Kuélap, Fortress of the Cloud Warriors
High in the cloud forests of Peru, a walled city of 400 round stone houses sits on a mountain ridge. Its builders were called the Warriors of the Clouds.
What was reported
On a ridge about 3,000 metres high in the Andes of northern Peru stands Kuélap, a vast stone settlement with walls up to 19 metres high, surrounding the remains of more than 400 round houses. It was built by the Chachapoya people, centuries before the Inca.
The Chachapoya, sometimes called the Warriors of the Clouds, were conquered by the Inca in the 1400s, and many died in the epidemics that followed the Spanish conquest. Spanish writers described them as unusually fair-skinned, which led to many wild theories about their origins.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists say the Chachapoya were a native Andean people, and DNA studies support this. Kuélap was probably both a defensive site and a place for ceremonies. Since 2017, a cable car has carried visitors to it, though a section of the wall collapsed in 2022 after heavy rains.
- When
- Built from about 500 AD
- Where
- Kuélap, Amazonas, Peru
- Witnesses
- Archaeologists and visitors
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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