8:00 hours. - We leave our hotel for the district of Jalca Grande in a drive that will take 2 and a half hours from the town of Chachapoyas. Jalca Grande is one of the most culturally, historically, and archaeologically rich zones of the region. To tour this area is to submerge in the present and past history of the Chachapoyas culture. The tour inclues:
1) Center of Interpretation, A place where a cultural promoter will give you a pictorial and verbal lesson of the developmental history of an important curaca of the Chachapoya epoch, who settled in the area and went by the name of "Salsac". From the same area the post-colonial legend of Juan el osito (John the Bear.)
2) Museum of Jalca, A small museum which houses original ceramics, lithics, textiles and other artifacts of great cultural value which compliment the narrative made in the Center of Interpretation.
3) Jalca Narrator, At this point a visit to the house of a local villager of Jalca who passionately narrates the legend of "Juan el Osito" through his striking colloquial style, making us imagine the scenes that were connected to Juan el Osito.
4) The Plaza of Jalca, In this place the promoter will teach us about the first founding of the town of Chachapoyas, making us imagine the scene of the first years of the colony, in times where ancestral architecture composed of mud, stone, and roofs of hay. You will be taken back in time time to imagine this "llacta" (village) in the heights of these mountains.
5) The Church, A tour of the inner and outer part of this imposing stone church, considered one of the oldest that dates back to the colonial era (1540 A.D.). The church houses over 20 religious icons and is one of the places where the promoter will teach us about the mythical link that the church has with Juan el Osito, who thanks to his strength aided in the construction effort by lifting the heaviest stones. Today the church tower is gone (destroyed in an earthquake in 2021) but there is still a stone left from the tower which is said to depict this beloved person of legend. After the visit we can appreciate the "dance of the bear" which portrays the killing of father bear and Juan el Osito's arrival to the village, in a context contemporaneous to the building of the church
6) Visit to Toche and the lake of Cashimsham, Continuing to our next point of interest (the lookout tower of Cuta) to observe the beautiful scenic landscape that can be seen from the heights (as well as from the depths in the valley below). The valley of Toche will connect us to nature and was traditionally used in older times as the only source of water for the llacta of Salcac, which also has its legend of origin. Do not forget to ask in which part of the valley father bear met "Tomasa" (mother of Juan el Osito) to stay connected to his legendary route.
7) Ollape, This place can be reached by walking or car. A llacta contemporaneous to Jalca which has over 200 circular constructions (mostly houses) which help us comprehend the life of a Jalca villager over 500 years ago. The circular buildings still show us the beliefs of their prehispanic inhabitants, via decorative patterns such as zig-zags and diamonds, which were particular to the Chachapoyas culture.
8) Mirador Culluna, the tour culminates with a visit to the lookout tower of Culluna, to appreciate the agricultural landscape of Jalca, which accentuates the relation of the Jalca villager to the agriculture of ancestral times.
