Journeys to Kuelap can begin either in Chachapoyas town or in Tarapoto. Chachapoyas, capital of the department of Amazonas can be reached from Lima either directly by road or to Chiclayo or Trujillo by plane and then continuing on by road. Tarapoto, in the neighboring department of San Martin, can be reached by plane from Lima.

From Chachapoyas you take a vehicle covering the four-hour journey to Tingo, right to where the paved road stops. This is the starting point for the climb up a stone-stepped path, surrounded by orchids, to Kuelap on the summit of the mountain. The walk takes about 20 minutes.

You can also trek on foot from Chachapoyas to Kuelap, taking in on the way the villages of Corazon de Jesus, Huaychapampa, Juscubambo, where the sarcophagus of Karajia was found, and finally Tingo.

If the starting point is Tarapoto, one must go by road as far as Tingo; passing first through the towns of Moyobamba, Rioja and Nueva Cajamarca, and by the navigable lake of Pomacocha. The lake is about three kilometers long and has facilities for sailing and rowing.

From Tingo, the journey may be continued either by road up to the point where the paving ends, or by foot, taking about two hours