Last week, my wife, four friends and I were able to make a quick trip to northern Peru to visit some interesting sites. We flew from Lima to Jaen and then drove for about three hours to the city of Chachapoyas where we lodged for three nights.
On our first full day in the region, we traveled to Kuélap, a site I had not heard of before coming to Peru. Kuélap is a walled settlement and citadel built by the Chachapoyas (or Cloud Warriors) culture that preceded the Incas. This stone city and fortress is perched at the top of a mountain at 9,800 feet elevation overlooking the Uctubamba Valley. The city was built in the 6th century A.D. and was home to at least 5,000 people. Ultimately, the Chachapoyas were defeated by the Incas shortly before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.
Until recently, Kuélap was very difficult to access due to its remote mountaintop location. In 2017, a French company constructed a gondola which now carries visitors across a deep canyon and then up the steep mountainside to near the top of the mountain. Visitors then walk for about 25 minutes up to the ruins.
Almost all of the structures in Kuélap are circular in shape. The people lived in circular stone houses with wood and thatched roofs. The roofs are gone, but the stone foundations of more than 500 such structures remain today.
On the day that we visited, photography was a challenge due to harsh mid-day light. Toward the end of our four-hour visit, increasing clouds provided less contrasty light and I was able to make some photos that were acceptable. Here are a few photos that I made last week in Kuélap Peru.
This image shows part of a stone wall that surrounds Kuélap. The foundation of a typical round house sits above the wall.
Stone foundations of houses at Kuélap, Peru.
Several llamas live at Kuélap and I was able to photograph them among the ruins. This perfectly positioned llama was grazing above a group of circular stone structures. Note the valley far below the mountaintop location of Kuélap.
A typical circular stone house at Kuélap. What a view!
Llamas at the ruins of Kuélap.
