Is this the most
amazing swimming pool in the world?
This is the infinity
pool at the Gocta Lodge hotel in Cocachimba, Peru. The pool looks out
across the stunning mountains of Amazonas and the Gocta waterfall – which may, or may not, be the third highest waterfall
in the world, depending on who you listen to.
Until 2005 the Gocta
Cataracts were unknown to the outside world. Of course, the locals
knew about it but were afraid to reveal the secret because they were
afraid of a beautiful mermaid who haunted the plunge pool.
This corking,
blonde siren could enchant locals with just a flutter of her eye-lashes. This was the fate of unlucky, local villager Juan
Mendoza, from Cocachimba, who fell in love with the mermaid. As he
strode lustfully into the icy water, unfastening his belt as he went,
the mermaid turned him into stone.
An unlikely tale, perhaps? Well I thought so too, but I actually saw the petrified rock of Mendoza with my own eyes – which goes to show, sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction.
Petrification is not her only power... the watery tart is also
guarded by a vicious serpent. I couldn't find out much information
about her snakey sidekick which is a shame because I really warmed to
him, a much more likeable character in my opinion.
An unlikely tale, perhaps? Well I thought so too, but I actually saw the petrified rock of Mendoza with my own eyes – which goes to show, sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction.
Sexy gold fish! The petrifying mermaid of Gocta (not, in fact, Daryl Hannah from Splash) |
Anyway, in 2005 a German
explorer – with the wonderfully Teutonic name of Stefan Ziemendorff
– called a press conference to announce the discovery of Gocta.
Unfortunately for Stefan he enlisted the help of the Peruvian (rather
than the German) government to help him measure the height and categorise the falls. They made a complete hash of it and poor Stefan was
left with egg on his face after proclaiming it the third highest
waterfall in the world.
It wasn't
long before some eminent geographer performed a Wikipedia search
and discovered the Gocta falls were actually way down in
18th place on the list of highest waterfalls in the world.
In fairness, the list is a bit of a con. In the top spot is a boring borehole the Russians drilled to find out how deep it was possible to penetrate the earth's crust (well, that's their story anyway). And in second place is an underwater waterfall in the Denmark Strait, caused by a change in ocean temperature.
In fairness, the list is a bit of a con. In the top spot is a boring borehole the Russians drilled to find out how deep it was possible to penetrate the earth's crust (well, that's their story anyway). And in second place is an underwater waterfall in the Denmark Strait, caused by a change in ocean temperature.
Wherever it sits on the
chart, the Gocta Cataracts are 771 metres tall – which is not to be
sniffed at.
You can walk to the Gocta
falls from two villages. The route from Cocachimba takes you to the
bottom of the waterfall. The route from San Pedro takes
you to the midway point.
I walked both on consecutive days – each
takes about six hours (providing for an hour or so to enjoy the
views and drink a flask of tea). The route from Cocachimba is steeper and more challenging.
The route from San Pedro probably has the most spectacular views,
because of its elevation, and is also more level.
The mountains around Gocta look like the computer-generated planet in Avatar. They rise out of the clouds with sheer vertical sides and are crowned with dense jungle. The skies are filled with flocks of screeching, green parrots. Hummingbirds and llamas complete the picture. This part of the Andes is known as the ceja de montana – or the eyebrow of the mountains.
The altitude is around 2,000 metres, so the air is humid and the sun (in December) is merciless. The walk from Cocachimba passes through sugarcane fields, and traverses narrow rope bridges (to fulfill all your Indiana Jones fantasies).
Like with so many of the other stunning sites in this remote part of northeastern Peru, there are hardly any other tourists to spoil your day.
The altitude is around 2,000 metres, so the air is humid and the sun (in December) is merciless. The walk from Cocachimba passes through sugarcane fields, and traverses narrow rope bridges (to fulfill all your Indiana Jones fantasies).
Like with so many of the other stunning sites in this remote part of northeastern Peru, there are hardly any other tourists to spoil your day.
Who wants to go to Ecuador?
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