Sonche Canyon

The Sonche canyon cuts around 960 metres deep into the country north of Chachapoyas, and unlike the dry Marañón it is green - cloud forest and cultivation on the walls, waterfalls dropping down them in the wet months, and the river out of sight at the bottom. The viewpoint is at Huancas, a pottery village about eight kilometres from Chachapoyas, where a mirador was built with cantilevered platforms projecting out beyond the rim with glass and open-grid floors, so you stand over the drop. The village itself makes and sells unglazed pottery by hand, a tradition the women of Huancas have kept, and there is a second viewpoint over the Utcubamba valley. It is twenty minutes from Chachapoyas and takes two or three hours including the drive, which makes it the easiest thing to do from the town. Cloud fills the canyon regularly and can hide it entirely.

What you actually see

• The canyon - around 960 metres deep, green with cloud forest and cultivation.
• The cantilevered platforms - projecting beyond the rim with open floors.
• The Huancas pottery - unglazed ware made by hand in the village.
• The waterfalls - dropping the canyon walls in the wet months.

When to go

May to September for clearer weather; cloud fills the canyon frequently and can hide it completely. Mornings are usually clearest. Two to three hours from Chachapoyas.

Honest expectations

Cloud regularly obscures the canyon entirely - there is no guarantee of a view. The platforms are not for anyone afraid of heights. Small charge. Little else at the site beyond the viewpoint and the village.

Nearby

Chachapoyas is south; Gocta waterfall and Kuélap are within the region.