In the Amazonas region, in northern Peru, the Chachapoyas civilisation, also known as the ‘cloud people’, left behind archaeological traces as remarkable as they are little known outside specialist circuits. Among these, the Karajía sarcophagi stand out as some of the most striking evidence of their culture.
Guardians perched on a cliff
The Karajía sarcophagi, known locally as purunmachu, are anthropomorphic funerary statues over two metres tall, built from clay, wood and stone and placed on a ledge along a sheer cliff face, out of reach of animals and grave robbers. Their elongated faces and imposing posture were meant to evoke ancestral guardians watching over the surrounding valley.
A little-explored culture
The Chachapoyas civilisation, which developed between the 9th and 15th centuries before being conquered first by the Incas and then by the Spanish, remains one of the least studied of the pre-Columbian Andes, and sites such as Karajía offer a rare direct glimpse into their funerary practices and worldview.
Reaching the sarcophagi requires a short hike from the village of Cruzpata, rewarded by a view that combines archaeology and the spectacular landscape of the Amazonas cloud forest.