You are all probably reading these blogs wondering, why on earth do they keep choosing things to do that are up mountains? (or at least I know that is what my Mum is thinking!) I keep thinking the same thing, but it is one thing you can definitely say for Peru…it has a shed load of em and everything is perched up the side of, or on top of one.
We really really wanted to visit Kuelap for a few reasons that made it worth the 37km uphill climb on treacherous roads.
The Northern Highlands of Peru it seems, (and understandably now I have been) is a very unvisited part of this beautiful country.
Described by the lonely planet as

“vast tracts of unexplored…mountain ranges shrouded in mist, guard the secrets of Peru’s northern highlands, where Andean peaks and cloud forests stretch from the coast to the deepest Amazon jungle. Interspersed with the relics of ancient warriors and Inca Kings, these wild outposts are yet barely connected by dishevelled, cicuitous roads”

So forgetting the dishevelled roads bit ( which I clearly took a little too lightly) who wouldn’t want to go? We had had the place all to ourselves, not having to share with a single other tourist. The people of the tiny Andean villages (1 or 2 houses) stood with mouths agape as we passed their tiny mud dwellings and waved back at us after we had turned the next bend on their mountain edge home. These were the kind of places we wanted to see, we were so thrilled to be so far out and in a place unseen by so many travellers it was inspiring and we were in awe the whole time (when we weren’t scared out of our wits because of the road).

THIS was one of the reasons we wanted so badly to see Kuelap. We were sure to have the place all to ourselves. Everyone has heard of Machu Picchu and thousands of tourists flock there every single day of the year and thats great but we wanted to explore a site without a cafe, a $60 entrance fee and a thousand other white faces with ‘I’ve been to Machu Picchu T-shirts’ on.
Kuelap’s description couldn’t even escape a comparison to its uber famous counterpart, “Matched in grandeur only by the ruins of Machu Picchu” this pre-Inca citadel was constructed between 900 and 1100 AD and is perched atop of a 3000m mountain. As far as I am concerned I totally agree with Lonely planets comment…”this must be one of the most significant and impressive pre-colombian ruins in South America.”

Once we had survived the road there we made ourselves a fruit salad and tried to will our legs to move enough to walk the 5km up to the site. The air thin and crisp at this height and our legs like lead we stumbled up a man made path. We still had not had a glimpse of the site and were beginning to wonder how something so apparently huge can be so well hidden!

When we finally made it around the last switchback in the path we were smacked in the face by one of the external walls. It made us stop in our tracks and just stare! We walked around to the entrance where we handed a gate keeper (resemblant of the knight guarding the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) our 15S ($6) tickets and stood and gaped some more at the famous stone entrance.

We forgot all about or achey legs and climbed the steep steps into the site itself. It was like nothing we have ever seen. The ruins in Mexico were impressive and large and filled with stone carvings and beautiful buildings but this was a city stretched out before us. The remains of the adobe houses spread a pattern like big round bubbles across a vast area. There must have been 30 houses just in this ‘part of town’. One house had been reconstructed to show how it would have looked with its thatched roof and tiny windows. We walked along the crumbling walls, no fences or keep off signs to be seen and no real footpath and found the temple of the sun. We walked to the edge of the city and perched with our legs hanging over the edge of the mountain and watched the condors fly in the emptiness all around us.

We shared the whole place with a family of 5 alpacas and the gatekeeper! It was amazing.The silence was golden and the place was no less than magnificent. It took our breaths away and as we watched the world go by from the very top we counted our blessings all over again and talked of how lucky we are that we both want to do the ‘other’ things!
We wandered the site for hours and explored the massive ruins thoroughly. Each house had a hole in the floor for the fire place, a flat stone by the fire where the corn would be ground with another rock which we often found rounded on the floor nearby. It was incredible to even think that these houses and tools had sat here for hundreds and hundreds of years! We didn’t take a guide, mainly because we like to let our imaginations run wild and we picked out tombs, spotted the differences between the houses of the important people and the peasants and soldiers and tried to imagine the place filled with people and animals on a busy day.
We really wore ourselves out but didn’t even mind that we had a 45km descent back to where we had started only several hours ago. It had all been worth it.
Such a unique and touching experience which would never be the same if we had had to share it with thousands of others.
We spent the drive back to town holding on for grim death and discussing if we would ‘bother’ to visit Machu Picchu.
We felt this experience was so unique and just our very own and wonder if visiting Machu Picchu will be frustrating for us with so many others there. We know it is a MUST see…but must we see it?
Let us know your thoughts as we are still undecided!

When we finally reaced the village at the bottom of the mountain we asked around about the upcoming road. We had been warned that the next 150km would take us 12 hours. We were really in the thick of it and even considered turning around and going 200km back the way we had come. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place and really didn’t know what to do. How can a road be so bad that 150km takes 12 hours? There is only one bus company thats risks the perilous journey and they take 12 seater buses so we decided we would make it. We double checked at the police station, asking is this road bad? Is it suitable for this vehicle? is it dangerous? we recieved positive answers to each question…its a good road, its safe and this vehicle will be fine! Our final question was how long will it take…and sure enough he said 10 hours (at least we had gained 2 hours!)! We half didn’t believe it and decided to bite the bullet. Returning the way we had come would add 800km to our journey instead of 300km to carry on the way we were heading.

We filled up with fuel (maybe we are learning?) and knuckled down and managed to cover a staggering 70km in 2.5 hours at a steady 25kmph…which is SLOOOOW. The one lane track wound around the mountain edge gripping to crumbling walls and disappearing off into the abyss at one or both sides. The scenery was undoubtedly some of the most beautiful I have seen, the mountain sides were dusted with powdery blue eucalyptus trees and starred with giant blue aloe vera plants. It was as breath taking as the altitude. As we reached the clouds and the sky got darker around us we called it a night and stopped where the road was wide enough for cars to pass should they have a death wish to drive this road at night.
It was eerily silent and I’m sure I could hear the clouds rubbing along the side of the van. It started to rain shortly after we got into bed and the frogs sang us to sleep after yet another eventful day!

Find out what happens next on our travelling wedding adventure!