Communities Experiences

Peru has a cultural wealth at the height of great and millenary civilizations in humanity´s history.

Tourism in Peru is mainly oriented towards culture and live experiences; areas that attract 80 percent of our visitors, with an average of a 19 day staying time per individual. Live experience tourism revolves around the cohabitation between visitors and local families who lodge them and have their guests participate in their daily lives and share with them their knowledge, habits and customs.

The other twenty percent go for adventure tourism, due to their interest in the practice of a variety of sports like climbing up mountains, do rafting, snow-biking, sea and mountain surfing, as well as so many other forms of entertainment for our visitors. There is an interesting variety of adventures that visitors can go for in this country, due to the climatic and geographical diversity of its territory. For example, simultaneously, when it is summer on the coast, it´s winter in the mountains and in the jungle, the climate is tropical.

Our visitors have the opportunity to go back to the past and live pre-Incan, Incan, colonial and republican Andean traditions manifested through the varied Peruvian gastronomy, art, communal customs, music, in the use of the llama as the Andean burden animal, on a hike through snowy landscapes of the Andean White Cordillera, on the Inca´s Trails, within and around Cusco or in the surroundings of the enigmatic Temple of Chavín de Huantar and in general, in this wonderful country´s Andean region.

Visitors who wish to journey through our territory, step by step, have the opportunity to go for rural live experiences in farmers´ houses, with families who have prepared their houses in order to lodge guests and who are willing to show them their way of life, customs and traditions such as that of plowing fields with oxen, preparing bread, participate in offering ceremonies to Mother Earth, sow products of the area, go on hikes to nearby attractions, as well as so many other local customs and practices kept through time.

For example, in Cusco, inhabitants of three communities of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, open their doors to “pilgrims”, in order to share their daily lives through live experiences. Your stay allows you to directly participate in farming activities, celebrations and rituals, achieving a true live exchange, in balance with nature. In addition, it is possible to relive multi-millenary myths and traditions in contact with local inhabitants, during the journey on the ancestral itineraries of the Inca´s Trails, as well as that of Ollantaytambo.

Q´EROS´ COMMUNITY

In the Andean World, the spiritual side of life is a deep experience with the environment and nature. The earth, the mountains, rivers, trees, caves and rocks are sacred and express themselves through the Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and the APUS (The mountains´ Protecting Spirits). Everything in nature is animated; everything has power and it only depends on the human being how he/she will handle and benefit from this power. Thus, one can understand why Andean cultural, mythical and historical heroes display magic and spiritual qualities, instead of war-like ones. In Quechua, the very word “Warrior” has more to do with the Power of Wisdom than with the power of weapons.
In Q´eros, Priests are called PAQOS and they are specialists and acknowledged in the handling of supernatural powers that emanate from Mother Earth and the Cosmos. Basically, the Paqo must know how to read the Sacred Coca Leaves which is an oracle of infinite possibilities, as each leaf is unique in its shape and message.

But, the Coca and its properties go much further than the ceremonial use, as it replenishes energies, it nourishes the body and serves as a medicine and these virtues turn it into a health balancing and integrating element in the Andean life´s human and superhuman relations.

However, since the Spaniards´ arrival in 1532, the Coca has become the object of a series of humiliations and violations that have direct negative repercussions on the social life of the people who make a traditional use of it.

GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION:

The Inca Q´eros Nation is situated in the Province of Paucartambo, beyond the Apu Shinaq´ara´s snow-capped mountain tops, in the Vilcanota Mountain Range, in the Department of Cusco which has different landscapes with a variety of microclimates and five ecological levels.

ITINERARY:

Q´EROS PROGRAM / 7 DAYS and 6 NIGHTS

Q´eros; the last Incan Ayllu
The visit to the Sacred Mountains (Apus) or Protector Snow-capped Peaks, as well as the offerings to Mother Earth (PACHA MAMA) show that even today, the Andean people, with their lifestyle and tradition which has been denominated “Syncretism” and which is present in their Acts of Faith in a Spiritual Communion with their All Powerful Acting God. A palpable sample of that reality is the Q´eros Nation, as its inhabitants go on putting into practice their Ancestors´ Andean Religion mixed with certain elements of Christianity imposed by the Catholic Church and which they adapted in their own way, with very peculiar habits and customs, in their different festivities and in particular, in their simple life experience, connected with the Apus and the Pacha Mama who protect them and give them support with Mother Nature´s fruit.

First day: We´ll leave Cusco at 8:00 a.m., going to Cheqtak´ucho, passing by the localities of Urcos, Catca, Kaure, Ocongate, T´inki, Mawayani and Walla Walla, on an 8 hour and 130 km. journey, entering through the Walla Walla Mountain Pass (4,760 m.a.sl.) and staying overnight in Cheqtak´ucho.

Second day: We´ll start our hike around 8:00 a.m., with the Wallata Pampa camp as our destination. The uphill hike is gradual, observing small hamlets with houses made of stones and thatched roofs. Arriving at the first mountain pass, it will be possible to sight vicuñas at a distance. Then, we´ll descend to Kikok´ucho, so as to go up again to the second mountain pass, getting to our second camp at 5:00 p.m.

Third day: We´ll get to the Community of Huchuy Q´eros (3,900 m.a.sl.) around midday, to share lunch with the Paqo Healers and their relatives.Late in the afternoon and at night, we´ll participate in a ceremony to the Pacha Mama, giving a health offering (despacho) for the group and ending the day with a bonfire.

Fourth day: We´ll participate in community or family activities, such as sowing, harvest, etc. and in the early evening, we´ll perform another offering ceremony for the Apus; Sacred Mountain Spirits, with a bonfire as well.

Fifth day: Individual work with the members of the group, according to the kind of protection they need and later on in the afternoon, rest for everyone.

Sixth day: We´ll leave at 7:00 a.m., to go to Cheqtak´ucho, arriving there at 5:00 p.m. to stay overnight.

Seventh day: Return to Cusco and end of our services.

INCLUDES:

• Round trip transportation
• English, english and Portuguese speaking guide
• Cook
• Horsemen (horses)
• Food (6 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners)
• Camping equipment
• First aid kit
• Oxygen tank.

DOES NOT INCLUDE:

• Sleeping bag
• Breakfast on the first day
• Lunch and dinner on the seventh day.

CHICHUBAMBA (Urubamba – Cusco)

It is a mainly rural community surrounded by a green and luxuriant countryside. There, cow breeding is the main source of income and is complemented with the breeding of guinea pigs and beekeeping, as well as with the production of textiles and ceramics, among others. Chichubamba is located in the heart of the Sacred Valley and offers a different alternative in which you will have the opportunity to blend in the country life, sharing in farming and cultural activities, amidst a paradise-like landscape.
Submerge in the culture and daily lives of farming families of that beautiful countryside, in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Location and access:
The community of Chichubamba is located near the town of Urubamba, situated 60 km. away from Cusco, at an altitude of 2,895 m.a.s.l. and along the banks of the Vilcanota River, in an area known as the “Sacred Valley” due to its mild climate, fertile soil and abundant streams that turn it into one of the planet´s most beautiful valleys.

CUPER BAJO (Chinchero – Cusco)

It is a village that maintains its ancient Incan lineage, with its beautiful landscapes adorned by two lagoons and on the horizon of which gather dauntless snow-capped peaks and where noisy and colorful Sunday fairs call the local population to the practice of exchanging their products, as a means of commercial trade. Their singular iconography and harmony of colors turn their textile art into the object of admiration of locals, as well as that of foreigners.
There, you will have the opportunity to share moments with the direct heirs of that heritage, gathered around the “Mama Occllo” and “Apu Antasaqa” associations; women who create the most exquisite textile works of art and have opened their workshops to share with visitors each step of the elaboration process of these woven pieces, using ancestral techniques and skills.

Location and access:
Chinchero, also locally known as Cuper Pueblo, is the main locality of one of the districts of the Urubamba Province. It is situated 28 km. North-west of Cusco, with access on an asphalted road and at an altitude that reaches 3,780 m.a.s.l.

CUPER BAJO (Chinchero – Cusco)

It is a village that maintains its ancient Incan lineage, with its beautiful landscapes adorned by two lagoons and on the horizon of which gather dauntless snow-capped peaks and where noisy and colorful Sunday fairs call the local population to the practice of exchanging their products, as a means of commercial trade. Their singular iconography and harmony of colors turn their textile art into the object of admiration of locals, as well as that of foreigners.
There, you will have the opportunity to share moments with the direct heirs of that heritage, gathered around the “Mama Occllo” and “Apu Antasaqa” associations; women who create the most exquisite textile works of art and have opened their workshops to share with visitors each step of the elaboration process of these woven pieces, using ancestral techniques and skills.

Location and access:
Chinchero, also locally known as Cuper Pueblo, is the main locality of one of the districts of the Urubamba Province. It is situated 28 km. North-west of Cusco, with access on an asphalted road and at an altitude that reaches 3,780 m.a.s.l.

PATACANCHA (Ollantaytambo - Cusco)

The community of Rumira Sondormayo and Patacancha are the last and exceptional live vestige of the Incan civilization in the Sacred Valley, where their culture, social organization system, ancestral practices of organic agricultural production and the shepherding of alpacas and llamas.
You will be received by farming families of the community, with whom you will have a chance to talk, share their roof and enjoy the typical local gastronomy. Discover their communal organizational system, participate in traditional farming activities and visit the women weavers. At night, by the heat of a bonfire, you will appreciate traditional tales and some typical dance.

Location and access:
The communities of Patacancha and Rumira Sondormayo are situated in the District of Ollantaytambo, Province of Urubamba, Department of Cusco, at a distance of 25 km. or one hour by bus from their district´s main locality and at an altitude of 3,915 m.a.s.l.

RAQCHI (San Pedro – Cusco)

This new live experience alternative in Raqchi, is unique in its kind, wonderful and fascinating, as you will enjoy cohabitating with Raqchi´s inhabitants. We´ll visit local family houses and will get to know the ancestral customs and traditions they keep alive through the generations. We´ll also help in daily tasks and will be part of the locals´ daily life, as we´ll get to know more about their crops, sowing techniques and daily work on the land, to harvest their food. At night, we´ll assist to a folkloric show of typical dances of the area. We´ll also go for a guided visit of the Temple of Wiraqocha which, according to chroniclers, was built by the Inca Wiraqocha in homage to the Andean people´s Invisible God: Apu Kon Titi Wiraqocha”. After the visit, we´ll observe handicraft and woven textiles elaborated by the area´s inhabitants and afterwards, we´ll share a typical lunch.

Location and access:
Situated on km. 125 of the road to Puno, on the banks of the Vilcanota River, the village of Raqchi belongs to the District of San Pedro de Cacha, Province of Canchis and is seated at an altitude of 3,500 m.a.s.l. (11,500 ft.). Apparently, its pre-Hispanic name was “Cacha” and not “Raqchi”.

COTABAMBAS (Tambobamba – Apurimac)

Cotabambas is a typical village of the Apurimac´s region, in which the different Andean and english ways of life still maintain themselves alive, as the locals organize each year festivities in which they mix the Andean with the Colonial customs. This village is a clear display that the Andean people are still present with their customs and traditions.
Cotabambas is a very traditional population, as they maintain their typical dances, as well as the different festive activities, such as horse races, typical of these people, without saddle or professional jockeys, typical carnivals, horseback rides to visit the surroundings, along with the village´s tall houses. That population´s most important celebration is the great feast that they organize and for which Cotabambas is well known; the YAWAR FIESTA which is the most traditional feast they have, taking place on July 28. On December 8, is the festivity of the Immaculate Conception; the village´s Patron, with feasts in which enter the condor and bull, to measure their cultural power.

Location and access:
Like an eagle´s nest, Cotabambas is hung onto the mountainside, in a capricious conformation, at 3,380 m.a.s.l. and dominating a wide open landscape of deep gorges and loud rivers, 130 km. West of the city of Cusco.
In order to get to that enigmatic land, we´ll follow the Cusco – Abancay asphalted road, all the way to the locality of Inquilpata, wherefrom a small side dirt road will take us to Cotabambas. The road climbs stuck to the mountainside, up to the Ch´uroq´asa Mountain Pass (3,805 m.a.s.l.), where it starts to go down to the locality of Chinchaypujio (Province of Anta), from which there will be a few minutes of foothills before getting to the Condorwachana Vantage Point, where we´ll be able to contemplate the majesty of the imposing Apurimac´s Canyon, with its indescribable magnitude and unmatched beauty.
From that point on, the downhill is abrupt, in 24 spectacular zigzags, down to the Huallpachaca Bridge (2,150 m.a.s.l.), being the itinerary´s lowest point and from there, we´ll go up again to 3,380 m.a.s.l. and after curves and counter curves, suddenly, Cotabambas will come into sight, as a peaceful and welcoming Andean village seated in the region formerly inhabited by the Kutaqpampa ethnic group who supplied part of the Incan Empire´s mining wealth.