The Kuelap fortress is to become the second largest destination in Peru for tourists after the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, said Foreign Trade and Tourism regional director Manuel Cabanas.
Cabanas said that the northern Amazon region, home of the famous archaeological site, has several other natural wonders that currently “we do not know their full potential because of the lack of air connectivity and proper highways.”
To address this issue, he said that a cable car system which will link the district of Lingo with the Kuelap fortress is on track with the aim of doubling the number of visitors.
This cable car system will provide a fast and modern access route to Kuelap Fortress with a 4,400-metre route that will overcome the distance of 965 metres between Tingo lolality and Kuelap.
“The goal is to turn Kuelap into the second most popular tourist destination in the country, there is a range of infrastructure works which will facilitate the arrival of domestic and foreign visitors such as the cable car and the extension of the runway at the Chachapoyas airport,” Cabanas told Andina news agency.
Kuelap, one of the largest ancient monuments of the Americas, was a fortified citadel in northern Peru on the slopes of the Andes. The remains of the settlement sit 3,000 metres above sea level and the original fortress covered 25,000 square miles.
The fortress was the political centre of the Chachapoya civilisation, a pre-Colombian culture that flourished from about 900 to 1,400 AD.