Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Perching on the top of a 3000-meter peak, Kuelap is essentially built on a platform whose walls plunge in places over 20 meters to the steep hillside. Three gates provide access via a long, tough climb that narrows as it rises so that in the end only one person can pass through at a time.

The complex is 600 meters long by 110 meters wide, and required an immense mass of 400 million cubic feet of building material to complete. It is thought to have been both a fortress and a refuge strategically located to protect trade routes and the farming communities of the Chachapoyas; one can see ancient terraces being farmed today on the dizzyingly high mountaintops below Kuelap.

Not a single house remained standing after the Spanish conquest, but the circular foundation platforms and partial walls give testimony to the people that once lived there, and numerous excavations have provided us with some clues to understand Kuelap's history.

The entire site was covered with plants and vegetation when it was first reintroduced to the world in 1843, but since then successive digs have cleaned and unearthed a good deal of the ruins. Today, though, much of the site is still grown over with trees and shrubs, and llamas still climb up into the city to graze on the edges of the walls.

The city is divided into two levels, with a second gate and ramp leading to the higher quarters. It is speculated that this second level was the religious and administrative section, as well as being the living area of the ruling families. The view from this highest point is astounding, and it's hard to imagine what it must have been like to live within reach of the sky, the rest of the world so pitifully small and far below you.

In the lower level, the ruined foundation platforms of the common homes cluster together like cells of a honeycomb, each supporting a single circular room. A few platforms are decorated with stylized masonry friezes of rocks placed in formations of Vs that could represent birds in flight, or diamonds that could represent feline eyes. 

A large part of the ruins have been restored and preserved with modern-day mortar between the ancient limestone blocks, and one house has been completely rebuilt based on sketches and historical reports. The houses originally would have been topped with conical thatched roofs pitched so steeply that the entire structure (including its foundation base) would have reached almost 15 meters high. Though at its heyday, Kuelap would have been covered with thatched-roof turrets, today only the single rebuilt house remains.

As if to reinforce the emptiness of this once-lively city, it began to rain. Our little group began the long, slippery hike down to the Utcubamba River and our waiting car, stopping along the trail to crane our necks up at the formidable walls so high above us. Clouds would soon obscure this city in the sky, protecting it from the eyes of prying travelers just as once it was protected from invading armies. 

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To get to Kuelap, most tourists head to the city of Chachapoyas, where tour companies clustered around the Plaza de Armas offer daily excursions, but for those going it alone, Kuelap can be reached by a well-constructed dirt road that leads past several small villages that have restaurants and lodging. 

Maria, the closest to Kuelap, has most selection of basic places to stay. An alternate route would be to hike up from the town of Tingo, but although the scenery is spectacular, the foot path is such a relentlessly steep climb that you may never look up from your feet.

We went with Turismo Explorer and excellent guide José Llaja Soplin, who taught us so much about the history, archaeology, culture, and the plant life of the area. He was even a good enough sport to agree to hike in the rain back down from Kuelap to Tingo rather than drive down. Including travel time, the tours can run the better part of the day. Turismo Explorer can be contacted here.

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Congratulations for the article! it´s a pity it rained when you were there. My girlfriend and me were in Cajamarca when some tour guy recommended us Kuelap we have to take a detour from our original plans, passing the night in the bus, but was worthy.
I think I should advise that not a single tour guide in Kuelap spoke any other language than spanish, and also the tour companys will try you to book the lunch in the places they have an agreement with, forgetting to tell you that you could eat in Kuelap surrounded by astonishing scenery and cheaper.
So enjoy your Peru.

National Geographic provides an exellent program about Kuelap and its' history.  I was fortunate to see the program after a friend and I took our own trip from Lima to Kuelap.  We drove and while we encountered a number of mudslides and witnessed the aftermath of a bus accident that sent the bus ten meters off the road, going out own way in our own time was worth it.  We hired a guide when we arrived to come up to Kuelap.  He was great.  He did not speak english but with my suspect understanding of Spanish and my best friend who does speak English my education and enjoyment of Kuelap was not the least deminished.  We were the only ones at the ruins for hours as we drove thru a minor mudslide on the way up to the site.  When were leaving some Peruvian vistors were arriving.  The asked if the could have pictures taken with me.  I at first suggested a contribution for pictures with me and when the understood the joke the laughter and hugs made another jewel in the treasure I find traveling the country to be.

Thanks for the comments--I'm glad to know that other people have gotten a chance to see this marvel! 

I don't have any experience with other tour companies out of Chachapoyas, but our guide, Jose, spoke very good English.  I speak decent Spanish, but with subjects so complex as archeology, history and culture I can have a hard time following along.

I'll have to check out the National Geographic.  Jose told us about it (he went out with them while they were filming) and I've been looking for a copy ever since.  May have to wait until we get back to the States.

Nice blog and articles about Peru.  Having lived there on and off since the 1970s, I appreciate people who go into the subject of that wonderful country in a meaningful manner.

Do you guys know Peter Lerche?  He's the archeologist who probably knows more about the Chacahpoyan people than anyone (he now serves as mayor of Chachapoyas.  He is very nice and always a good contact.

I have harbored a dream since I was in my 20s to visit every corner of Peru, but probably will never attain the feat. Oh well.  I'm still working on it; my last trip was leading a student group last April, and I got to add one more city to the list - Ilave near Puno.  Fascinating place.

All the best,
Kit

I'm taking a group of 4 college students to Peru the last week of March.  We were going to Back Pack the Inca Trail four days and then descend into Machu Pichu but it is closed until 1 April due to the flood damage to the railroad. 

So I'm looking for an similar experience for my students and I came across this website and your recommendations.   I would appreciate additional information on the following questions if you can help:

1.  The end of March is still rainy season.  Is it safe to visit Kuelap at this time?

2.  Is flying into Chachapoyas an option, otherwise what is the quickest way to get there?

3.  Our Spanish is limited, does anyone have contact info for "Jose" mentioned in one of the previous posts?

thanks for your help, David

Hi David,

Jose Llaja works with Vilaya Tours (http://www.vilayatours.com/).  They have a contact form on their website--you should shoot them an email to ask about conditions in the area (they've been really helpful to me in the past).

The quickest way to get to Chachapoyas is, I believe, to fly into Chiclayo and take a bus from there.  The buses are safe and really quite comfortable.  It makes a good overnight trip, check out Movil Tours (http://www.moviltours.com.pe/).

A trek that sounds interesting to me is the Gran Vilaya trek (you can read about it on Vilaya tours' website).  It's four days, and you see a ton of other ruins before culminating in Kuelap.

I hope the weather is in your favor--that sounds like a fun trip!

My great-great-grandfather visited Kuelap in 1853. I will visit as well when I retrace his journey.

http://vodhdb.blogspot.com/2009/07/fortress-of-kuelap.html

Regards, Jean-François

My wife and I had the thrill of staying a ranch about 1/2 hour from Tingo  with our family from Lima and drove up to the ruins on the day that ex-president Fujimori was there.  In fact his helicopter came in within 5 minutes of our arrival in the parking lot.  When we came to the district gate inTingo the soldiers manning the district gate asked us for a ride to Kuelap so they could represent there district to their president!!  In fact they insisted on taking their rifles with them, so as to be properly presentable to their President. No one on Fujimori's helicopter had any weapons with them.  It was an exciting moment for us when we were introduce to President Fujimori and had the privilge of spending some time talking to him!!  The drive up was a long winding ride and we were impressed with the electric lights on each village road and the signs for good hygiene that Fujimori brought to these villages, including a public water supply in the center of each village.  My wife whose hair is white was approached by a local native at Kuelap who wanted to touch her hair because she had never seen "white" hair and asked our Peruvian Daughter-in-law how old my wife was and she said 69, whereupon my wife asked how old she was and she replied 52.  She had only one tooth in her mouth.  We could see why hygiene education wass so important to these primitive villagers, thanks to the concern of Fujimori for has indigent natives.  We have pictures with Fujimori as well as this woman.  How priviledged we were to have been to Kuelap.  We had driven from Tarapoto thru Moyobamba, Chachapoyas, Pedro Ruiz, and the ranch outside of Tingo.  We hope all of our childrena and grandchidren in the states can someday enjoy the beutyof Peru and the friendliness of the people and their pride!!  If we were 20 years younger we would probably be living in the magnicentry of Peru and enjoying its people on a daily basis.  Sincerely and with best of memories.  Lew and Arlene Fine  U.S. phone # is 435 640 0610