The border crossing to Peru in La Balsa was easy, we were the only vehicle there at the time. The officers were friendly and efficient, nice. On the Peruvian side the road was paved, we drove to Jaen and bought the insurance. Jaen was so ugly it was interesting, while Günter waited in the truck I walked several blocks and across a bridge (they think it is a garbage shoot) to the insurance office. Buying the insurance was easy and on the way back I walked a different route, the town is considered off-limits to tourists and one would not want to camp here. I was glad to crawl back into the truck seat and leave the mess behind. You can’t choose what part in the world you are born into, but I am thankful that in my case it was a little mountain town in Austria. So we left this city behind and were off to the mountains again,  dying to go for a nice hike. Our Lonely Planet guide-book from 2013  described the Gocta waterfalls and hiking possibilities. The drive was nice and we ended up at the little town near the waterfall, parked beside the park office/ soccer field/town center and hiked to the falls. The trail is well maintained and the hike beautiful, a little steep in places. But one can rent a horse for the first two-thirds of the distance and then hike the rest.

The falls were beautiful and invigorating if you stood close enough, the water comes over the edge and by the time it arrives at the bottom it is mostly mist.

The falls: The total height was measured at 771 m (2,530 ft), which rankes Gocta as the third tallest free-leaping waterfall in the world.

Nice camp spot in town.

On the trail to the falls.

Unusual vines.