Gocta

Not too happy with our hotel in Chachapoyas and heading north anyway, we chose not to explore the second top sight in the area - Gocta waterfalls - in a tour from Chachapoyas, but to base ourselves in Gocta village (Cocachimba).
After checking into our beautiful cabin, we then drove to the next village (San Pablo) to start the famed Gocta circuit.
Labelled as the third highest waterfall in the world at 771m (actually split in two sections of ~250m and ~500m, so not sure if that counts), Gocta is nested in a lush green cliff at the end of a long valley.
The hike started in fields, went through Mediterranean pine forests and got greener and rainforestier the closer we got. When we arrived at the water edge (technically there are two separate points for the upper and the lower falls), the water seemed more like clouds or a reverse candle flame than like a waterfall - almost spiritual. Locals understandably deemed this place haunted which is why it was only explored for tourism 15 years ago.
After 17km/6 hours, we returned to our cabins for a tasty last supper, before we set out for the Ecuador border the next day. Definitely one of the best day hikes we ever did and a strong end to our time in Peru.Read more