Kuelap: they begin recovery of walls that collapsed and announce a new route for visits

The Ministry of Culture reported that work began for the recovery and protection of the walls of the Kuelap archaeological complex, structures that -according to the sector- collapsed as a result of the intense rains that occur in the district of Tingo, province of Luya , in the Amazon region.

The tasks will be carried out by a technical team made up of workers from the Kuélap archaeological site, from the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Amazonas and specialists in structures.

“Works will be carried out that are adapted to the problems of the monument, for the benefit of strengthening its structures, with the placement of geogrids, tarpaulins and shoring of the place”it was informed.

The director of the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Amazonas, Esther Lozano, estimated that the work will last 10 days and emphasized that specialists will participate to guarantee the safety of the work in the area.

The facts

On Sunday, April 10, the detachment of part of the Kuelap perimeter wall was reported through social networks. A video showed the precise moment of the fall of a block of stones from the archaeological site. Days later, two other landslides were also reported on the perimeter wall.

For the local authorities, this event was caused by the intense rains, but also by the “forgetfulness of the Ministry of Culture” that did not act in time. As a first measure, the Ministry of Culture suspended visits to the archaeological site and then declared a state of emergency in the district of Tingo, where Kuelap is located, in order to deal with the emergency.

“It was due to the laziness of previous administrations”

Yesterday the Minister of Culture, Alejandro Salas, indicated that the collapse of the Kuelap Fortress was the responsibility of previous efforts.

“(Kuélap fell apart) Not me, of course not, it was because of the laziness of previous efforts, that what they did was patch Kuelap on each side that they saw at risk, they did not invest, and they exploited it to the fullest of tourist capacity, until we saw what happened what happened”, he said in “Successful”.

Salas also commented that work is being done to clean up debris, shoring and meshing of the ruins to prevent other landslides.

“In addition, we have to work on a comprehensive file on Kuelap, that approximately would be costing 90 million soles to put Kuelap at the height of what corresponds to our country’s history and culture”, he stressed.

About sightseeing

The head of the sector also announced that a route for visitors is being set up.

“There are people who live in Kuelap, there is economic activity in Kuelap. A route is being enabled so that they can continue visiting Kuelap while it is intervened, through a new route”, mentioned.

The data

This pre-Inca archaeological complex, built by the Chachapoyas Culture, was declared Cultural Heritage of Peru in 1998. It stands on the top of a plateau formed by the Barreta (west) and Lahuancho (east) hills, 3,000 meters above sea level. sea, on the left bank of the Utcubamba River and immersed in a dense cloud forest.

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