Chachapoyas is a small village in the northern highlands of Peru. Chachapoyas means "people of the clouds" in the ancient language. Some of the people still dress in the traditional form. Colorful layered skirts and blouses for the women and a less distinctive dress for the men, black pants and simple shirt. The area is filled with undiscovered ruins. The newly discovered civilization of Keulap is hidden higher up in the mountains. Their stuctures tend to be round in shape with a thatched pointed roof. The ruins are compared to Machu Picchu, however I think that MP is way more developed as a sight.
FRom Chachapoyas, my guide and I put our bikes on the roof of a combi and headed to Kuelap to see the ruins. After a typical morning of acting like tourists, we hopped on our bikes for the 4 hours of down hill trail back towards Chachapoyas. Once the trail ended, we caught another combi for the last few miles back to Chachapoyas. Some of the trail was quite sketchy as the rains loosened and washed away the earth leaving the loose rocks. It was for sure a thrilling ride. We were using the locals horse and walking trails. Not exactly built with the bike in mind. Once we got a bit lower the trail winded and turned along a river and through some small villages. Some nice climbes and down hill runs. Another great day on the bike.
Other days my guide took me to the more local places where he enjoys riding. Always beautiful views of the mountains, a mix of single track and dirt road. Very often we would run into bulls and cows enjoying a meal in the fields.
