Kuelap Fortress
From Wiki Sumaq Peru
Located at 3,000 msnm, in the andes of the department of Amazonas, Kuélap is one of the remains of the infinite skill architecture of The Chachapoya Civilization, a twon that inhabited the zone bwteen the years 800 and 1400 AC.
It was discovered in 1843, by Don Juan Crisóstomo Grandson. From thatdate it has been constantly visited by numerous investigators and travelers, attracted by the complexity and monumentality of its constructions. it is an archaeological complex that covers an extension of 450 Hectares approximately.
It is one of greater Peruvian archaeological monuments . From their walls of more than 20 meters of height, at an altitude of 3,000 m.s.n.m., to its alleys walled with the form of funnels, all these caraterísticas make of this strength a mysterious and surprising place.
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Majorities
Kuélap is surrounded by other fortress and enclosures that still are in the heat of investigation, many still are even covered by the thick vegetation and in zones difficult to accede. For that reason, the city of Chachapoyas and the environs are perceived as hard like a tourist potential as the Cusco.
The fortress was inhabited by the Culture Chachapoya, a great Nation conformed by Curacazgos independent to each other, which, has bequeathed us a great amount of beautiful dispersed archaeological monuments in the zone of the Utcubamba River. They had an ample and magnificent architectonic criterion that reveals knowledge and topographic dominion with respect to the rest of the area.
The archaeological place was constructed in the top of a rocky promontory of calcáreo origin establishing a hegemonic and strategic position of observation.
In its construction 25`000.000 of cubic meters of material would have been used , three times more than the used one in the construction of the Great Pyramid of Keops (Egypt).
One calculates that they used 700 thousand tons of stone in its construction, reason why is considered one of the structures of greater volume in the history of the Peruvian Nororiente and the South American Amazonía.
Location
The Strength of Kuélap is located in the annex of he himself name, district of the Tingo, province of Luya, department of Amazon, Peru. This constructed on the 3000 msnm, in a zone where the Andes finish and begins the forest eyebrow. Quechua corresponds to the ecological zone and belongs to “Eastern the Nor Region of the Marañon”.
Its approximate location is of 35Km towards the South direction of Chachapoyas and their geographical coordinateses are the following ones:
West longitude (Dazzling of Greenwich): 77° 48 ' 15 South latitude: 6° 25 ' 45
The momumentalidad and complexity of these constructions are distributed in an enormous rocky bulk of calcáreo origin, in an area of form of an extended wing, with about 584 South North direction of approximately Mts. of length and a 120 average of Mts. of wide.
Limits
They limit it deep broken of flanks very escarped and they surround impressive mountains by the Andean Eastern mountain range. By oste it limits with the gorge of Case, river basin that descends to the Tingo river; by the east with the La-huancho hill and the Uctubamba river; by the North with the archaeological sector the Small bar and by the south with the gorge of Selcas.
Etimología
The Kuélap word seems to come from word KONLAP or Conlap, expression that does not have relation with quechua or aymara, obeys strictly to phonemes of old the language unknown of chachapoya. The first mention on Kuélap dates from year 1558, in a request done by the curaca Gonzalo Lucana of the parcialidad of Leimebamba in qe solicits “that those of Kuélap concur to serve the inn as that place”. [edit] Climate
The rainy climate and the dense vegetation make the visit recommendable of May to September, although its climate is always warm (Maxima of 22ºC and minim of 13ºC).
History
This archaeological complex initiate its construction during the period of the Delayed Interval, until years 1300 AC approximately. It was lived by an integral human group of a great Curacazgo (system of predominant social organization in the zone), pertaining to the Nation of the Chachapoyas. In his more delayed phases it had to give capacity to near 3000 inhabitants. The chronicles of Pedro Cieza of Leon show that: “the Chachapoyas (they occupied these earth) was Indian targets whose hermosura was worthy of sovereigns whose eyes were blue which were whiter than such Spanish”.
Its time of cultural splendor d.C occurred between centuries X and XV. It is during this period of social and economic height that was conquered by the Incas, in its passage by the Amazonía towards the conquest of the Kingdom of Quito (Ecuador). In effect, chachapoyas faced hard battles, but they did not manage to surpass the cleverness of the Empire Inca. These, when noticing itself of the trap that forms the entrance to the city, surrounded all the enclosure. The town had in its warehouses eaten by days, but they had to leave the place to obtain to more foods and water. The hunger forced this culture to surrender, occupying neighboring territories. The Incas lived there by many years. This is verified in the constructions in rectangle form, figure that characterized the constructions.
Finally, they were invaded by the Spaniards in the century XVI, who after the conquest of these grounds settled down an alliance with chachapoyas to defeat the Incas. In the bloody battle, the conquerors sent fire torches by the high walls of ciudadela, forcing the Incas to leave terrified and to find the eminent death.
In the panic, the Spaniards entered the city in flames looking for gold warehouses, but when not finding anything that is of value, they destroyed everything what there was in his step, besides to give death chachapoyas. From that then, ciudadela was left to its discovery for western world in 1843 by judge of first Crisóstomo instance Nieto.
The Discovery
In 1843, judge of first instance Juan Crisóstomo Grandson arrived at Lima with a skeleton of blond hair that found near a town in the Peruvian forest. It said that momia was one that had found next to many more in an archaeological complex that described as “the worthiest work as the public attention”.
The judge was envoy to solve a earth litigation, but the settlers took it to the top of a mountain, where there was an enormous wall and, on her, hundreds of extraordinary stone enclosures. Years later, in the Bulletin of the Geographic Society of Lima, it appeared the report of the judge who described the colossal structure and they placed to him of title: “Tower of Babel in Peru”.
From their discovery, the investigators have been many who have arrived until these earth to make studies on Kuelap. First in doing it Antonio Raimondi in 1860 was the Italian wise person. Charles Wiener, Adolph Banbelier, Loors Langlots, Paul Henri Reichlen, followed their steps. But the most meticulous description and completes would be the made one by Alfredo Narvaez, from 1985 to 1987.
Society
The society that inhabited Kuelap sustained of the agricultural production, the interchange, the hunting and the manufacture of devices for ritual and domestic use. They used terraces to the surroundings of the Strength where they cultivated the maize fundamentally, fréjol, tarhui and several eatable roots and tubercles like the Pope, achira, mashua, olluco, arracacha, shascarrumi and llacón.
In addition at heart controlled lands of the hidrogr'aficas river basins of their dominion, where they obtained native yucca, sweet potato, peanut, cotton, tobacco and fruits like chirimoya, lúcuma, guaba or pacae, cucumber, pajuro, pitajaya, guayaba and the red pepper. They obtained proteins of the flame meat, the mount deer, guinea pig, majás, turkey hens and other mammals montaraces, whose bones have been in archaeological excavations. Conoc'ian many medicinal plants, whose use is the legacy of the present inhabitants.
Archaeology
Kuelap lodges 505 enclosures in its interior distributed in diverse levels of which 4 are of rectangular plant, 1 of quadrangular plant and the others of circular plant; and 198 outside her, thus adding more than 700 constructions. All these associate structures to each other, had certain functions being among them to ceremonial, administrative buildings, of control, defense and of house, stones worked in high relief exist in addition that resemble human faces.
One of the most impressive characteristics of the complex is their enormous dimensions, 582 ms of length and 111 ms of wide, with a wall of about 20 ms of height that delimits the calls “High Town ” and “Low Town”.
The gigantic wall that protect it, are composed by sentry posts, a tower and three close income, two of oriented them towards the east and third towards the west. The entrances constructed in funnel form, with wide of 3 meters in the outer part and 70 centimeters in the interior, simultaneously allow the entrance of only one person, increasing their character unconquerable.
Basically, the Ciudadela de Kuelap is conformed by two gigantic superposed artificial platforms, on which the populated center rises, in where they built ceremonial habitacionales enclosures and civic, distributed aglutinadamente or around open patios.
The Low Town, is conformed by 335 circular structures of between which it emphasizes one located in the South and well-known end like “the Inkpot”. Constructed in form of invested cone, “the Inkpot”, is a building that presumably would have acted a as ceremonial. It has a height of 5,5 meters and a diameter of 13,7 meters, in his interior is a camera in form of bottle of more than 5 meters of depth.
The High Town is constituted by 80 constructions of stone. Most important they are “the Castle”, made up of three superposed platforms; and “the Tower”, to the north of the High Town, of 7 meters of height and defensive character, that a wonderful panoramic Vista to the place offers in addition.
In their majority, the constructions present/display circular form due to the particular conception of use of the round space of this town, different from the use of the used rectangular space in other Peruvian cultures. This particularitity adds an enormous artistic and aesthetic sense to him that it is increased by the scenery of frisos rhomboids and anthropomorphous figures in altorrelieve of the walls. By the form of the buildings, on it is understood that these had as ceiling a straw cover of conical form. Limestone stone blocks the used for the construction of the complex present/display different finished qualities from, being elaborated the destined one to the ceremonial constructions.
The construction of the Ciudadela on high platforms allowed a greater visibility of other large cities constructed on high bordering summits, as well as of the routes from access to the river basins of Ríos Marañón and Huallaga (routes used for its commercial relations).
It is presumed that the architects of Kuelap directed to hundreds of specialists, stonemasons, bricklayers, acarreadores of mud, water and stones. In addition, a multitude of agriculturists dedicated to the nutritional production existed that it sustained to the workers.
It is by that Kuelap constitutes an unconquerable place for the neighboring kingdoms, when being surrounded by farallones and precipices by three of its four flanks, although finally was conquered by quechuas who managed to annex it to Imperio Incaico.
Other examples of this beautiful architecture are Olán, Yalapé, Purunllacta or “Monte Peruvia”, Great Vilaya, Turn Turns, Karajía, Great Pajatén and Leimebamba, between many others.
Access
Regular flights do not exist from Lima to the city of Chachapoyas, nevertheless is possible to contract flights for groups from Chiclayo. In order to arrive until this archaeological complex, once in Chachapoyas, tendra that to go away to the annex of Kuelap, three hours of distance by a hard road (72 km). In the way it is possible to be discovering the wonderful natural diversity of the region, with beautiful landscapes that extend throughout all the passage. Once in the annex of Kuelap the ascent begins until arriving at this beautiful ciudadela located in the top of a mountain. The ascent takes about fifteen minutes, under the warm climate of the region.
Tours
The main icon of Amazon is the strength of Kuelap, therefore always we have the tourist attractive visit to this immersed one in the tourist programs that are commercialized in the market, by all means, accompanied by attractive like the Sarcófagos de Karajía,The Lagoon of the Cóndores, the Mausoleos de Revash, the Cataract of Gocta, among others.
Between the itineraries to make in Kuelap we can mention the following ones:
- Kuelap - Sarcófagos de Karajía - Cataracts of Gocta - Mausoleos de Revash
- Kuelap - Sarcófagos de Karajía - Town of the Deads - Petroglifos of the Pitaya
Websites of Interest
Tourist Project of Kuelap-Spanish Version
References
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