The Road from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas

Northern Peru has amazing landscapes. Take the journey from the coast to Chachapoyas and you will drive from the bustling city Chiclayo, through small villages surrounded by irrigated fields that brighten up the desert. Away from the life bringing channels, trees cling on to the fertile but arid soils, waiting for the scarce rains.

The climb in to the mounains takes you through forests that constantly change throughout the year – at times lush like the rain forest to the east and in other months dry and sickly looking. Over the pass and the continental divide and the world changes again to the dry valley of the Huancabamba River, where goats roam. Further down the valley again we come across irrigated fields of rice, bananas, coffee and cacao trees.

The temperature increases as one crosses the Marañon River and away from the fields the hillsides are covered in many different sorts of cacti. Climbing from Bagua via the Utucubamba Valley the vegetation changes once again to verdant forests. Further on the sides of the valley steepen and become cliffs. Between Pedro Ruiz, once again we pass by coffee plantations interspersed with orange trees. The final section to Chachapoyas zigs zags out of the canyon to the city, surrounded by eucalyptus trees.

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