Cajamarca to Chachapoyas

Movil tours now does a direct bus (50 soles) leaving at 6am and taking around 12 hours. The views are breathtaking but don´t look down if you are afraid of heights: the road is only centimetres wider than the bus in parts, with no crash barriers to prevent that plunge.

Huánuco to Huaraz

Most places in Huánuco (we were coming from Pucallpa) told us we needed to go (backwards) to Lima in order to then advance to Chavín de Huantar, site of the ruins of the oldest civilizaton in the Americas. This seemed rather ridiculous given our relative proximity on the map and we eventually found a scenic route along the Cordillera Blanca that took in some great peak views.

• In Huánuco, we caught a La Union-bound bus from Union Transport at cuadra 4, Jr. Tarapaca. 
• From La Union, we caught a 45-minute collectívo to Huallanca (3 soles).
• From there we caught one of the thrice-daily (4a.m., 4.4.5a.m., 1pm) buses to Huaraz.

Our original intention had been to stay in Chavín, which would have meant alighting at Catac on the last bus and catching another. We decided last-minute to stay in Huaraz and that was definitely the right decision.