• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Travelin' Man

    The hidden Inca ruins: This fortress adventure takes you far off the regular tourist paths

    Stephan Lorenz
    Stephan Lorenz
    Oct 28, 2013 | 9:44 am

    It was a strange twist. Suddenly we found ourselves at the center of attention, when a group of students, I assumed high school, rushed over to take pictures. They lined up — with us in the middle like trophies — and their classmates took turns hitting shutter buttons. I stood out as at least three heads taller in every picture.

    Of course we played along, but were surprised by how much scrutiny we garnered, given the fact that we all were surrounded by carved stone friezes immense citadels, and nearly 400 structures, some dating back to the 7th century, pre-Incan in other words.

    After posing for a handful of photos, I realized that we were probably the only tourists for miles and definitely the only ones among the few visitors. Nearly one million sightseers from all over the globe trek to the world-famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in southern Peru annually.

    We were probably the only tourists for miles and definitely the only ones among the few visitors.

    In contrast, the impressive fortress of Kuelap in the north sees less than 15,000 visitors.

    The day we hiked up to the ruins, spending several hours traipsing about the huge bulwarks and remaining circular walls, we saw only a dozen other visitors in addition to the school group, all of them Peruvian. We definitely had left the well-trodden tourist track. The ruins perch at an airy location, overlooking vast valleys and endless mountains.

    The extensive archeological site offers plenty of space for peaceful wandering and quiet solitude. Much of its history and culture remains unknown.

    The area’s only sizeable city and main transport hub, Chachapoyas, lies two and a half hours by bus to the north. The city’s name stems from the ancient people and culture of the region, which in addition to Kuelap, left numerous ruins and burial sites scattered throughout the precipitous valleys of northern Peru. The Incas gave the name Chachapoyas, meaning warriors of the clouds, to the people who reigned throughout the mountains between the Marañón and Huallaga rivers.

    The distinct civilization of the Chachapoyas flourished between the 8th and 15th century, until it was conquered by the expanding Inca Empire and completely lost after Spanish colonization. The area now lies within the southern part of the Amazonas region of Peru, a land of rugged peaks and deep canyons covered with humid tropical forest.

    Getting There
    By combination of bus and a rattling colectivo (small vans that ply the back roads), we managed to reach the small, dusty town of Nuevo Tingo. The old part of town had apparently been swept away by a flood and a new village was constructed atop a higher bank. From the village center, a few cobblestone streets ran arrow straight in cardinal directions, turning into dirt paths before coming to dead-ends in fallow fields. The main plaza, a tight square of gray stone, was surrounded by colorful, but faded houses.

    A handful of villagers kept busy sweeping dust off storefronts and boardwalks, a seemingly futile task, as sandy gusts blew from the surrounding hills.

    Massive walls of limestone slabs, reaching 60 feet high, stretched left and right for nearly 1,000 feet in length.

    We spent the night in cramped quarters on the second floor of the only hospedaje in town. Starting at sunrise the following morning, we quickly descended to Old Tingo, where a few buildings remained standing along the torrential Rio Utcubamba. From here, a weathered stone bridge crossed a narrow tributary, the Rio Tingo.

    We spotted a discolored trailside sign, pointing straight up at the steep slope ahead, Kuelap six miles!

    A rough dirt track climbed out of the verdant valley and swung in arduous switchbacks up the arid mountainside. The rising sun burnt off the last pockets of cool air and we stuffed our sweaters into the backpack. The trail did not conceal the 4,000-foot elevation gain ahead and, along some stretches, ascended stone steps hewn into the incline. By midday our progress slowed, but the path leveled and a half-dozen adobe houses surrounded by low fences indicated we were getting closer.

    Finally, emerging into an open expanse of green grass, cropped close by roaming goats and llamas, we schlepped our tired legs the final stretch to the immense walls of the fortress. After unabashedly restocking on sodas and chocolate at one of several wooden stalls lining the clearing, we sat on rocks in front of the main portal, a narrow, tall hallway shaped like an inverted V. Massive walls of limestone slabs, reaching 60 feet high, stretched left and right for nearly one thousand feet in length.

    Much of the ruin site has not been fully excavated, leaving a sense of exploration. Nearly 400 buildings have been identified, many of them small circular structures, which were covered by thatch roofs while the city was occupied and may have served as living quarters. Other distinct structures we saw included El Tintero, or ink well, a funnel-shaped citadel and La Atalaya, a round tower at the northern corner of the site.

    We wandered aimlessly for hours, climbing up and down half-buried stairs, inspecting carved friezes in stone walls, some representing deer and birds, but the most common were snake-like zigzag patterns.

    Along the eastern wall of the ruins, the sheer mountainside dropped into a deep valley below and we perched on a slab, soaking in the sweeping views across the crumpled Andes. Terraced fields and farmsteads of minuscule houses clung to the slopes and strips of white dirt, footpaths, zigzagged through the dun colored landscape. I wondered whether any of these trails had been trodden by Chachapoyan farmers or builders, harvesting maize and potatoes or transporting rocks.

    Looking back across the grounds, we could see the rough outlines of the structures still buried under the rank vegetation. The majority of buildings appeared to be of the same size and construction, a sign of an apparently egalitarian society. The imposing walls and narrow entrances suggested that the site served as a fortification, possibly against rival societies to the west, but anthropologists now believe that it functioned as a religious center.

    Researchers estimate that less than five percent of Chachapoyan city sites, burial grounds, and sarcophagi have been excavated and studied, leaving much to be discovered and learned about this fascinating culture. For example, further south, tombs at the Laguna de los Cóndores, discovered by cattle ranchers in 1996, held more than 200 mummies and thousands of artifacts, now housed in the Museo Leymebambain.

    Similar significant finds surely wait to be discovered. Chachapoyan society harbored elaborate beliefs and had intricate rituals to honor the dead. Even Kuelap holds human remains, some of them buried ceremonially, but others could have been last fatalities of war with the Incas.

    Practical Travel Advice

    In the late afternoon, even though we felt there was much left to be seen, we reluctantly started our return. One glance at the torturous path winding up the valley along dry ridges and slopes strengthened our resolve to hitch a ride down the mountain.

    Researchers estimate that less than five percent of city sites, burial grounds and sarcophagi have been excavated.

    Fortunately we caught up with the school group in the parking lot and they remembered us, sparing two seats in their overcrowded bus. We were exhausted and gladly listened to local pop music blaring at maximum decibels, as the bus lurched down the mountain. In some spots, I looked straight down the window at the side of the bus and did not see an inch of road, just a precipitous 2,000-foot drop, but quickly distracted myself by taking one last peek at the unforgettable ruins of Kuelap, receding from view on the mountaintop above.

    From Peru’s capital, Lima, it is possible to board a bus, preferably first class, for the 22-hour trip to Chachapoyas. Dozens of other buses connect to larger cities to the north and south also, including Chiclayo and Trujillo on the coast. From Chachapoyas, it is possible to book tours to visit Kuelap and other ruin sites or hire a taxi to visit independently.

    For the budget conscious traveler, colectivos are an even cheaper alternative to reach the ruins. The hiking option from Tingo is of course free, but more of an option for the energetic, with food stalls and basic supplies available at Kuelap. Guides are often not directly available at the ruin site, but we met two knowledgeable locals who were also visiting and they explained many details to us.

    Front of the main portal of Kuelap

    Stephan Lorenz Travels in Peru October 2013 Resting in front of the main portal of Kuelap
      
    Photo by Stephan Lorenz
    Front of the main portal of Kuelap
    unspecified
    news/travel

    most read posts

    Massive, German-inspired beer garden coming to new Energy Corridor project

    4 fresh new restaurants now open in suburban Houston

    Houstonians will get the royal treatment at this lively new steakhouse

    tourism news

    Houston rises on new list of best summer travel destinations

    Amber Heckler
    May 14, 2025 | 4:00 pm
    Houston skyline downtown at night
    IdeasLaboratory.com
    undefined

    Not even triple-digit heat will deter tourists from visiting Space City this summer: The Houston metro has climbed into the No. 35 spot on WalletHub's list of the "Best Summer Travel Destinations" in 2025.

    The report annually ranks 100 U.S metros based on attractions, safety, activities, weather, local costs, and travel costs and hassles. Factors that determine each city's ranking include flight costs, the number of affordable restaurants with high ratings, crime rates, and more.

    The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area in Florida is the No. 1 most sought after summer travel destination this year.

    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land moved up 10 spots from its 2024 rank, and it previously ranked 38th in 2023.

    Here's how WalletHub broke down Houston's ranking in each of the six main categories:

    • No. 7 – Attractions rank
    • No. 16 – Local costs rank
    • No. 26 – Activities rank
    • No. 50 – Weather rank
    • No. 88 – Safety rank
    • No. 89 – Travel costs and hassles rank

    Houston ranked the highest in the attractions and local costs categories, proving that the city's affordability is a major benefit for visitors as well as locals. There's surely no shortage of things to do in the city, from dining at a new steakhouse, to checking out a local bookstore, or enjoying a summer concert series at Meow Wolf.

    But there's so much more that goes into choosing the right place for a memorable summer trip, says WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. Creating and sticking to a vacation budget that considers all costs of a trip, such as meals and local transportation costs, is a good place to start.

    "[C]hoosing a destination that’s not only entertaining but also affordable is important when travel, dining, and activity costs have surged so much in recent years," Lupo says. "It can also allow you to have a longer, more relaxing trip."

    The study's scope isn't just limited to just Houston proper, which also means tourists may flock to suburbs like The Woodlands to explore its inviting new restaurants. It also includes Conroe, where tourists can relax with a drink in hand at the popular Margaritaville resort.

    Other top Texas summer travel destinations
    Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown (No. 5) and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington were the only two Texas metros to earn spots in the top 10 summer travel destinations.

    Surprisingly, El Paso (No. 31) ranked four spots ahead of Houston. The final two Texas metros that earned spots in the study are Corpus Christi (No. 80) and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (No. 97).

    The top 10 best summer travel destinations in 2025 are:

    • No. 1 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
    • No. 2 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia
    • No. 3 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
    • No. 4 – Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
    • No. 5 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
    • No. 6 – Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
    • No. 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah
    • No. 8 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
    • No. 9 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida
    • No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
    wallethubrankingssummer vacationtravelsan antonio
    news/travel
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...