – something for a return visit. The below map displays the area’s waterfalls and associated hiking circuits.

San Geronimo Sarcophagi

Besides waterfalls, the region also has historic evidence from the Chachapoya, a pre-Columbian civilisation conquered by the Inka prior to the Spanish conquest. One Chachapoyan archaeological site contains the San Geronimo Sarcophagi.

The day trip from Cuispes began with a moto taxi (130 soles total return) via Pedro Ruiz to the village of San Geronimo. There we bought park entry tickets (10 soles each) and hired a compulsory guide, Zoila (30 soles total). The guide is required by law to both protect the site and prevent tourists getting lost in the cloud forest.

At the end of the challenging muddy trek is a steep climb up through the jungle, with Zoila using her machete to cut a path. The ancient site contained buildings destroyed 20 years ago by a policeman looking for gold, remains of mummies, other artefacts and, finally, the stunning sarcophagi up above. To properly view the sarcophagi, required getting on a precarious platform built over a sheer cliff.

Guide Zoila lit a fire to keep us dry and warm while we ate lunch and enjoyed the site to ourselves.

Trekking back, we tried different fruit including wild strawberries, blackberries and  maushán, a papaya relative.

Cuispes

Cuispes and its main accommodation option, La Posada de Cuispes, are a pleasant village base for the Yumbilla Falls and San Geronimo Sarcophagi. Located in the cloud forest, the surrounding plants, birds and insects provided were interesting distractions.

One of the insects spotted was a beautiful black-striped, yellow click beetle (semiotus imperialis):

Chachapoyas

The city of Chachapoyas is a popular base for visiting the archaeologically important Kuélap ruins and the aforementioned Gocta Falls. Getting from Cuispes involves a mototaxi to Pedro Ruiz then a kombi ride to Chachapoyas.

Kuélap

3,000 metres up on a mountain top, Kuélap is a walled settlement started by the Chachapoyas culture in the 6th century and abandoned in the 16th century following the Spanish conquest. A modern cable car has made the journey across the mountains to Kuélap easier and more scenic. The day tour from Chachapoyas cost 75 soles, with the cable car and site entry each an additional 20 soles.

San Ignacio and the La Balsa Border Crossing

Getting from Chachapoys to San Ignacio involved taking a bus to Jaén and then, supposedly, a collectivo (shared car). However, I didn’t realise the bus wouldn’t stop at the collectivo pick-up point and, instead, terminated at Jaén Airport. I ended up taking a taxi from the airport to San Ignacio.

In San Ignacio I stayed in the guesthouse Hospedaje del Triunfo, perhaps my most basic paid accommodation ever. One night cost 10 soles while a room with a television cost 15! The room served its purpose but its simplicity reminded me of how TV portrays prisons.

My final day in Peru began watching an early morning military band jam. The troops in San Ignacio likely spent their active time guarding the border. Some soldiers took photos with me. Guessing they meet few westerners here.

Travelling from San Ignacio to La Balsa involved a moto ride (2 soles) and then a shared car ride (colectivo; 15 soles). As the below video attests, landslides are a significant risk on the road to the border and could have caused significant delays. Fortunately, they didn’t and I was off to my my next country, Ecuador.