Peru

Cahuachi's secrets revealed from space

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Italian scientists discovered, with the help of satellite infrared images, a structure that looks like a pyramid buried in the archaeological site of Cahuachi, in Nasca. The structure appears to be halve-built and has at least four terraces with rising levels.

Since 1982, the Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici and his team members have been excavating in Cahuachi, 28 kilometers from Nasca, where they have found a walled building complex with four groups of large constructions. Among the buildings that stand out are the Great Pyramid, the Great Temple, and the Stepped Temple. In 1998, a deposit with 200 textiles was discovered, some depicting unknown myths. These are ceremonial garments for children and adults.

Cahuachi is the largest mud ceremonial center in the world, covering an area of 24 square kilometers. It was an important center for the Nasca culture, BC 400 to AD 400, and it was mostly used to make agricultural offerings. The Nasca Culture is known worldwide because of its lines and gigantic figures drawn in the desert.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/10/03/peru-cahuachi.html
http://www.caretas.com.pe/2003/1758/articulos/cahuachi.phtml
http://www.rpp.com.pe/

Underground passage discovered in Chavín de Huántar

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:16:00 +0000

A subterranean passage was recently discovered beneath a circular plaza in the archaeological site of Chavín de Huántar. A small cavity on the side of the plaza leads to the passage, which has a stone staircase that ends two meters down into a tunnel. The passage is 400 meters long and connects with the Mosna River.

According to the American archaeologist, John Rick, this place may have been used for offerings. Among the archaeological objects found in the passage are pieces of ceremonial ceramics, animal and human remains, as well as some metal items.

Barack Obama featured in a Nativity Scene of Chincha

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:25:00 +0000

On the 2008 Christmas Season, artisans in Chincha, Ica, built a Nativity Scene depicting Afro Peruvian characters made of fine ceramics from Ayacucho that included the then elected president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, as a guest. The image of the president was added to their work as a testimony of the current times, which bring changes and hope in Peru and the world.

Christmas in Cusco

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:28:00 +0000

For over 70 years, in Christmas Eve, in Cusco, hundreds of people have gathered in the Plaza de Armas, the main square, to enjoy the season while shopping and admiring exquisite Christmas art in the Santuranticuy (“Saints Sale” in Quechua). Santuranticuy is a provisional village market with a fiesta ambience, featuring skilled artisans from many Andean communities that come to show and sale their handicrafts from early in the morning to just before midnight. This traditional village market could soon be declared a National Cultural Heritage in Peru.

http://www.cusco-peru.org/cusco-festivities-cusco-december.shtml
http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=Hw2LpAIX3Cg=

More security in Mancora

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Security in the sun destination of Mancora and nearby beaches, in Northern Peru, was improved for the summer season. More police and lifesaver units offered a secure environment to visitors between January and March in 2009.

Ancient site discovered in Amazonas

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:31:00 +0000

A group of students and teachers discovered what appears to be a pre-Incan citadel in Utcubamba, in the region of Amazonas. The site was found on a mountain called Pachallama at 2,200 meters above sea level. Some of the structures that are not totally covered by the jungle look similar to the archaeological site of Kuelap, located in the same region. A couple of caves were also found with ancient objects made of ceramic.

Kuelap was built around 800 AD by the Chachapoyas, a fierce people that for years resisted the Inca colonization. Kuelap’s three entrances are narrow alleys between high walls of stones that become narrower as they reach the upper levels. In the citadel are 420 circular stone buildings made with rhombus and zigzag designs around them, as well as carved stones with animal and anthropomorphic motifs surrounded by beautiful orchids and bromeliads.

http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/Noticia.aspx?id=Z9ELyIpRUcc=

New benefits for visitors to the Colca Canyon

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Visitors to the Colca Canyon may soon have the benefit of a life insurance while visiting the region; the insurance cost will be added to the entrance fee to the valley, by June 2009.

Pre-Hispanic villages discovered in Cusco

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Archaeologists of the National Culture Institute (INC) found two villages that were lost underground for more than four centuries. The discovery was done near the Huanacaure Hill, known as the main shrine of the Inca Culture.

The research team, led by Oscar Montufar La Torre, used Spanish chronicles from the XVI and XVII centuries as reference for their investigation, such as the chronicle of Sarmiento de Gamboa. The villages were known as Matagua and Quirirmanta, which were built by the Killke Culture before falling into Inca domination.

http://peru21.pe/noticia/218501/arqueologos-descubren-dos-poblados-prehispanicos-sur-cusco
http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?Id=Xu8/ZaQcClM=

Improvements in the Anta-Huaraz airport

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Locals and tourists will benefit with the works currently done to modernize the airport in Anta, Ancash, which will offer a comfortable and secure environment to incoming and outgoing passengers. It is expected that the number of flights connecting Anta-Huaraz with Lima and other places in Peru will increase in the near future.

Huaraz is the gateway to a wonderland of snow peaks and nature that attracts mountaineers that come from all over the world to climb the summits of the Cordillera Blanca, the highest tropical mountain range on Earth.

Another important attraction is the massive temple of Chavin de Huantar, a UNESCO World Heritage Trust Site, and its new museum, the National Museum of Chavin. Visitors to the museum can admire the archaeological objects found in the temple’s underground tunnels and galleries, including the Tello Obelisk that was taken to Lima ninety years ago and had been recently brought back. Moreover, visitors can observe other impressive carved stone monoliths. Eventually, a research and conservation center will be built near the museum.

Cusco is one of Americans’ favorite destinations

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:52:00 +0000

According to a survey done by Condé Nast Traveller about the Americans’ favorite destinations in the continent, Cusco is number 6 of the 10 more visited places in the Americas. Buenos Aires (Argentina) is the first destination, and as for countries, Canada and Mexico are the most visited in the region.

Yellow Day

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Lima’s shopping centers will soon be crowded with customers in search for the traditional yellow garment to receive the New Year. According to popular belief, wearing yellow underwear in December 31st brings prosperity and happiness in the New Year, some people even wear the yellow garment inside out before midnight, and then after receiving the New Year they switch it right. Quite a few of them opt to wear other kind of yellow garment, such as a shirt, tie or any accessory. Lately, red garments are also been used on this date to bring love on the New Year.

http://blogs.elcomercio.pe/corresponsalesescolares/2009/01/amarillo-el-color-favorito-par.html
http://www.larepublica.com.pe/component/option,com_contentant/task,view/id,196691/Itemid,/
http://journalperu.com/?p=18

Easter Week in Ayacucho

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 23:04:00 +0000

Many national and international tourists travel around Peru in Easter Week, in order to enjoy the many colorful destinations that celebrate Easter. Most of them head to Ayacucho, since this city features the most spectacular Easter celebration in Latin America.

The colorful celebration of Easter Week features the passion of Christ over a path of beautiful flower carpets. It is an environment of popular festivities, fireworks, and commercial fairs that culminates with bullfighting and cockfighting events. It begins before Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday with the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

The gorgeous city of Ayacucho is one of the most distinguished colonial urban centers of the continent. It is an architecture jewel of baroque, renaissance, and mestizo (mixed race) styles that were built since Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1540. It is perhaps the colonial city with more churches built within its limits by the Spaniards: thirty-three churches with their own art, character, and history, which all are at walking distance from each other.

In the outskirts of Ayacucho, tourists can visit the archaeological sites of Wari, the first Andean empire (500-1100 AD), and Vilcashuaman, once a management center of the Incas.

http://www.adonde.com/turismo/ayacucho-semana-santa.php
http://www.rpp.com.pe/2010-03-27-telefonica-auspicia-la-celebracion-de-semana-santa-en-ayacucho-noticia_253235.html

Qoylluriti

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:17:00 +0000

For the traveler in search of deep cultural encounters, Peru offers wonderful destinations to experience its living cultures. One of these destinations is in a remote area of the Andes where the adventurous traveler can discover the culture and traditions of the Andean people in one of the highest festivals on Earth, Qoylluriti: Snow Star in Quechua. This is a pilgrimage to the Sinakara Valley at 4700 meters above sea level. At the valley, a lonely church at the bottom of the high Ausangate Mountain (6350m) opens its doors every end of May and beginning of June each year to welcome thousands of pilgrims that walk from far away places to celebrate Qoylluriti.

This celebration began before the arrival of the Europeans, a time when the pilgrims used to gather in Sinakara to worship their gods in gratitude for the water that melts down from the snow peak Apus—sacred mountains. According to the hearsay, local beliefs mingled with Roman Catholic traditions, brought by the Spaniards, when a shepherd boy had a vision of Christ around the 17th century.

Nowadays, the celebration beckons people from all over the world that come to enjoy a magical experience of color and sounds shown by artistic demonstrations from many Andean communities. An important event of Qoylluriti is when a group of men, the ukukus, climb the glaciers on the Cholquepunku Mountain at dawn under the moonlight to retrieve crosses set on top. They return just after sunrise carrying big pieces of ice for the pilgrims in Sinakara, ice that is believed to have medicinal qualities. The ukukus are welcomed with dances and music in a fantastic celebration of life that is performed in desolated but breathtaking mountain scenery.

http://takillakta.org/rcpal/article/546/el-senor-de-las-nieves-en-las-alturas-del-cusco-se-les-rinde-honores-a-los-apus-el-qoylluriti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qoyllur_Rit'i
http://www.andeantravelperu.com/en/tours_peru_travel_vacations/annual_festivals_cusco_peru/mf_qoylluriti.php

Inti Raymi

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:10:00 +0000

The Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, brings the Inca Empire back to life on June 24 each year. The remembrance of Pachacuti, first Inca Emperor, haunts during the celebration that honor Inti, the sun god. The Inca presides over the whole ceremony that begins at the Qoricancha, Temple of the Sun—once the most important building in the empire. The Spaniards built the Santo Domingo church on top of Qoricancha’s finest Inca stonework. According to Spanish chroniclers, most of the interior compartments were covered with gold plates.

Later on the day, the celebration of the Inti Raymi moves up to Sacsayhuaman, an impressive site that adds to the feeling of been back in time, where over 30,000 people, mostly Inca descendants, as well as many tourists from around the world, attend the three-hour ritual sitting on walls made of huge stones that were put together with absolute precision by the Incas.

Many artists from different Andean communities come to participate in the Inti Raymi. They filled the celebration with their rich cultural traditions, performing a colorful choreography with live folk music. The rituals include offerings to the Sun, such as the drinking of chicha—a fermented corn beer—as well as offerings of wood, gold, and silver objects depicting the Incas' world. The Inti Raymi reaches its climax with the reenactment of a llama sacrifice that ends when an Inca priest extirpates the animal’s heart to reveal the omens of the future.

The Peruvian Harp

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:37:00 +0000

Since the Spanish introduced the European harp in the then Viceroyalty of Peru, the musical instrument has gone over significant changes in its form and structure due to adaptations made by the Peruvian natives, made according to their artistic needs. The Peruvian harps differ from each other in size and form; however, they all have a big resonance box. This box produces sounds that travel far away over the dry and thin air of the Andean altitudes.

When trekking over the Andes, trekkers could listen to the sounds of music approaching as they walk, sounds coming from far away valleys and mountains. Sometimes is a small band, sometimes is a solo harpist, filling the air with wonderful Andean rhythms.

http://www.musicaperuana.com/arpa/

Millenary Andean Caravans

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 23:48:00 +0000

For more than 4,000 years, llama caravans have traveled over an extensive network of roads throughout the Andes. Ancient cultures such as the Tiwanacu, Wari, and the Inca, benefit with the use of llama caravans. Caravans made of thousands of llamas carrying goods to and from the main cities, maintained a trade relationship between long distance communities as far as the Amazon basin and the Pacific shore.

The Incas improved and extended the network of roads, the Qapaq Ñan, throughout the Andean Range and the western coast of South America. The Qapaq Ñan connected the four regions of the Inca Empire, called by them Tahuantinsuyo (the four quarters of the world), a territory that is currently shared by six countries in the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Nowadays, a few caravans of llamas still journey over the Andean Mountains, such as the Salt Caravan that carry the mineral from the Cotahuasi Valley, in Arequipa, to the region of Apurimac. This is a fourteen-day round trip, where about 20 llamas travel up to 20 Km a day carrying about 22 kilograms of cargo each. Travel agencies, in some parts of the country, offer tourist llama caravans for the trekkers as well.

A great way to reach the archaeological site of Chavin de Huantar, in the region of Ancash, is by joining a Llama Pack Trek, a caravan of llamas that crosses the Huascaran National Park on an Inca road. This is a moderate trek that takes travelers through beautiful landscapes over the highest tropical mountain range in the world.

http://mapaspects.org/projects/llama-caravan-2007/llama-caravan-2007-project-overview
http://www.llamapaedia.com/origin/domestic.html

La Lima de Mario Vargas Llosa

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 00:21:00 +0000

A new edition of the literary guide, La Lima de Mario Vargas Llosa, that takes the traveler through the imaginary worlds of the 2010 Literary Nobel Price will soon be published. The first edition, published in 2008, included locations from four of Vargas Llosa works: Los Jefes, 1959, Los Cachorros, 1967, La Ciudad y los Perros, 1963, and Conversacion en la Catedral, 1969. As soon as it is ready, the English and Spanish guide will be available at “iPeru,” tourist information kiosks around the country.

http://www.peru.info/s_ftopublicaciones.asp
www.andina.com.pe/espanol/

New discoveries in Sacsayhuaman

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:20:00 +0000

A team of archaeologists from the National Culture Institute (INC) that is working at the Archaeological Park of Sacsayhuaman, has found textiles and 277 objects made of bronze among others while doing their research of an area called Inkacárcel. Sacsayhuaman is in the outskirts of the city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire.

An ancient funeral site was discovered near Ayacucho

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:27:00 +0000

A group of Peruvian archaeologists found tombs and human remains that may have been from the Warpa, a culture that flourished in this northern area of the Ayacucho Region between 250 and 500 AD. The site was discovered in the area called Tukuq Urqu, near the town of Huanta, and according to the archaeologists, some of the 10 tombs found in the area may have also been from the Wari Empire, a culture that thrived from the 6th to the 12th century.

Destinations worth visiting in the Arequipa Region

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:36:00 +0000

The city of Arequipa, called the White City because it was built almost entirely with “sillar,” a white volcanic rock, is a UNESCO World Cultural Site. Arequipa is a charming city with old churches, monasteries, and mansions that are testimony of its rich past, such as the monastery of Santa Catalina, a XVI century walled-citadel within the city.

In the outskirts of Arequipa City, you can walk among 5,000 stones carved with anthropomorphic petroglyphs at Toro Muerto. Journey through awe-inspiring places, such as the Valley of the Volcanoes, a moonlike landscape of 80 small volcanoes; and the Cotahuasi and Colca, the World's deepest canyons, 3,400m deep and surrounded by sharp, snow-capped peaks such as the Mismi, whose melted snow grow to be the great Amazon River. Admire the depth of the canyons and see the Andean condor fly, the largest flying bird on Earth, with a wingspan of more than 3 meters (9 feet), at viewpoints such as the Cruz Del Condor. At the bottom, the thundering Cotahuasi and Colca Rivers are an irresistible challenge to the bold and experienced kayakers and white-water enthusiasts.

Airport taxes in Lima

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:33:00 +0000

Passengers that travel through Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport pay more in airport taxes (TUUA) since March 2009. The tax for international departures was raised to US$30.74 or S/. 86.07 (Nuevo Sol), and for national flights it came up to US$7.34 or S/. 20.55.

http://www.lap.com.pe/lap_portal/tuua.html

Marriott’s construction site reveals Inca walls

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:05:00 +0000

A few months after Marriott’s Cusco Hotel construction began, several Inca walls were discovered underground. The discovery puzzled archaeologists since according to old documents, which date back to colonial time, the area where the walls are located was an agricultural site. Because of this fact, Cusco’s XV century urban plan will soon be reconsidered.

Construction of Cusco’s JW Marriott Hotel includes the restoration of the Augustine Monastery, which will be converted in a five-star hotel scheduled to open in 2012. The Inca walls discovered will be considered as part of the new hotel structure, adding to its historic atmosphere.

Potato: Treasure of the Andes

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 04:34:00 +0000

Potatoes originated in the Andes, particularly in Peru where the most genetic diversity is concentrated. They have become the world’s most widely grown tuber crop, and the fourth largest food crop in terms of fresh produce. Their versatility and easy preparation make them an important ingredient for gourmet dishes. Potatoes are known for their high carbohydrate and protein content; they also contain a number of important vitamins and minerals.

The importance of potatoes as food staple in Inca times was shown in special ceremonies and festivities. Nowadays, Peruvians celebrate the benefits of this produce in the National Day of Potatoes, every year in May.

Potatoes may have provided the Incas with the energy needed for the expansion of their empire on a scale never before attempted in aboriginal America. Began by Pachacuti, the first Inca emperor, and then followed by his son Tupa Inca, they forge an empire nearly as far reaching and well organized as Caesar’s Rome; and they conquered on foot. According to Loren Mc Intyre* “Tupa Inca who took the title Yupanqui, meaning unforgettable, is forgotten today in comparison to Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and other conquerors who overran vast territories –and they rode horses”.

Future discoveries beyond our planet may benefit with potatoes as a food staple for astronauts on long-term voyages through the universe; in 1995, they become the first vegetable grown in space.

* “Lost Empire of the Incas” National Geographic, Vol. 144, No. 6 (December 1973) http://www.history-magazine.com/potato.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato http://www.rpp.com.pe/2009-06-16-primer-gran-festival-de-la-papa-ecologica-noticia_188531.html

Pomac Forest Historic Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:16:00 +0000

The Pomac Forest, once the center of the ancient Sican Culture, embraces the highest number of pre-Inca pyramids in South America, which emerged from one of the largest equatorial dry forests of the world. Within the 5,887 hectares of the sanctuary, many archaeological sites have yield important information that is helping researchers learn more about the Sican Culture (900 to 1100 AC). The objects found by the archaeologists are restored and later exhibited in the National Museum of Sican where the jewelry of the Lord of Sican is in exhibition. Furthermore, the sanctuary’s flora and endemic fauna attracts nature observers such as bird-watchers from around the world.

Most of the dry forest is made of algarrobo trees which beans are used to produce algarrobina flour and syrup for culinary arts. A popular frothy mocha-like drink called Algarrobina, is made with the algarrobina syrup and pisco, the Peruvian liquor. Zapote trees, vichayo bushes, and big cactus, among other flora abound in the forest too. Bird lovers could find 70 species, 22 of them endemic, such as the huerequeque and the red head parrot. Among mammals, there are anteaters, mountain cats, foxes, vampire bats, and squirrels. As for reptiles, the forest is a haven for iguanas, boas, pacasos, and coralillos. This is a unique environment of nature and culture worth visiting in Peru.

Taking care of Chan Chan for future generations

noreply@blogger.com (www.coolPeru.com) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:49:00 +0000

Work on the restoration of Chan Chan is bringing the imperial city of the Chimu back to the way it used to be, when their kingdom ruled the northern deserts of the Peruvian coast from Tumbes to Lima. Recently, over two kilometers of walls have been restored by a team of 500 people. The walls are twelve meters high and four meters wide on their base; they surround three of the main palaces in the city: Tschudi, Bandelier, and Velarde.

Chan Chan is the largest adobe city of pre-Columbian America and is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 1986; it was built by the skillful Chimus around 850 AD and fell under Inca domination in 1470 AD. The mud city of Chan Chan covers approximately twenty square kilometers and was home for over 100,000 people, it is located near the colonial city of Trujillo in northern Peru.