Asian Moments, South American Distractions

Kuelap, in Amazonas department of northern Peru

mstep — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 08:41:00 GMT

I really loved this immense ruin complex in the north of Peru. I had travelled to the town of Chachapoyas the day before from the Peruvian border with Ecuador, so I came here on my second full day in Peru.

The trip from Chachapoyas to the ruins took 2-3 hours, with the last few minutes minutes being spectacular. You approach Kuelap from down by the Utcubamba river, and it's a long trip uphill on a narrow road; you can see the ruins on the faraway hilltop almost 45 minutes before you get there, which adds to the anticipation. It is 3000 meters, or almost 10,000 feet above sea level.

Kuelap used to be an immense fortress city, and is one of the largest pre-Colombian ruins anywhere in the Americas. It was built by the Chachapoyan people starting in the 6th century AD, and occupied by almost 1000 years. In the end it was conquered by the Incas, just like most everything else in Peru. Most of the construction stones were laid for circular or rounded buildings and fortress walls, until the Incas conquered and showed the Chachapoyan people how to build square structures with corners.

The thing that makes Kuelap so fascinating is that it was never restored. The ruins were discovered by Europeans in 1843, but because of the isolation and lack of funds, were not developed like Macchu Piccu, which was discovered 70 years later. The physical setting, sans Waynu Piccu, is just as dramatic as Macchu Piccu. But Kuelap is much more in keeping with modern archeological practices than Macchu Piccu can ever be, because that site was extensively and exhaustively reconstructed. Today's archeologists would never in a million years do to Macchu Piccu what was done in the mid 20th century, because the creed is now to preserve and protect the ancient structures, never to make unproveable assumptions and try to wholly reconstruct them.

So go to Chachapoyas and see Kuelap; you'll never need to fight with the other tourists for elbow room. And more than the famous reconstructed site in the south of Peru, Kuelap is the real deal.

Photos: Bolivia 2012

mstep — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:54:00 GMT

Copacabana to La Paz, side trip to las Yungas

Photos: Peru 2012

mstep — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:50:00 GMT

Chachapoyas to Isla Amantani: A trip through Peru without stopping in Cusco or Macchu Piccu.

Photos: Colombia 2011

mstep — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:52:00 GMT

Bogota to Ipiales

Photos: Ecuador 2011-2012

mstep — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:26:00 GMT

Otavalo to Vilcabamba

Photos: Colombia 2010

mstep — Sat, 3 Dec 2011 09:39:00 GMT

2 weeks from Cartagena to Bogata

Photos: Lake Titicaca 2007

mstep — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:08:00 GMT

Actually in both Peru and Bolivia, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.

Dharamsala Demonstrations

mstep — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:45:00 GMT

It was March 2008 when my ImTrav tour group reached McLeod Ganj, the fabled home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. The Chinese had just launched a crackdown on Tibetan demontrators in Llasa, and the struggle for Tibetan rights had already been making world news reports for several days. Unfortunately His Holiness the Dalai Lama was not in residence, having decamped to London to give interviews on BBC and other media outlets.

Now, McLeod Ganj is a small place, perched on a steep hillside overlooking Dharamsala. There is only one road in and out, and not a lot of streets. It seemed that the town was bursting with protestors, demonstations were everywhere, streets choked with Buddhist monks and other Tibetan supporters, carrying Tibetan flags and bullhorns. Hunger strikes were in progress, and every Tibetan business and restaurant was closed up; at night we had to eat Italian or Indian food, not Tibetan.

Some westerners joined in the protests, and posed for the various TV camera crews throughout the town. We were approached by an American woman with leaflets detailing the problems Tibetans faced in China. I commented that every single person in town already knew about the crisis and about injustices perpetrated by the Chinese. If she really wanted to make a difference, she could return to the US and inform citizens there.

On the second day, we took the trail 15 km up to Triund, which was wonderful. Springtime was climbing up into the Himalayas, and everywhere were blooming rhododendron trees.

One the third morning, I visited the main Tibetan monastary, which was so much calmer than the town streets. The monks gave all the visitors a tangerine at lunchtime, for good luck. I myself went into the town, and found a rooftop restaurant 4 stories above the chaotic street. It was there that I took the photos you can see under the "free tibet" tag, where the demonstators trample a Chinese flag.

Photos: India 2009

mstep — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Orcha, Khajurajo, Varanasi, then Delhi

Photos: India 2008

mstep — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:45:00 GMT

5 weeks Delhi to Kolkata

Photos: Nepal 2009

mstep — Fri, 4 Dec 2009 11:49:00 GMT

3 weeks between Pokhara and the Annapurna circuit