“It’s unique in the world. It’s the biggest city built in stone in the pre-Columbian era in South America and it’s three times older than Machu Picchu.”
That’s Jose Llaja, from Chachapoyas Backpackers,
talking about a pre-Inca city, Kuelap, built on a mountain-top 3,000
metres above sea level in northern Peru’s cloud forest. It’s a
panoramic, breathtaking view of jungle-clad mountains and hills but to
get up there involves a steep 9km hike or a winding, unpaved road.
That’s set to change now that long-mooted plans for a cable car are
finally going ahead. The government has contracted a French-Peruvian
consortium and it is scheduled to open early next year.
According to a promotional video, the new route will involve a 3.5km
car journey from the village of Tingo Nuevo to the cable car, which will
run for 4km up to Kuelap and take less than 20 minutes. That will be
much quicker than a 3-4 hour hike or an hour and a half on the unpaved
road.
Kuelap is believed to have been built between the sixth and 16th
centuries by the Chachapoyas culture. Extending for six hectares, it
includes over 400 round houses and a 20 metre-high wall running for
1.5km.
Although most houses don’t reach above door height, Kuelap is
considered one of Peru’s most significant archaeological sites after
Machu Picchu. And at just 15 soles (£3) to enter, compared with US$63
(£40) for the iconic Inca citadel, plus an estimated 20 soles (£4) for
the cable car, it’s excellent value.
Peru’s president, Ollanta Humala, has said the new cable car could
make Kuelap a “second Machu Picchu”, and some Peruvians are optimistic
about the boost it will give to the Amazonas region.
Last year, Kuelap received 41,000 visitors, but the director of trade
and tourism for the Amazonas, Segundo Mori, says 100,000 people could
come once the cable car is operating. “Kuelap really is fabulous,” he
says. “It’s logical this will improve tourism in the region.”
For Rob Dover, an Englishman who lives in the nearby town of
Chachapoyas, Kuelap is “magnificent, gob-smacking”. He notes that the
site’s lack of development is a strong factor in its appeal: “A lot of
the houses are still covered in forest, but that adds to its charm.”
Others are concerned about the cable car’s impact on local people
whose livelihoods are derived from the site. Visitors taking the cable
car up the mountain will bypass villages offering accommodation,
restaurants and crafts.
“They won’t come this way anymore,” says Claudina Lopez, from Hospedaje El Torreon hotel in the village of Maria.
“What benefits will this bring them?” asks Oscar Arte, from the Estancia El Chillo, a nearby hacienda offering rooms and a restaurant. “It will bring absolutely none. The villages will die.”
