The rock art at Checta may be as much as 5000 years old, some say more. Carved onto rocks above the Chillon valley in the department of Lima, the petroglyphs hold the yet uninterpreted secrets of some of the most ancient Peruvians.

Once cared for by the elderly Doña Consuelo Livia, who dedicated more than 60 years of her life to protect these stones, they are now mostly left abandoned by Peruvian authorities, only a sign on the highway points to the location in the hills of the unsupervised artefacts.

Depicting all sorts of yet undetermined acts and ideas, the rock carvings are the only clue remaining to the people who used to inhabit this valley millenia ago. Some are obvious; fish, people animals. Others are of strange shapes.

Attached to this entry are some of my photos.
For more lower-quality photos and an introduction to Doña Consuelo, click here.
For a geologist’s story of his stay with Doña Consuelo in 1994, click here.

Photos –

Tags: checta, chillon valley, explorando lima, petroglyph, rock art