Cueva de Quiocta

The standard starting point for DIY excursions in Chachapoyas is the collectivo terminal, here you will find minivans to anywhere . I'd been down the night before to check times and had a ticket for the 8am van. Services to most popular destinations are regular enough to just turn up and find a van , but it can be worth checking in advance if your going somewhere more obscure. About 2 hours after a scenic ride the minivan deposited me in Lamud. From here I visited the towns tourist office/ small museum...there are a few mummies recovered from burial sites. The staff in the tourist office lent me some wellies , gave me a map, and a good set of directions . Its about 4 km to the cave and it easy to find the route with the map and directions. At the cave there's a little hut and one of the villagers looking after the cave. I think in theory you need a guide , but I told him I was an experienced caver and he let me in. It cost about 10 soles or something. The cave is fairly easy, just one big passage that goes on for 500m. Its very muddy in places .

The passage opens out into large caverns well decorated with calcite formations and giant stalacmites

Using a 30 second exposure and painting the scene with a powerful torch reveals the underworld in Cueva de Quiocta

After my visit i chatted with the guy looking after the cave. He knew of several other caves and offered to show me the next day but I didn't have time . Anyway he gave me a lift back to Lamud in his tuk tuk. This followed the road taking a different route to the one i'd walked up. I was on a day visit but it would be good to stay out here and visit some of the other attractions in the area. You will easily find tour options in Chachapoyas that visit this site, generally combining it with some other sites.

#quiocta #lamud #chachapoyas