When you think about the jungle, you might think of The Amazon in Brazil, or jungles in Africa. But did you know that part of the Amazon is also in Peru? That is one of the reasons why I love Peru, it’s so diverse; it has beaches, deserts, mountains, and jungles. A really famous city in the Peruvian Amazons is Chachapoyas in Amazonas. This is a fairly isolated region of Peru since it’s in between the mountains and the Amazons.
Every region in Peru has a rich history because of the mixtures of the Incan and Spanish culture. The name Chachapoyas comes from the native language sachapuyos, which means “men from the mist” or “people of the clouds”. They might have gotten this name because of the immense amounts of fog formed by the mountains mixed with the humidity of the rainforests. The city was occupied by the Incas until the Spanish came in 1538. You can see the Spanish influence by the casonas, houses from colonial times, with big lounges and tile roofs spread throughout the city.
The weather in the city is of 65ᵒF all year round, and it rains most of the time. There are so many beautiful attractions to visit here, but the most famous are Kuelap, Karajia, and de Sonche Canyon.
Kuelap is one of the most important historical sites in Chachapoyas due to the pre-Incan fortress. This is a citadel built by the Chachapoyas, a civilization that existed before the Incan empire. Everything is built out of stone with carvings of mythical animals, faces, and religious symbols. Even though this civilization survived through the Incan empire, it fell when the Spanish came. When you walk through the big walls you can see how the Chachapoyas used to live, and what they valued. A lot of the buildings are temples where they used to perform religious rituals.
Karajia is the other tourist attraction in Chachapoyas. This is because 8 Chachapoyan mummies were discovered on a cliffside. These are about 2.5 meters tall or 8ft tall sarcophagi or purunmachus made out of clay, sticks, and grasses. They are in an inaccessible location above a river. Even thought they were safe from looters, one of the mummies fell during the 1928 earthquake.
The last tourist attraction we will be discussing is de Sonche Canyon. This canyon is more than 1000m deep with wonderful views for tourists. The hike up the mountain is not too difficult so even the most inexperienced hikers can go take in the beauty of the canyon and the waterfalls.
A place that is 65 degrees year round sounds amazing! This post was really interesting. I have studied Peru before in my Spanish classes in high school, but I had never heard about a few of these topics. I especially like the last picture. I think its unique and really reflects the culture in Peru. Great post!!
The structures and nature all over the world are truly incredible. I don’t know much about Peru, but it is clearly an amazing place. I like the bit of history included, and the pictures really illustrate how beautiful Peru is!
I didn’t even realize that we had remnants of sophisticated societies before the Incan Empire! I never knew that Peru had such diverse geography and culture. I had never really considered Peru to be a place I would want to visit before reading your blog. In terms of structure, I like how you include historical and tourist information in your posts, it makes the reader want to visit the places you are discussing!