Remained ignored by the outside world until 1843, when Juan Crisóstomo Nieto, a Chachapoyas judge, made a survey of the area and took note of Kuelap's great size, guided by villagers who had known of the site for generations.
Kuelap earned the attention of explorers, historians and archaeologists.
The ruins of Kuelap are located at the summit of a hill that rises on the left bank of the Utcubamba.
Access to Kuelap is gained through El Tingo, a town at approximately 1800m altitude near the bank of the Utcubamba. A horse trail also winds along the left bank of Tingo river and leads eventually up to Marcapampa, a small plain near the site.
There are multiple levels or platforms within the complex. Because of its extension, these flat elevations support about 400 constructions, most of them cylindrical. From them, only bases remain. There are three structures that stand out from the hundreds of others within the complex:
El Tintero, it is placed in the south end of the biggest anden and it is characterized for being a circular turret in the shape of an inverted cone, a real challenge to the laws of gravity.
La Atalaya, it is also shaped by a turret, and it is located in the north end of Kuelap.
El Castillo, it is a construction that is located in the most conspicuous sector of Kuelap and it stands out on the top anden.
The first level is accessed by three portals, two located on the east or principal frontage; the third one placed on the west.
The best preserved portal and probably the principal one, is located in the south side of the frontispiece. It is 3 m wide at its base and is flanked by high walls, resembling an alleyway. Archaeologists excavated the gateway in 2005/2006 and uncovered a tomb and various designs carved into the blockwork including snakes and heads.
There are other aspects which merit consideration: the colossal construction of Kuelap and the engineering required to provide a sophisticated system of rainwater drainage. After the big platform is being dilated this way, the wall stones that provide part of the structure are becoming detached. It has not also been clarified how the water supply was carried out; perhaps some of the enclosures that lacked access have served as places where water was reserved.
The function that Kuelap had, there is not also a completely satisfactory response. Popularly it is qualified as "fortress", because of its place and high walls that support its primary level. Adolf Bandelier and especially Louis Langlois tried to demonstrate that Kuelap, was more than a fortress, it might have been a fortified place destined to serve as refuge to the population in emergency situations.
The high walls that veneered the platform and the tightness of the access to the citadel in its final stretch, suggest in effect, that the monument of Kuelap could be constructed for offering a defensive character, or at least, it should have been a place that was protected against intruders. it can be concluded that Kuelap could be basically a pre-inca sanctuary.
