Chachapoyas
The unexplored La Torrera fortress and Los Gentiles citadel, in Peru's Amazonas province, are said to form part of an extensive archeological complex built by the Chachapoyas culture that existed between the years 700 and 1500.
HISTORY
Chachapoyas, a small city founded in 1538 by Alonso de Alvarado and the present capital of the Amazonian Region, was linked to the capital by air in 1930 and by land in 1960, when an improved dirt road enabled its access by vehicle. This city is now being rediscovered as an important archaeological complex, since there are some 500 sites in the area pertaining to the Chachapoyas culture, including tombs, sarcophagi, fortresses, isolated towers, roads, rock carvings and paintings, textiles, ceramics, and other remains proving the importance and degree of development of this indomitable culture that gave the Inca Empire so many headaches; this small, enchanting city retains many colonial features; we can see houses with large patios and a central pool, built in adobe, and multicolored flowers everywhere. To date, the archaeological remains have been little explored, due to which there are very few classical tourism circuits. However, many of the ruins are open to exploration:
The fortress of KUELAP
These archaeological remains are among the most important ones in the north of the country and, located at an altitude of 3,050 meters above sea level, were discovered in 1843 by Juan Crisostomo Nieto. In 1967, in view of the fact that the ruins were totally covered by vegetation and many buildings were visibly deteriorating, clearing work was started. Kuelap was probably the capital of the immense Chachapoyas kingdom. The Incas only had limited success in subduing them because of their indomitable character; however, under the reign of Huayna Capac at the beginning of the 16th century the Chachapoyas built this major fortress measuring 500 by 110 meters, with 20 meter-high walls. The material they used was a pink granite in blocks cemented with yellow clay. The main defense walls are made of over 100,000 blocks of carved stone and are estimated to weigh 10,000 tons. Within the fortress there are 34 round enclosures in a lower and upper area; it is estimated to have sheltered some 2000 inhabitants.
The Mausoleums of REVASH
South of the fortress of Kuelap, another important site is the funereal city of Revash, consisting of various clusters of mausoleums built into steep rock cliffs. Known as from French explorer Charles Wiener's visit in 1881, this complex was researched in 1987 during a Peruvian expedition.
The mausoleums are miniature versions of dwelling houses, and the whole effect is that of a tiny town with buildings overlaid with carved stones cemented with clay and covered with red rock paintings representing felines, llamas and undecipherable characters as well as cross-shaped and rectangular geometrical designs.
The KARAJIA Sarcophagi
These sarcophagi are located at around 2,600 meters above sea level, at the summit of a crag, facing an imposing expanse of vegetation. Our route starts at Estancia El Chillo. From this point we continue northwards to Caclic for one and a half hours along an improved dirt road, and then northwest to Luya for three quarters of an hour along another improved road, followed by almost an hour (50 minutes) to Cohechan; then northward to San Miguel de Cruzpata for another 5 minutes along an improved raod and finally a 50 minute walk up to the Karajia sarcophagi along hairpin mountain roads.
The Condores Lagoon
This impressive necropolis is located in the south of Leymebamba region on a rocky cliff overlooking the Condores Lagoon; archaeologist Federico Kauffman Doig discovered this site in Mayo 1997, halfway up a precipice. Inside the tiny "chullpas", or funereal mausoleums he found around 280 mummies wrapped in their shrouds. Currently, thanks to international agreements, a museum has been built in Leimebamba for the safekeeping of all the mummies found in the area. Likewise, there are a number of guides available to lead expeditions along a demanding trail that means a day and a half of difficult walking and/or riding.
