![\"Chullpas](\"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/MG_0382.jpg\")
<\/a>Chullpas Policromas with the Western Range of the Andes in the Background<\/p><\/div>\n
Some people don’t get very excited about the Chullpas (or Chullpares, as they are also called). \u00a0Personally, I think they are cool. \u00a0These tombs, built during the period between the end of the Tihuanaco empire and the Spanish conquest (including during Inca times) by the Aymara people, still stand all across the Altiplano. \u00a0Although they can be made of materials ranging from mud bricks, to adobe and even stone, and can range in form from tall spires to short boxes, what they have in common is that they are all buildings, made from local materials, with an opening toward the bottom into which the bodies of the dead were placed. \u00a0Presumably, the bodies were accompanied by artifacts, when originally entombed, but all the chullpas have been raided over the years and peeking in these days the most you are likely to see is some old bones. \u00a0The Chullpas are believed to have been built to entomb the remains of local leaders, together with their wives, concubines, and other family members. \u00a0They were a place for annual ceremonies, as well as funerals.<\/p>\n
Chullpa with Checkerboard Pattern<\/p><\/div>\n Chullpas Policromas is a bit of an\u00a0exaggeration\u00a0 \u00a0Might be better to just say, “decorated chullpas.” \u00a0The tombs are decorated mostly in red, blue and, in some cases,\u00a0a bit of green. \u00a0They are not just painted, but apparently the bricks of which they are constructed are actually colored all the way through. \u00a0In any case, they are spectacular (for someone who likes such things), and the setting is pretty impressive, as well, up against the backdrop of the Andes. \u00a0The chullpas in this area are in a better state of preservation than many you find in other locations on the\u00a0Altiplano, \u00a0presumably because preservation work was undertaken on them by the World Monument Fund and the Organization of American States in 2005 and 2009, respectively.<\/p>\n The \u00d1andu, or Darwin’s Rhea, an American Cousin of the Ostrich<\/p><\/div>\n The trip itself \u00a0is also impressive. \u00a0It is a real\u00a0Altiplano\u00a0adventure, taking you about 43 miles along rough roads through a couple of villages and down the valley of the Lauca river. \u00a0Besides the ever-present llamas and alpacas, we saw vicu\u00f1as and Darwin’s Rheas.<\/p>\n Darwin’s Rhea, or the Lesser Rhea\u00a0(\u00d1andu, in local terms, and sometimes also called the Puna Rhea), is a relative of the ostrich. \u00a0It can run at speeds of up to almost 40 miles per hour and lives in areas up to 15,000 feet of altitude. \u00a0We saw it in groups of 5-10 birds, but reportedly they sometimes form flocks of up to 30. \u00a0Although the only natural predator of the bird is the cougar, it is considered near threatened, mostly as a result of man’s activities. \u00a0The birds often live in close association with the vicu\u00f1as, llamas and alpacas, and we saw some close to human dwellings. \u00a0People apparently hunt them for the meat and gather their eggs. \u00a0There are three sub-species, two of which live at high altitudes, but they owe their connection to Darwin to the lowland species, which lives in the\u00a0Patagonia. \u00a0It\u00a0was first described to the Western world by Darwin after the second voyage of the HMS Beagle. \u00a0Reportedly, Darwin’s first inkling that species might evolve resulted from his observation of the two clearly related, but different species of Rhea (Darwin’s Rhea and the larger Greater Rhea) which, in some lowland areas, coexist.<\/p>\n Getting There<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>On the altiplano some 25 miles south of Tambo Quemado, and practically on the border with Chile are the Pukara Chullpa, the Jallu Chullpa Funeral Complex, and the Wila Chullpa Funeral Complex, all within a short walk of each other and together often called the “Chullpas Policromas.” \u00a0They were built between the years 1210 and 1380 AD by the Carangas people.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>