Great Adventure

On March 22, 2006 German explorer Stefan Ziemendorff reports he has found the third highest waterfall in the world located in the isolated northern jungle near Chachapoyas. In a two hours trek you can see a pristine cloud forest jungle. Passion fruit vines in the canopy have year around fruit that sustains a colony of monkeys and varieties of birds feeding on this fruit. You can see a variety of medical plants, hummingbirds, toucans, monkeys, and butterflies.

The height of 771 meters is thought to be relatively accurate, though Ziemendorff suspects the true figure could be within 13 meters in either direction. The falls has a regular to high volume of flow becoming an immensely powerful waterfall during the rainy season. However unlike other world class waterfalls, it doesn’t dry up in the dry season.

Kuelap is situated on an escarpment at 3000m (9840ft). Massive walls form a giant platform on which the city is built. You don’t so much as walk into Kuelap as walk on to it. The exterior walls rise up to 20m (65ft) tall, and extend along the ridge for 584m (639yds.).

To enter the site there are three narrow entrances and once inside there are many roundhouses typical of Chachapoya design. There are two obvious religious places namely the Castillo which is a platform overlooking the second entrance and the unusual Tintero, which appears like a chopped off inverted cone. The outer walls are impressive but what makes a visit to Kuelap so special is the feeling of mystery in a place that once was lost and is still not fully understood. Much of the site is covered by trees, laden with bromeliads orchids and mosses and home to many birds.