In 2006 a German, Stefan Ziemendorff working on a water project at the village Cocachimba (about 1.5 hours from Chachapoyas by car)organized for the waterfall of Gocta to be measured. To do this a rough trail had to be cut to get close to it as the local people were scared of the waterfall and never went near it. Ziemendorff measured the height as 771m (2529ft) with an estimated potential error of 13m (43ft) either way. He then went on to claim that it was the third highest waterfall in the world and the Peruvian press got very excited about it - with a TV crew soon coming in to get footage which was then shown on TV around Latin America.
Since then there has been some dispute about the claim that Gocta is the third highest waterfall in the world. Some say it is the fifth highest and others the 14th - the latter based on the World Waterfall Database:
http://www.world-waterfalls.com/database.php?s=N&t=H&orderby=height&sortLimit=300 However on close inspection of each of the waterfalls mentioned that are taller than Gocta, most of them haven't been properly measured: estimates, local beliefs and scaling from topographical maps been taken as a true height. So while nobody disproves the ranking of Gocta, it remains be the third highest.
Now strangely it is Gocta which has caught the imagination of travellers and we are seeing an increase in tourism due to Gocta rather than Kuelap that is unique in every possible way. When you walk close to the tallest drop it is an awesome experience - the spray blasts you as so much air is pummelled down in the bottom of the amphitheater, which encloses the fall. Add to that there is a great section of forest along the way with the chance of seeing the endemic yellow-tailed woolly monkey, which only exists in northern-eastern Peru and you have a great day out. From the village of Cocachimba it is a 2.5-3 hour walk along a trail that is steep in places and there are plans to improve the trail ready for next year. Alternatively you can walk to the first fall along a much easier trail and get wet there with a great view of the complete fall on the way. And what's more - it is very accessible as a day trip from Chachapoyas.
Below is a Vilaya Tours video of the trek to Gocta - best way to view is press pause, let it load and press play.
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