Amazonas

Kuélap

Belonging to the Chachapoyas culture, the mountaintop fortress of Kuelap functioned as a political, religious, administrative and military center. A yellow stone wall rings the complex, measuring 680 meters long, and up to 20 meters high. Above the entrance gate — past bas-relief stone carvings of animals and birds — two stone platforms have been constructed to create separate living areas known as Upper Town and Lower Town. The ruins of 400 hundred circular stone buildings can be seen, overgrown in many places with trees and bromeliads. Rhomboidal friezes and zigzags in mosaic form, typical of Chachapoyas culture, adorn the walls. At the uppermost level is “The Tower,” 6.40 meters high and 9 meters wide, and a stone structure called El Tintero,or “the inkpot.”

Lagoon of the Condors

An archaeological complex composed of 6 Inca mausoleums that take characteristics from the Chachapoyas culture they conquered. The burial chambers are decorated with rock paintings. Found in the tombs were funeral bundles, fine textiles, ceramics, woodcarvings, “quipus” (the system of knots the Inca used as a writing/accounting system), crowns and many other valuable artifacts. The site overlooks a dark-bottomed lagoon, where it is possible to fish and take a boat trip through a valley full of jungle animals and plants.

Revash

A funeral center that’s built into a cliff-side, and features “chullpas” or houses of the dead, which closely resemble the houses that the Chachapoyas lived in. The adobe and stone construction is painted in a mix of red and white horizontal panels. The burial houses contain the remains of ropes, nets, necklaces, bones etc., all of which appear to have been offerings to the dead. The majority of these “funeral houses” have a ceiling of wooden beams, and their exterior walls contain prominent cornices, and niches in quadrangular, circular and T-shapes. The site is extremely well preserved as the cliff provides shelter, preventing the kind of weathering found at other Chachapoyan ruins.

Karajia Sarcophagi

The Sarcophagi, know by locals as “Purunmachacos,” are associated with the Chachapoyas culture and are about 1000 years old. They form part of the archaeological complex called Chipuric, and are characterized by the unique form in which the dead were interred. The burial enclosures are connected laterally in groups of between 4 and 8 coffins, with their backs built into the cliff-side. Bodies are entombed sitting in a fetal position. The Sarcophagi are great anthropomorphic coffins, 2 meters tall, made from clay mixed with wood and rock. They depict a humanoid head and upper torso. All face west, looking over the river valley.

Yalape

An archaeological complex constructed from stone bricks, held together by a mud mortar, Yalape was an urban center that dates from the years 1100 to 1300 AD. Belonging the Chachapoyas culture, the site sprawls over 4 hectares, and has low walls, suggesting a residential area with few defenses. The hilltop complex contains the signature circular buildings of the Chachapoyas culture, featuring rhomboid and zigzag friezes of the kind that are found at Kuelap.

Macro Archaeological Complex

A pre-Inca settlement built into a hillside, unusual for the Chachapoyas, who usually built on top of mountain ridges. The 3 hectare complex sits on the southeast slope of a sharp spur, where five platforms have been constructed to support huts and towers built from stone and mortar. The site dates from 1100 to 1300 AD. Stone platforms and house foundations are decorated with rhomboid friezes and wall carvings. It’s calculated that the complex housed 100 people at the height of the Chachapoyas culture, and the town was valued for its artistic contributions.

La Congona

A township built from stone, with blocks worked into symmetrical shapes and placed in position with mud mortar. The buildings date from 1100 to 1350 AD. This housing complex from the Chachapoyas culture features rhomboidal decorative stonework, and prominent quadrangular internal cornices.

Ollape Archaeological Complex

A housing complex of circular stone buildings associated with the Chachapoyas culture, with rhomboidal and zigzag stone ornamentation, and prominent cornices in their walls. Like all buildings from this period of Chachapoyas dominance (1100 – 1350 AD), they were built from stone with mud mortar. The site is surrounded by a mix of farms and natural vegetation, and from here you can see Jalca Grande, probably the most traditional village in the Amazonas region. The town has a church built in the early days of Spanish colonization in 1540, using Chachapoyas design and decorative techniques.

Olan

A population center built on top of a hill, with the remains of 500 circular houses constructed by the Chachapoyas culture (1100-1300 AD). Notable for the wide expanse of its ruins and its impressive construction techniques, the mortar used to hold the stonework together here is hidden from the naked eye. The town was an artistic center, and contains larger than usual stone frieze decorations. The site is surrounded by modern farms and cultivated land.

Chipuric – Mausoleum of Luya

A funeral complex of the Chachapoyas culture, associated with the Chipuric style, which along with Revash created the principal burial styles of the culture. The result is the construction of funeral statues in cliffs that are difficult to access. They were built in the following manner: in the center of the statue the body is found wrapped in the skin of an animal or in cotton blankets, which are were then further bound by a web of ropes. This bundle is covered by a thick cap of clay and small stones. In this interior cavity, in some cases, a conical building frame remains in place, created from four sticks tied together over the head of the deceased.

Pitaya Petroglyphs

A series of petroglyphs in high relief, Pitaya is believed to be 3000 years old. The carvings take the shape of 30 distinct types of flora, fauna and hunting scenes, in a field of rocks and stones about 100 meters square. From the site you can see the Utcumbamba River and dense vegetation native to the region.

Gran Vilaya

Located to the west of the Fortress of Kuelap, covering an area of approximately 6 hectares, the enormous complex of Gran Vilaya contains a number of archaeological sites. You can enter around 5000 circular and rectangular buildings, all with the rhomboidal friezes that symbolize the height of the Chachapoyas culture (1100 – 1350 AD). The site is famous for the controversial figure who discovered it in 1985. Gene Savoy, an American explorer was nicknamed “the real Indiana Jones” and explored much of the Peruvian Amazon. Archaeologists hotly dispute his claims to have found this and other sites.

Cochabamba

A political and military center for the Inca culture, its buildings include a series of stonework porticos and houses. According to studies, the ruins were the seat of government for a group of people belonging to the Chacha Kingdom. The site covers 3 hectares and dates from the years 1350 to 1450 AD. The site is still shrouded by natural vegetation, and has not been fully excavated.

Rock Paintings of Yamon

The rock paintings appear in the entrance to three caves, where you can appreciate animal figures that defy the imagination. These caves contain narrow corridors that start just meters from the entrance. With difficulty it’s possible to get close to the roof where you can see expansive paintings of herds of animals. Representations of people in dancing poses can also be found, but the most important paintings depict a chessboard-like patchwork painted in red, yellow and orange.

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