Peru a living Culture

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.