Jaén is a hot, busy market town in the far north of Peru, most useful to travellers as a staging post between the Pacific coast and the cloud-forest country around Chachapoyas and the Kuélap ruins. It has a new archaeology museum and easy access to riverside spots like Buena Esperanza Beach, but most visitors pass through rather than linger.
Jaén
Warm northern Peruvian gateway town on the route between the coast and the Chachapoyas cloud forest.
Guide
Day Trips
There are lots of locations in the area you can visit on a day trip. The only downside to going places on a day trip basis is that you'll have to face some terrible roads twice in one day.
Jaén – San Ignacio – Jaén
For those passing through Jaén on route to or from Chachapoyas, it's feasible to visit San Ignacio in a day and come back. If you're heading to or from Vilcabamba in Ecuador, you'll have less ground to cover.
In the early morning, around 8am, take a mototaxi to the "Paradero por San Ignacio". Minibuses leave throughout the day. The ride costs about 12 soles and takes around two hours, following the Chinchipe valley.
Buena Esperanza Beach
More an afternoon trip than a full day out, the riverside beach at Buena Esperanza on the Río Huancabamba is easy to reach. From the bus terminal on the main boulevard (direction Chiclayo / Chachapoyas), take a colectivo car (2.5 soles) or combi minibus (2 soles) to Buena Esperanza.
Jaén – Bagua Chica – Santa Rosa – Puentosillos – Jaén
From Jaén you can visit all these places in a day if you move at a decent pace. Take a minibus to Bagua Chica (5–10 soles) — not to be confused with Bagua Grande. From Bagua Chica, continue to Santa Rosa and on to Puentosillos. Ask locally about horses if you want to reach the cave system near Puentosillos.
Guide
Getting Around
Most villages can be reached with colectivo cars, which can travel even the most difficult roads. San Ignacio (and the villages on the main road) and Bagua Grande and Chico have got frequent minibus connections, as well as colectivos. In general cars are faster, but slightly more expensive.
In Jaén, ask a mototaxista to drop you off at the paradero for the place you want to go to. If there are cars and minibusses, you can count on them to drop you of at the car stop.
Guide
Getting There
Civa has got daily direct buses from Lima. Most of them leave in the evening, arriving around noon in Jaén.
More buses leave from Chiclayo, on the Northern Pacific Coast. From Piura there are buses leaving at 11pm (Linea, via Chiclayo) and 1pm (Sol Peruano - 25 soles).
Regional transportation leaves near the bus terminal. Mototaxistas will probably drop passengers off where collectivo cars leave. These are faster but more expensive than the minibuses that are just 50 meters further. Travelers shouldn't listen if car drivers tell them there are no cars to a certain place -- they are good liars.
From Chachapoyas Movil tours has got buses at 1pm and 8 pm for 15 soles. Travelers can get of at Bagua Grande or at the intersection to Jaén at Cruce Chamaya (4 hours). From there one can take a car or minibus to Jaén for 7 or 5 soles (1,5 hours). From Chachapoyas to Bagua Grande one can also travel by car, witch costs 22 soles. This saves some time (it takes 2,5 hours), and one can get a better view of the everchanging Rio Utcubamba valley.
From Jaén to Chachapoyas, the situation is similar, with buses leaving from Bagua Grande at about 11am, 4pm and 12pm. In Bagua Grande there are two bus terminals. If one takes a mototaxi to the one going to Chachapoyas, they might drop him or her off at the place where the cars leave. Blatantly lying they will tell passengers there is no other terminal, or that the bus only leaves at night. This is a good time for travelers to release built up anger.