Must see lost cities in South America

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Lost cities have always been igniting people’s imagination since the Middle Ages. When European explorers started wandering around the globe in search of new lands, they discovered abandoned, ruined places and cities, and this is how archaeology was born. If we’re to get technical, lost cities are cities of which there is no or very little previous knowledge before their rediscovery, whose location has been forgotten, and which have become the stuff of legends.

Many cities like Troy for example, were considered simple legends before they were rediscovered by archaeologists. The world is full of rediscovered lost cities, and I’m sure there are thousands of lost cities just waiting to be discovered. So today’s post is about some of the most exciting and mysterious lost cities in South America.

Chan-Chan, Peru

Chan-Chan is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, and it used to belong to Chimu people, who built it around AD 850. Chan-Chan was a large city at the time: it sprawled over 20 square km, and it had about 30,000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, it fell to the Inca in the 15th century, and the it was rediscovered by Francisco Pizarro.

The city is downright labyrinthine in its layout, with its many streets and walls. The most amazing feature of Chan-Chan are the carvings which decorate almost every surface, ranging from depiction of birds, small mammals, crabs, turtles, and nets for catching various sea monsters. Unfortunately, Chan-Chan is an endangered world heritage site, as it is threatened by erosion caused by climate change.

Tiahuanaco

Tiahuanaco is another one of the most important Pre-Columbian archaeological sites in South America, and scholars say that it is was the most important city before the rise of the Inca Empire. Not much is know about Tiahuanaco because its inhabitants left no written history, but archaeologist believe that it used to be a predatory state in perpetual expansion, but also a great religious and cultural center.

Religion was quite a violent affair in Tiahuanaco, and there are depictions of people being disemboweled and dismembered  on top of Akipana, one of the ceremonial buildings. The architecture of the city is characterized by excellent craftsmanship which is noticeable even today, and one of the most impressive structures in the city is the pyramid of Akapama. Another very interesting sight in Tiahuanaco is the carving of Viracocha, their main deity, into the Gateway of the Sun.

Kuelap, Peru

The massive ruins of Kuelap, the city built by the Chachapoya people, are surrounded by huge stone walls and number over 400 excavated buildings. The city was built at an altitude of 3000 m above sea level, presumably to defend the Chachapoya against their belligerent neighbours. The city was built on many platforms, which could be accessed though several portals.

The round stone buildings of the city are decorated with various symbols, mainly eyes and birds. Archaeologists speculate that it must have taken about 200 years to build this city, which can be compared in size and intricacy only with Macchu Picchu.

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The best hikes in South America | The Travel Enthusiast wrote on March 6, 2012:

[…] of both worlds: the beauty of nature, and the fascinating culture of Peru of the past and present. Machu Picchu is one of the greatest ancient citadels on the planet, and in the case of Peru, it can be said that […]

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