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The fortress of Kuelap or Cuélap (Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Perú), associated with the Chachapoyas culture, consists of massive exterior stone walls containing more than four hundred buildings. The structure, situated on a ridge overlooking the Utcubamba Valley in northern Peru, is roughly 600 meters in length and 110 meters in width. It could have been built to defend against the Huari or other hostile peoples.
However, evidence of these hostile groups at the site is minimal. Radiocarbon dating samples show that construction of the structures started in the 6th century AD and occupied until the Early Colonial period (1532-1570). However, through the pre-Columbian, conquest and colonial periods we have only four brief references to Kuelap. In lieu of newly discovered documents, there exists no other testimony concerning the site until 1843.
The ruins of Kuelap are located at the summit of a hill that rises on the left bank of the Utcubamba, according to the engineer Hernán Corbera. Access to Kuelap is gained through El Tingo, a town at approximately 1800m altitude near the bank of the Utcubamba. A horse trail also winds along the left bank of Tingo river and leads eventually up to Marcapampa, a small plain near the site.
The monumental ruins of Kuelap are situated at 3000 m above sea level. Judging from its sheer size, Kuelap’s construction required considerable effort, rivalling or surpassing other archaeological structures in the Americas in size. The structure is almost 600 m in length and its walls rise up to 19 m in height.
There are multiple levels or platforms within the complex. Because of its extension, these flat elevations support about 400 constructions, most of them cylindrical. From them, only bases remain. In some cases, there are decorated walls with friezes of symbolic content that, in general, seem to evoke eyes and birds that take the form of a letter V in a chain. There are three structures that stand out from the hundreds of others within the complex:
El Tintero, it is placed in the south end of the biggest anden and it is characterized for being a circular turret in the shape of an inverted cone, a real challenge to the laws of gravity.
La Atalaya, it is also shaped by a turret, and it is located in the north end of Kuelap El Castillo, it is a construction that is located in the most conspicuous sector of Kuelap and it stands out on the top anden.
More recently, in July 2010, remains of 79 human bodies dating back to the seventh century were found inside a stone wall believed to have been a secondary grave site, meaning the remains had been removed from their original place, which was a widespread custom in pre-Columbian Peru. Most bone remains found are of adults.
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