Peru offers excellent destinations
to found a Living Culture
Welcome to Peru!
Prepare to surrender to its magic. The celebration of
almost 3,000 popular feasts per year is but one small
hint of the vast treasure trove of multicultural
traditions you will find here.
From the coast to the jungle and through the
highlands, Peruvian people live the same way as their
ancestors did a thousand years ago; maintaining their
dances, handcrafts, textiles, customs and keeping their
spirit alive.
At Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world,
a whole village floats on the water. Hundreds of the
years ago the
Uros people
created these floating islands
- made of Totora reed - by stacking one reed on top of
another until a stable platform was built. They lived on
these islands as they sailed around the lake to fish or
hunt for their food. You can still see the Uros today,
living as if they had floated through time.
Conscious of the value that living cultures mean to travelers from every corner
of the world, a number of communities in Puno have opened to rural and
experienced based tourism, both in the island and on land. It is there were the
ventures of Taquile,
Amantani,
Uros and Llachon can be found. The
visitor to Amantani or Taquile islands will visit Uros island on the route.
"Qoyllur Rit'i "- the feast of the Shining Snow - is one
of Peru's most incredible expressions of faith and
tradition. Starting on Trinity Sunday, more than 70,000
people come together at the Sinakara Valley in the
province of Quispicanchis,
Cuzco, to embark on a
pilgrimage of hope to the top of a snow covered
mountain, 15,090 feet above sea level. After a 5 mile
walk, thousands of dancers, hundreds of bands and
countless believers finish their journey toward the
"Apus" -the mountain gods- asking for money, love, luck,
or whatever else they feel they are lacking.
Most of these people will speak Quechua -the
mother-tongue of more than 3 million Peruvians- or any
of the 91 other indigenous languages that are still in
use. Aguaruna, Machiguenga and Huitoto are just some of
the native tongues that survive in the jungle, keeping
the voices of our forefathers intact, along with their
customs.
Almost all of the native handcrafts you'll see are made
of natural elements like bones, feathers and seeds that
are collected to create beautiful pieces of art.
Medicine here is based on the use of plants and herbs
that have been used for hundreds of years. This practice
is so widespread, Peru's Ministry of Health has an
office dedicated to it.
Venture up into the highland and through the Andes, and
you will find that the remains of the Incas are all
around. Whether you're walking through the stone roads
of the Inca Trail - built 500 years ago but still in use
today- or viewing the innovative "andenes" -terrace
farming- you'll witness how the present meets the past.
Discover it all for yourself.
Come to Peru!
Where you'll experience all these archaeological
monuments, along with the remains of an ancient culture
that's still very much alive.
