Bongará Province: Yumbilla, Traditions and Nature

Catarata Yumbilla drops a total of 895.4 m over four cascades. This remarkable height and formation make the waterfall landscape a clear focal point for a trip to Bongará Province. Experiences in Cuispes also offer other points of interest: an orchid garden, traditional festivals and a typical dish are among the things you can discover alongside the natural scenery. This lets you shape your trip around your own interests instead of limiting it to a single excursion.

Yumbilla and the route from Cuispes

The route from Cuispes’s main square to the tourist rest area at Catarata Yumbilla is 5 km long and takes two hours on foot. This gives you a specific starting point, distance and walking time to help plan your day. These details refer to the described route to the rest area and offer a useful basis for gauging this part of the trip. The total vertical drop of 895.4 m, by contrast, refers to Catarata Yumbilla itself and is spread across four cascades. The height and route distance therefore describe different aspects of the waterfall and its surroundings.

Traditions in Cuispes

In Cuispes, the patron saint festival in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi has been celebrated every October since the town was founded. The Templo Matriz also contains a wooden altarpiece dedicated to the same saint. The festival and the altarpiece offer a specific insight into local religious tradition: the festival takes place in October, while the altarpiece is a distinct feature of the temple. If you are interested in cultural topics as well as landscapes while travelling, you can include these aspects in your exploration of Cuispes.

Another enduring tradition is Las Pastorcitas de Navidad. It is celebrated in December and January in the temple and in family homes, in front of a nativity scene decorated with wild plants. The time of year, the different places where it is celebrated and the design of the nativity scene make this a distinct cultural tradition. It differs in timing and form from the patron saint festival in October. The months can therefore be a useful guide for planning your trip if you are interested in the festivals of Cuispes.

Orchids, bird species and regional cuisine

At the Pueblo Tradicional de Cuispes, you can visit an orchid garden with more than 52 species. This adds another connection with nature to the waterfalls and cultural traditions. If orchids are of particular interest to you, the garden is a specific reason to include Cuispes in your travel plans from this perspective too.

Approximately 110 bird species have been recorded around Catarata Gocta. These include the marbled woodpecker, emerald toucanet, Andean cock-of-the-rock, Andean toucan, Marañón thrush, masked trogon and sword-billed hummingbird. This hummingbird is endemic to the Amazonas region. The approximate number and the examples listed give the natural setting at Gocta a distinctive focus: here, the diversity of recorded bird species takes centre stage, while Yumbilla is defined by its great total drop, spread over four cascades.

Puchero is also part of Cuispes’s culinary character. This typical dish is made with cassava, bituca, plantain, cabbage, and beef and pork. The ingredients listed give you a concrete idea of what the dish contains. If you enjoy discovering regional food as part of a place’s character while travelling, you can consider Puchero as another area of interest alongside nature and tradition.

Discover more places

For further travel inspiration, you can also explore Cocachimba and San Carlos District.

For the main travel overview: Amazonas.

More destinations

More places in the same destination:

Chachapoyas.