Vivencial Tour in Q’EROS 4D/3N

We will depart from Cusco at 7:00 am, our trip will last approximately 5 hours. Heading south on an asphalt road to the town of Paucartambo, from where we will continue along an affirmed road to the community. On our way, we will appreciate the towns of Saylla, Tipon and Oropesa recognized as gastronomic destinations for the variety and quality of dishes made from pork and guinea pig, then we will pass through Oropesa, the national capital of Pan, we will make a short Stop to stock up on the delicious “CHUTA bread” that we can share with our hosts. Two hours away we will arrive at the town of Ocongate, here we stop for a brief moment to buy coca leaves, important to start our communication with the Q’eros. We still have 2 hours of travel, in this section we will already feel the remoteness of the city and we will be entering beautiful high Andean landscapes, we will appreciate lagoons, rivers, glaciers and grazing places of South American camelids such as llamas and alpacas, and if we have Luckily we can see the vicuñas in the wild. At 5200 meters above sea level it is in the Huañunakasa pass, the highest point of our trip, here begins the territory of the Japu. After 10 minutes of descent, we can already appreciate the first mountain houses, where the Q’eros live for the care of llamas and alpacas. Then we will arrive at the Raqch’i hamlet, where we will find a grade number of families. Upon arrival, we will have a welcome by the host family, who will accommodate us in the resting places. At 12:30 pm we will have lunch prepared with organic inputs produced in the community, after lunch we will have a short break. In the afternoon, we will have a small meeting, where our hosts will indicate the activities we will carry out in the coming days. At night we can sit around a campfire to listen to the stories and the music that is.

We will make a walk in the direction of Apu Mama Rosa, sacred mountain for the Q’ero and the only glacier in the area. During our tour our hosts will talk to us about the cultural importance of livestock in the Japu community and the ancient knowledge about the domestication of llamas and alpacas. We can learn about medicinal plants that grow at this height, the importance of lagoons for trout farming, the meaning of mountain ranges and high Andean wetlands or wetlands. Upon returning, our hosts will perform the Andean ceremony to ask the pachamama (mother earth) and the apus (mountain spirits) for the well-being of the villagers and visitors.

We have to descend to the growing areas, here we can participate in the cultivation of native products such as potatoes, olluco, goose, year, among others. Our hosts will show us the stages of the production of each food and the tools they use at work, we can also know about the temporality of each product and how the seasons influence the production. In the afternoon we will have a meeting with the Q’ero women, who will give us an exhibition on the elaboration of the precious Q’eros fabrics, unique in their symbology, techniques and finishes, at the end of the session we will be lucky to acquire the blankets, ponchos, scarves, bags; If we wish so. To end our day, if the weather is favorable, we will observe the constellations, from the Q’ero knowledge.

After breakfast we will say goodbye to our host family thanking you for your hospitality and return to Cusco.