Knitting Traditions and Cultures of Peru

Today’s guided tour of Lima starts at the ancient ceremonial centre of Huaca Pucllana, built centuries before the arrival of the Spanish. In the historic centre of Lima, we’ll stroll around the main square, Plaza de Armas, where we’ll admire what is certainly the best architecture in the city and perhaps in all of Peru. We’ll also visit Lima Cathedral and Santo Domingo convent and its extensive monastery. Our final visit of the morning will be to Amano Pre-Columbian Textile Museum is internationally renowned for its great collection of archaeological material from pre-Columbian Peruvian cultures. We’ll spend some time here before our final visit of the day, to Manos del Peru. Founded in 1982 by husband-and-wife team Rosa Kukurelo and Hugo Vargas, Manos del Peru are proud to be one of the largest producers of handmade fashion in the world. Each piece celebrates the luxurious quality of some of the finest natural fibres in Peru including alpaca, baby alpaca and Pima cotton. The couple work with talented local artists who, using ancient techniques passed from generation to generation, transform the life of their family and of their community, using their handiwork as a route to economic independence. Later this afternoon we’ll enjoy our first workshop with our expert.

This morning we fly to Arequipa. Our time here begins with a walk through Santa Catalina Monastery where we will explore the 3 centuries of history hidden behind its walls. Our tour continues to Compañia church, famous for its intricately carved churrigueresque style façade and colourful altar of Saint Ignacio. At the main square we will visit the neo-Rennaissance style cathedral. We continue by road to Yanahuara giving views of the city and the Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu volcanoes. Our highlight of the day, however, may well be our visit to one of the alpaca centres in the city. Here we will learn about the animals and their fleece and meet the people who work with the fibre and see some of the finished products.

We make an early start this morning to travel to Yanque. On route we’ll pass through Pata Wasi (high home), an Andean community, where we’ll see some interesting stone formations and the slopes of Chachani and Misti volcanoes. To prevent altitude sickness, we’ll stop to enjoy a coco tea. As we approach the village of Chivay, we’ll be dazzled by the sight of the 1,500 year old brightly coloured valley terraces built by the Collaguas, a culture before Inca times.

Another early start this morning. Our first stop will be to the Plaza de Armas in Yanque, where students from three local schools perform folk dances to support school programmes. We continue to visit the condor viewpoint, located on the edge of the canyon. From the viewpoint the glory of the Colca Canyon will be spread out before you. The condors will make their regular morning flight out of the canyon and you will have an excellent view of them as the sun rises over the jagged Peruvian peaks. This afternoon we’ll enjoy our first workshop with our expert.

We travel by road to Puno today. En route we will view pre-Incan tombs located on nearby cliffs and pass through the very colourful towns of Pinchollo and Maca.

Our excursion today, by motorboat, takes us to two of Lake Titicaca’s islands. Our first stop is the Uros islands, a collection of 65 small islands. During the visit our guide will explain about the history and lifestyle of the people that have lived on these islands for many years. Our second stop, Taquile island, is a traditional Quechua-speaking community full of ancient agricultural terraces and ruins dating back to pre-Inca times. The population here was relatively isolated from the mainland until the 1950s and the notions of community and family remain strong. The weaving tradition on the island goes back to early civilisations and preserves elements from pre-Incan Andean cultures. The most characteristic garments are the *chullo*, a knitted hat with an earflap and a calendar waistband, depicting the annual cycles of ritual and agricultural life. From the island we’ll enjoy impressive views of Lake Titicaca and the little houses inhabited by the direct descendants of the Inca culture.

Today we travel by train to Cusco. The route covered by the Titicaca train is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and we will be welcomed at Puno station by local musicians as we board. Facilities aboard include two dining cars serving the finest gourmet food, decorated in the style of the Pullman cars of the 1920s.

Today we will discover the beauty and magic of Cusco, the imperial city of the Incas. Our tour starts at the Koricancha, the most important temple in the Inca empire. Next, we will visit Cusco Cathedral where we can view the works of the Cusco School of Painters and the gold and silver relief work on the main altar and pulpit. At the imposing fortress of Sacsayhuaman, a very impressive Incan construction, we will see the stones the size of a truck that form the walls and have been carefully cut and fitted together. We next visit the Tambomachay Archaeological Complex, an important ceremonial centre during Inca times. Our final visit of the morning will be to the Traditional Textile Centre (CTTC), a non-profit organisation established in 1996 by Andean weavers and their supporters. The mission of the centre is to aid in the survival of Cusqueñan textile traditions and to provide support to the indigenous people who create them. The centre works with 10 weaving communities in the Cusco region of Peru on a fair-trade basis to help rescue traditions and promote the weavers and their work. Through community organization, workshops, educational opportunities and more, the CTTC ensures that there is a future for Cusqueñan textile traditions.

Our excursion today will take us to the beautiful Sacred Valley. On route we will stop in Ccaccaccollo, a small and scenic town hidden in the Peruvian Andes. Here, some 50 families live off agriculture and textiles; the women do the weaving, and the men do the farming. The weaving traditions have been passed down the generations. We will attend a talk and demonstration to learn how the textiles are made and take the opportunity to make our own interpretation of the different styles and shapes on the textiles they have made for hundreds of years. One of the family members will explain the best techniques to recreate this traditional iconography. Whilst here we will observe all the processes from the shearing of the wool, spinning, washing with natural soap, collection of plants and flowers used for natural dyeing and finally the making of clothes including blankets, ponchos and chullos. We’ll continue to the ruins of Pisac where we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the citadel, visiting ruins of temples, homes, altars, carvings, tunnels and caves.

Today’s excursion takes us through lush fields of wheat and the snow-capped peaks of the Andes to Moray, ‘the Inca agricultural greenhouse’. Here we can see three amphitheatre-style terraces built by the Incas. The terraces, carved deep into the earth in a bowl shape, are thought to have been used to determine the optimal conditions for growing crops. We continue to the village of Maras, a former salt producing centre that is thought to date back to pre-Inca times. There are 3,000 salt pools carved into the mountainside; the highly salty water emerges as a spring. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs down several hundred ancient, terraced ponds. The water, exposed to the sun, leaves salt on the land.

Later we will enjoy a weaving demonstration where we will learn first-hand how weavers turn alpaca and sheep wool into fine textiles. Beginning with spinning and moving through each step of the weaving process, we will watch as the women of the Away Weaving Association work their magic. Discover the rainbow of colours that natural dyes produce and gain a greater appreciate of the long hours that go into each textile as the weavers show how to warp, weave and finally finish with the unique ñawi awapa border technique.

This afternoon we’ll enjoy our third workshop with our expert.

This morning we travel by train through majestic views to Aguas Calientes. From here we take the bus to Machu Picchu archaeological site, where we will take a walking tour with a local guide and have some free time to visit the mysterious ancient city by ourselves.

Another opportunity to visit Machu Picchu. This afternoon we will return by train to Ollantaytambo and on to Cusco by road.

Transfer to the Museo del Chocolate for a workshop. We’ll prepare, mold and decorate our very own chocolates choosing from a range of more than 15 local flavours such as chilli, coca leaf and muña (an Andean mint). We’ll also learn about the wider chocolate making process, starting with the cocoa tree in the Peruvian jungle to harvesting and refinement. We’ll try our hand at roasting the cocoa beans, removing coco husk, grinding the coco nibs and refining the cocoa paste in a melange (chocolate grinding machine). Transfer to the airport for our internal flight to Lima and our overnight flight onwards to London.