Huancas

Huancas sits on the plateau above Chachapoyas at the edge of the Sonche canyon, a gorge around a thousand metres deep cut by the river below, and two mirador platforms on the rim look straight down into it - Huancas and the Mirador Sonche, with condors and raptors often circling below eye level. The village itself is known for pottery: women make hand-built cooking vessels, jars and comales in a technique using no wheel, with clay from nearby deposits, fired in open bonfires, and a small workshop and interpretation centre operates in the village. The forms are utilitarian and the tradition is a household one rather than a commercial art. It is a short ride from Chachapoyas, and the combination of the pottery and the canyon rim makes it a straightforward half-day out. The plateau is cold and windy.

What you actually see

• The canyon rim - platforms above a gorge around a thousand metres deep.
• The pottery - hand-built vessels made without a wheel and open-fired.
• The birds - condors and raptors circling below the viewpoints.
• The village - a working highland settlement with a craft workshop.

When to go

May to September for clear views; cloud fills the canyon in the wet season. Morning is better for birds. Two to three hours from Chachapoyas.

Honest expectations

The viewpoints have sheer unprotected drops in places. Cloud can hide the canyon completely. The pottery workshop keeps irregular hours. Cold and windy on the plateau at 2,550 metres.

Nearby

Chachapoyas is below; Kuélap and the Utcubamba valley are south.