Kuelap and Chachapoyas

A Walled Hilltop City Of The Chachapoya Culture, Built From About 500 AD With 600 Stone Houses Inside A 20 M Wall. Reached From Chachapoyas By Cable Car. Near The Karajia Sarcophagi And The Gocta Waterfall In The North Eastern Andes. · Chachapoyas, Amazonas

Kuelap is a walled hilltop city of the Chachapoya culture, the so-called cloud warriors, set on a ridge in the cloud forest of Amazonas at about 3,000 m. The fortress runs roughly 600 m long and 110 m wide, with limestone walls up to about 20 m high and a single narrow entrance, and inside are about 400 circular stone houses, many with the remains of their conical roofs. Compared with Machu Picchu it is far quieter, rougher and without the grand views, but it has no crowds, and orchids and bromeliads grow on the stones. The honest picture is a long journey for a few hours of ruins. You fly to Jaen or take a night bus, base yourself in Chachapoyas, then go by van to Nuevo Tingo and ride a cable car up. Go for the remote feel, the mist and the nearby sites, such as Karajia and Leymebamba. Carry layers, rain gear and a spare day, because weather, a windy cable car or a landslide on the road can change the plan, and book your first night in Chachapoyas before you set out from Lima, Chiclayo or Jaen. The reward is a quiet, atmospheric site.

Cloud-forest fortress at about 3,000 m, reached by cable car from Nuevo Tingo, about 35 km from the town of Chachapoyas, Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Peru

The site opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, every day, though the cable car has its own hours and shuts on windy days and for maintenance. The site is NOT free for foreign visitors. Rain can close the road at Nuevo Tingo, so confirm the cable car and road status in Chachapoyas the day before and keep a spare day in your plan.

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