I didn’t even know Tingo Maria existed before I got to Huanuco…

But I am so grateful I got to go! Nothing beats discovering new places! But there was only problem… We didn’t know what to do in Tingo Maria. Olivia only had a few idea’s and I still had no idea where it was or that it was a National Park or that Peru even had national parks.

Getting to Tingo Maria from Huanuco isn’t too difficult…

From Huanuco you can take a carro for about 25 soles to Tingo Maria for a day. If you have time to do this, do it. It is a really beautiful place and has beautiful things to do. In certain parts of Peru, you can take carro’s places. A carro is a person who has a car and spends their day filling it up with people and driving them to specific places. They are all usually congregated in the same place. They are much like the aggressive taxi drivers that I explained in my previous article about Lima. You have to be firm with them about the price you want and don’t let them just grab your stuff.  Because they will. They all want your business. I like to pick the least aggressive driver.

Our carro driver was a nice man. After he filled five seat sedan with 7 people (I hung out in the trunk with another lady and her kid) we took off. It was about a two hour drive through mountain roads to Tingo Maria. We wound through narrow mountain roads, passing farms and huts along the way. Everything was so green and beautiful. All the while I was wondering what to do in Tingo Maria…

Once we got to Tingo Maria, we struck a deal with our driver that he would take us everywhere for a price…

I believe it was only 100 soles. It was a good idea to have our own personal chauffeur. He took us to some places we wouldn’t have known about and always waited so we never had to look for a ride.  Basically, he was our tour guide and showed us what to do in Tingo Maria.

The driver first took us to find lunch. We ate rice cooked in Banana leafs with some meat at an outdoor restaurant. It was hot and humid but that’s easy to ignore when you’re surrounded by jungle and mountains. Right across the street from here was the entrance to La Cueva de Lechuzas.

Travel Hint: 

Eat all the authentic food you can.

It will improve your travel experience. 

Olivia and I went to La Cuava de Lechuzas which is a giant awesome cave full of stalagmites and stalactites…

It only costs 5 soles for a local and 10 for a foreigner. If you can pass as Latin, don’t speak while purchasing your ticket and you’ll get the discount price. Luckily, Olivia did all the talking while I held her daughter, Sammy, with a pair of sunglasses on to hide my blue eyes. I promise, it’s not that dishonest…. right?

From the informally formal ticket booth you walk down a long jungle path surrounded by tall trees alive with sound. Once you reach a significant break in the path, you go right up a lot of stairs to the entrance of the cave. Even from outside the cave, you can hear the sounds of all the creatures inside. The cave has a long board walk through it that goes to the very end. There are bats and parrots all over the place and it’s cool and dark. A nice contrast to the humid sun. It has the damp smell of minerals and rocks… I love it.

After we got our fill of the cave and Sammy was sufficiently freaked out, we left to find our driver to show us some more of what to do in Tingo Maria.

From La Cueva de las Lechuzas, we went to Las Cataratas de Carmen for a swim…

It was only about 5 soles as well and worth it! From where our driver dropped us off to the waterfalls was a 20 or minute walk on a dirt path with stairs. I carried little Sammy on my shoulders all the way to the falls, it was tough and I was sweating. At the top I looked around and realized that I was definitely the only North American there. Many of the locals go there and you can jump off rocks and swim around and just enjoy the refreshing coolness the water offers. I jumped in a few times to wash away the sticky sweat and to fully experience the area.

Have you ever used Dr. Bronners? It became my favorite travel product of all time. I take it abroad, back packing, car camping, and I even use it at home to wash my hair, body, teeth, dog, and floors. The reason I bring this up is because I used my little bottle of Dr. Bronners to wash my hair in the river. No better time like the present to wash up!

Travel Hint:

Get a couple travel sized bottles

of Dr. Bronners. You can use it to 

wash your hair, teeth, body, clothes…

you name it, you can use it. 

After I had gotten my fill of the cool water, we headed back down to the car, me without my pants on. That warranted a lot of odd looks from bystanders… but that’s okay!

Remember what I said about carros not going anywhere till they have a satisfying load?

Our driver was waiting for us at the bottom of the hike and took us to downtown to find more passengers. Olivia, Sammy and I passed the time looking for food and dancing around in the streets. He found some more passengers and we headed back to Huanuco, tired and hungry. Tingo Maria was one of my favorite places in Peru to see and I encourage you to go see it too!

And remember, leave no trace traveling! Leave it cleaner than when you found it 🙂

HAPPY TRAVELS!