Revash

Location:
On the road to Santo Tomás.
Yerbabuena, Peru

Ruin

By Lorraine Caputo

High up on an escarpment, you can see Revash, a group of white and red buildings. Some have likened them to dwellings of Southwest US pueblos. But these were no apartment houses for the living. These are chullpas, mausoleums, built by a Chachapoya people during the Late Intermediate Period, probably in the 12th and 13th centuries. Constructed of stone, adobe mud and straw with a smooth plaster finish, some of the structures stand two-stories tall. On the rock wall above are petrographs. The original number of burials is unknown.

By the time Henri and Paule Reichlen excavated here in 1948, the tombs had already been looted, except one lower chamber. The Reichlens recovered the skeletons of one infant and 11 adults, along with a quantity of bone tools, pottery, musical instruments, combs and feather ornaments. A kilometer away they found a cave containing the remains of about 200 individuals. Due to an earthquake in the 1970s, that grotto was sealed.

As you climb, you can see at least seven other chullpa groups on the surrounding cliffs. Soon you arrive at Revash, its buildings marred by graffiti and scattered with bones. It is now forbidden to enter the site itself.

Getting There
From Chachapoyas:

On tour (75 soles/ $25, including Centro Mallqui; transportation, guide, lunch, and entry fees are covered).

Travel Tips: A great Sunday trip from Leymebamba is to go to the market, then to Revash.

Price Description: There is no entry fee.

Costs for transportation, or (more expensive) a tour.

Relative price: Budget

Open Hours from:Dawn

Open Hours to:Dusk

Travel Skills: intermediate/somewhat difficult.

You Need to Bring: Take plenty of water, sun block and hat, as there is no shade along the road or trail.