Kuelap

Tickets and tours: all the options

There are two charges: the cable car from the station at Nuevo Tingo up to the ridge, and the entry ticket to the archaeological site. Both are sold at the lower station, and the cable car ticket usually includes the shuttle bus to the boarding point. Peruvian citizens pay less than foreign visitors, and students and children receive reductions with identification. Guides offer their services at the station and at the upper area.

Most visitors come on a full-day tour from Chachapoyas, which is what most products online offer. A standard tour includes a minibus to Nuevo Tingo, the cable car, a Spanish or bilingual guide and lunch in a valley restaurant, and returns in the late afternoon. Some tickets cover only the cable car and the entrance. Other options add the Gocta waterfall, run as a two-day package, or start from Cajamarca and cross the mountains to Leimebamba and its mummy museum over two or more days. Private cars from Chachapoyas suit families and photographers who want to stay longer.

The sensible choice for a first visit is a full-day group tour from Chachapoyas with cable car and lunch included. Book the day before in the main square or online; in the July and August holidays reserve a little earlier.

A short history

People lived on the ridge from about the 6th century AD, but most of the walls and houses were built between about 900 and 1100 by the Chachapoya, a culture of the cloud forests east of the Andes. Up to 3,000 people may have lived inside. The Inca conquered the region in the late 15th century, and the city was abandoned around 1570 after the Spanish conquest. A Chachapoyas judge, Juan Crisostomo Nieto, came across it in 1843, and Antonio Raimondi surveyed it in 1870. Excavations have continued since the 1980s. Part of the outer wall collapsed in April 2022 after years of instability, and conservation work is ongoing. Kuelap is on Peru's tentative UNESCO list.

Getting there

Chachapoyas is the base for Kuelap. It has a small airport with irregular flights, so most travellers fly to Jaen, about four hours away by road, or arrive on an overnight bus from Chiclayo or Trujillo on the coast. From Chachapoyas the road follows the Utcubamba Valley to Nuevo Tingo, about an hour by tour bus, colectivo or taxi. There a shuttle takes you to the cable car, whose 20-minute ride crosses the gorge to the upper station. From the top it is a walk of about 2 km up a stone path to the walls, which some visitors do on horseback. A dirt road also climbs to the site from Tingo for those driving.

Rules and what to bring

Stay on the marked walkways and do not climb walls or enter roped-off houses: some sectors are unstable since the 2022 collapse. Drones need a permit from the Ministry of Culture. Bring a rain jacket, sun cream and a warm layer, as sun, cloud and showers can follow each other within an hour at this height. Take water and snacks; there are toilets and simple food stalls near the cable car station but nothing inside the walls.

When to go

Mornings are usually the clearest time. Cloud often rises from the valley from late morning, and afternoon showers are common, especially in the wet season. Tours from Chachapoyas leave at about 8 am and reach the walls around 10 am, so arriving independently on an early cable car gives you the site almost to yourself.

The dry season runs from about May to September, with the best weather and firmer paths. July and August bring Peruvian holiday traffic, and queues for the cable car can then be long. From about November to April heavy rain can close the road or the cable car for hours and makes the stone slippery, though the site stays open on most days. Crowds are never as large as at Machu Picchu. Allow two to three hours at the site itself and a full day for the round trip from Chachapoyas.