Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [377]
Yalape
On the road between Chachapoyas and Levanto, these ruins of limestone residential buildings make an easy day trip from Chachas. With good views of Levanto below, Yalape has some decent defense walls with some frieze patterns, all impressed with lots of forest growth. Yalape is four hours’ hike from Chachapoyas or half an hour’s walk from Levanto. Occasional combis head to Levanto early in the morning from near the market in Chachapoyas; they can let you off at Yalape.
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KUÉLAP
elev 3100m
Matched in grandeur only by the ruins of Machu Picchu, this fabulous, ruined citadel city in the mountains southeast of Chachapoyas is the best preserved and most accessible of the district’s extraordinary archaeological sites. This monumental stone-fortified city crowns a craggy limestone mountain and affords exceptional panoramas of a land once inhabited by the Chachapoyas. The site receives remarkably few visitors, but those who make it get to witness one of the most significant and impressive pre-Columbian ruins in all of South America.
Sights & Activities
Constructed between AD 900 and 1100, and rediscovered in 1843, Kuélap (adult/child S12/1; 8am-noon & 1-5pm) is made up of millions of cubic feet of remarkably preserved stone. Some say more stone was used in its construction than for the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Though the stonework is not as elaborate as that of the Incas, the 700m-long oval fortress is surrounded by an imposing, near-impenetrable wall that towers 6m to 12m high. Entrance into this stronghold is via three deep, lean gates – an ingenious security system that forced attacking parties into easily defeated single files.
Inside are three levels scattered with the remnants of more than 400 circular dwellings. Some are decorated with zigzag and rhomboid friezes, and all were once topped by soaring thatched roofs. One dwelling has been reconstructed by Canadian archaeologist Morgan Davis. In its heyday, Kuélap housed up to 3500 people and, surrounded by wispy cloud, must have been a breathtaking sight. The most impressive and enigmatic structure, named El Tintero (Inkpot), is in the shape of a large inverted cone. Inside, an underground chamber houses the remains of animal sacrifices, leading archaeologists to believe that it was a religious building of some kind. Recent evidence suggests it may have also been a solar calendar. Another building is a lookout tower with excellent 360-degree vistas. The mountain summit on which the whole city sits is surrounded by abundant greenery, towering bromeliad-covered trees and exotic orchids.
Tours & Guides
The guardians at Kuélap are very friendly and helpful; one is almost always on hand to show visitors around and answer questions. Don José Gabriel Portocarrero Chávez has been there for years; he can guide you and is a good source of information on this and other ruins in the area. Other local guides congregate at the car park under the ruins – tip accordingly.
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THE CHACHAPOYAS
The Chachapoyas, or ‘People of the Clouds,’ controlled the vast swath of land around present-day Chachapoyas from AD 800 to the 1470s, when they were conquered by the Incas. Very little is known about this civilization, whose inhabitants were thought to be great warriors, powerful shamans and prolific builders who were responsible for one of the most advanced civilizations of Peru’s tropical jungles. Today, among the many dozens of cliff tombs and hamlets of circular structures left behind, archaeologists match wits with grave robbers in a race for a deeper understanding of the Chachapoyas.
The Chachapoyas were heavily engaged in trade with other parts of Peru. However,