"The Chachapoyas people mummified their notables and placed their bodies, crushed into an unnatural foetal position and wrapped in thin cotton cloth crudely embroidered with a face, precariously balanced on cliff-face eyries that seem more suitable for eagles' nests than human burials. Yet these sites were selected so well that despite appearing exposed to the wind, rain and predators, they have survived, in some cases for 1,000 years, with the bodies, grave-goods (including fragile textiles und food offerings) and coverings completely intact. At one remote site above the 'Lake of the Condors', ten hours trek from the nearest road, it took until the 1990s for anyone to realise their existence. Looters led the way, closely followed by archaeologists who literally picked up pieces discarded on the path in the frantic search for gold. Despite this inauspicious start, no fewer than 219 mummies have been recovered intact, each one propped upright in a small niche. Many other objects were found, including quipus (the complex arrangements of knotted string used by the Andean peoples to record information)."
"...while a small grave, containing the bones of old people, is found at the heart of the house, frequently right by — or even beneath — the hearth."
"After the Spaniards took over the country in the 1530s, the traditional practices continued for a brief period, then ceased abruptly. At Kuelap, the inhabitants apparently stripped the site of all their possessions, then burned it to the ground, house by house."
In a remote part of Peru, one can access this location after an arduous journey by bus.
Click here to see a video of Kuelap and the surrounding landscape
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