Fodor's Expert Review Karajía

Discovered in 1985, the six coffins that make up this uncanny funeral site 48 km (30 miles) northwest of Chachapoyas overlook a ruined village and are thought to contain the mummies of shamans and great warriors. The Chachapoyas people built the tombs into a sheer cliffside sometime around the year 1460, and today the eerie funeral masks—together with the bones scattered around the site—provide a haunting reminder of the great chieftains that once held sway over the surrounding country. The Karajía sarcophagi, or "ancient wise men" as the locals call them, originally included eight coffins, but two have collapsed due to earthquakes. This has allowed archaeologists to study the contents of the wood-and-clay structures, which were found to house a single individual in the fetal position, along with all the ceramics and other belongings the deceased carried with him into the afterlife. Visitors today can't get close to the sarcophagi due to their remote location, but the view of them watching over the ravine below is awe-inspiring. READ LESS