Lost city of Peru
Peru’s remote ‘second Machu Picchu’ - hidden 10,000ft up in the mists of the Andes - is now fully open to tourists.
The ancient Kuelap fortress – in the northern Amazonas region – was built and developed between the 6th and 16th centuries by the Chachapoyas civilization and lies on a ridge overlooking the Utcubamba Valley.
Known as the Warriors of the Clouds, the Chachapoyas people created the largest stone structures in South America.
There are around 450 thatched, decorated houses ringed by walls up to 60ft high and predating Machu Picchu by some 800 years.
Kuelap was lost in the cloud forest for three centuries until it was rediscovered in 1843 and then declared a cultural heritage site in 2003.
A long-awaited $18million cable car up to the fortress is now open, reducing the journey time from the nearest town, Nuevo Tingo, to just 20 minutes each way.
Previously it took a trip of 90 minutes each way by road or an energy sapping four-hour, 5.5 mile uphill hike on rough tracks.
Now, with 26 eight-person gondolas offering a spectacular mountain ride, it is hoped the 35,000 tourists who visit the site annually will double.
The 2.5 mile long cable car, Peru’s first, was opened by the country’s president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
The iconic 15th century Inca city of Machu Picchu, on an 8,000ft mountain in the south of Peru near Cusco, was named one of the New Seven Wonders Of The World in 2007 and attracts more than one million tourists a year.
Latin America specialist Rainbow Tours (rainbowtours.co.uk) has launched a new 13-day Northern Routes of Peru and Beach Holiday going to Kuelap, the Valle de Moche’s Sun and Moon Temples, Chan Chana adobe city and the sandy shores of Mancora.
From €4,195pp with international flights and transfers.
For more information on Kuelap see visitperu.com