Travelling through the Andean highlands to a Wonder of the World, Laurel Munshower cuts through typical tourism to find authenticity in the warmth of traditional communities in Peru.
I don’t know if it was the stunning surroundings, genuine interactions, the low-oxygen Andean altitudes – or maybe a combination of all three – but Peru plucked at my heartstrings in a way that very few travel experiences have.
Let’s be frank: I got misty-eyed on more than a couple of occasions and, although you may not know me, I can assure you that’s no small feat. But as soon as I was wrapped in the warm embrace of the Quechua women – mamas – of the Huilloc Alto community, I understood a door to something truly special was being opened.
CUSCO
The old Incan city of Cusco is where my journey began, and I barrelled into its 3,400-metre (11,200 ft) altitude with all the gusto of someone who has trekked to 4,130 metres in the Himalayas… once, 14 years ago. Learn from my hubris: while this altitude is unlikely to knock you out, it does make everything ever-so-slightly more challenging. Drink lots of water, and instead of “limiting” yourself to just one cocktail during your first afternoon in town, maybe have none. Likewise, rather than pushing yourself to explore on arrival, indulge in a nap or an early bedtime to recharge. You’ll likely acclimatise more quickly.
I was in Cusco to kick off my tour of Peru with Intrepid Travel, which was borne of an Aussie duo road tripping across Africa in 1988. This now-sprawling tour company (it boasts over 1,000 trips and 1,500 local leaders) promised an authentic and responsible small-group travel experience, inspired by the founders’ original “intrepid” journey over three decades ago. Peru – more specifically Machu Picchu – was one of the first destinations to inspire my wanderlust as a child and as I’d somehow yet to make it there, I was all in to experience it through the Intrepid lens.
It’s in Cusco’s historic centre that I meet our local leader, Norma, to begin the journey. More than a guide, we’ll find Norma to be the beating heart of the experience as the days go on. Part of Peru’s Quechua community, Norma is not only a treasure trove of tourist-friendly knowledge, but a genuine window into the local communities that we visit, and shares glimpses of her own Peruvian, and sometimes quite personal, experiences that help bring us all closer to this destination. She also ran a tight ship, keeping a group of avid explorers on schedule, while allowing flexibility where it would best benefit us.
A walking tour of Cusco’s historic centre is an excellent introduction to Peru and its Incan history (from which the Quechua language and people hail). Ours takes place on a Sunday morning, an active day for Plaza de Armas, the city’s main square, as it hosts parades and events. This week it’s a military parade with lots of pomp and circumstance as the Peru and Cusco flags are raised – occasionally interrupted by playful pups jumping in and out of the decorative fountain that features a statue of former Incan King, Pachacutec. There’s no shortage of scenery to take in; the square’s pretty gardens and the grand architecture surrounding it include the Gothic-Renaissance Cusco Cathedral, built in the 1500s-1600s, and the smaller, 17th-century Baroque Church of the Society of Jesus with an impressive gilded alter inside. They’re absolute stunners, but also stark reminders of the Spanish conquest of Peru, not only because of their European aesthetics, but also because of the fact that they were built over the vast Inca palace Quishuarqancha, said to have been one of the fallen empire’s most beautiful.
From here we stroll down centuries-old streets still lined by strong foundations and walls put in place by the Incas in the 1200s. Made of enormous, irregularly-shaped blocks that fit cleanly together like puzzle pieces, we see the famed 12-angled stone on the aptly named Hatun Rumiyoc Street – it means “street with big stones.” In this area you can also see how these perfectly-carved blocks were sometimes used for decorative purposes, depicting local creatures such as snakes, guinea pigs (cuy) and pumas (which, fun fact, the Incas shaped Cusco to resemble).
Continuing to wind our way into the hills of old Cusco, amid narrow streets lined with colourful balconies, the cute San Blas neighbourhood (described by many a guidebook as “boho”) is filled with boutiques and cafés. We find ourselves at the bustling San Pedro market, where locals and tourists mix for its tempting array of market goods; fresh produce (meats, bread, cheese, flowers) and souvenirs (chocolates, tea, coca products, alpaca textiles, tchotchkes) are all up for grabs and with negotiable prices. A favoured Peruvian souvenir is vicuña textiles – and it’s soft, softer even than cashmere, so expect high prices and beware a bargain; baby alpaca is the next-softest, then alpaca, then llama. Watch out for bargain prices on baby alpaca, too, which likely indicates “maybe alpaca,” consisting of only 2-3 per cent baby alpaca fur.
The last stop on our Cusco walking tour is Casa Intrepid just off Plaza de Armas. Newly opened, this is Intrepid’s first office and it’s open not only for Intrepid groups, but for any like-minded traveller. With a bar, work and meeting spaces, and striking views of the neighbouring Church and Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, it’s well-positioned to become a hub for the myriad explorers passing through Cusco. Propping up the bar, our reward for a long day of pounding the pavement is a tasting of the Peruvian spirit, pisco, followed by the chance to make our own pisco sours – the country’s ubiquitous cocktail made from pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, egg whites and a dash of Angostura bitters.
SACRED VALLEY AND MACHU PICCHU
From Cusco, about two hours of scenic driving to the northwest will get you well into the Sacred Valley in the Andean Highlands. This is where you’ll find Ollantaytambo, a town whose name aptly means “resting place for travellers.” After bustling Cusco, Ollantaytambo – although busy in its own right as the gateway to Machu Picchu and the four-day Inca Trail hike – feels blissfully relaxed; a chilled-out mountain town surrounded by steep hills, onto which Incan ruins and terraces cling with dramatic, snow-capped peaks in the distance.
There’s a lot that can fill a curious traveller’s itinerary from here. Aside from the obvious Machu Picchu and Inca Trail, the town itself has a number of Incan archaeological sites within walking distance, and there are plenty of adventure activities such as horse riding and river rafting. We, however, were going to head into the hills above the town to meet the women – mamas – of the Huilloc Alta community. Awamaki, a not-for-profit initiative, helps connect visitors with Peru’s indigenous people, and champions these Andean women through fair trade and responsible tourism in a way that is educational, sustainable and feels genuine. If there were any doubts of its authenticity, they were washed away the moment we arrived at Huilloc Alta and were warmly embraced by 16 mamas of this traditional Quechua-speaking weaving community. The embraces were quickly followed by clay cups of tea with fresh muña, a type of Andean mint known for its medicinal qualities, one of which is helping alleviate the symptoms of high altitude – and I can attest to a refreshed feeling with each cup I gratefully sipped.
In a constant flurry of colours – the women’s traditional clothing included full skirts, embellished vests and jackets, and jauntily-tilted hats bursting with flowers, held in place by intricately-beaded chin straps – we were pulled into the mamas’ daily lives. They showed us their nimble fingers making quick work of spinning raw alpaca wool into yarn, and then it was my turn, where – despite best efforts – I proved myself totally inept. Ippolita who, like the other village women, started learning how to spin yarn at six years old had to continually redo my shoddy work. Once spun, the yarns can be dyed into a crayon-box worth of colours made from natural plants, minerals and even insects.
The next skill I was set to try and fail at – with Ippolita to bail me out of again – was weaving. Fingers dancing over, under and between the lines of yarns, the mamas use an ancient technique called “backstrap weaving.” Intricate designs – no patterns, pulled only from memory – showcase many-hued local flora and fauna. For as quickly as we see their fingers go, this is still an incredibly time-consuming process, with items such as a table cloth taking three months to complete and a poncho taking up to six months. It seems it will take me three months to weave the bracelet that Ippolita is patiently trying to guide me through, but I am thankfully saved by the (lunch) bell.
Our pachamanca feast is ready. A Quechuan word meaning “earth cooking,” stones are heated in the ground for around two hours, at which time a sort of stone oven is ready for the potatoes (with some 4,000 varieties in Peru, potatoes are part of almost every meal), gargantuan lima beans, plantain and chicken chucked inside and covered by more hot rocks, herbs and other vegetation. It’s a fresh and warming meal perfect for this chilly mountain locale – and one that is usually reserved for celebrations.
Not that there is nothing to celebrate on this day. Tomorrow, the mamas will be joining us on our excursion to Machu Picchu through an initiative spearheaded by Intrepid. Given the high cost of visiting this world-renowned Inca site, many Peruvians, and particularly those from the more rural and Andean communities, are unable to visit despite the link that Machu Picchu has to their Incan heritage. For these women, it is the culmination of a dream they have had since childhood, and for most, they will be the first family member of their generation to visit Machu Picchu.
The next morning, it’s all smiles and excitement as we and the Huilloc Alta mamas board PeruRail for the two-hour journey along the roaring Urubamba River to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes), from where a 30-minute bus ride takes us up a road of hairpin turns into the cloud forest where Machu Picchu is perched. As touristed as this Wonder of the World may be, it’s undeniably special. It’s genuinely difficult to put into words what it was like to take this journey with these beautiful Quechua women, but the feeling of pure joy and awe was like an electric current that ran through all of us, breaking down the barrier of language. Thankfully, there wasn’t a total language disconnect as the mamas broke away to explore Machu Picchu with their own Quechua-speaking guides, who were just as delighted to be accompanying them and admitted that for some, it was their first time leading local women and giving the tour in Quechua.
What is there to share about Machu Picchu that can’t easily be discovered in an internet search? We’ve seen its terraced hills, humpbacked peaks and grazing alpacas on TV, social media, postcards and magazines – and in person, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s something to behold and, looking through the east-facing windows of one of the remaining residences at Machu Picchu, I found myself wondering how incredible it must have been to wake up here, as the sun was cresting the surrounding Andean peaks and cutting through the mountain’s cloud cover.
Citizen Femme writer, Laurel Munshower, at Machu Picchu in Peru
Machu Picchu remains a sacred and magical place. And despite being surrounded by other tourists and listening to guides share the site’s history at every corner, it’s still remarkably easy to disassociate into your own Machu Picchu, as if hypnotised by the surroundings. But maybe that’s coming from the bones of the site itself, made from the nearby quarries rich in granite and quartz, said to have many spiritual qualities. Who knows? For as much as we’ve discovered about this place it is still somehow tantalisingly mysterious.
ON THE ROAD IN PERU
My journey didn’t end here, though. Days were packed with road trips and exploration throughout Cusco (which is not only a city, but Peru’s fourth-largest department, or region), the Sacred Valley and Lake Titicaca. During our stops and on the way from place to place we were introduced to local cuisine, which was always fresh and often included potatoes served in various ways, local trout, ceviche – and even an alpaca steak one evening. In Cusco, Pachapapa on San Blas Plaza features a nicely shaded terrace and a menu of Cusqueña fare such as rellenos, lamb stew and – if you have the time to wait – cuy (guinea pig) roasted with Andean herbs in a stone oven. At Nuna Raymi, next to the Cusco Cathedral, the focus is on empowering the local farming communities through fair trade and using organic ingredients to create elevated dishes such as a spread of potatoes finished with a hint of palo santo smoke.
On the road I found what may have been my favourite meal, at AMA in Urubamba. While the food here is excellent – simply made, but with vibrant colours and flavour to match – it also champions single mothers in the Sacred Valley, not only hiring them, but providing space for their children to play and learn on the restaurant’s bucolic property. Don’t leave before trying the spiced hot chocolate and browsing the boutique that sells beautiful local items at equitable prices. Our guide, Norma, also initiated a surprise stop at a local chicheria (bar and gathering spot) where Mr. Fortuna ferments local brews (chicha) made of corn and strawberries – the latter going down very easily.
At our final destination, Lake Titicaca – the world’s highest navigable lake – we were welcomed into the homes of the Llachon community to stay the night. We traded stories of our lives over a breakfast of pancakes and fried bread, before assisting in harvesting potatoes and then being soundly trounced in a game of locals-versus-visitors volleyball (naturally, we blamed the high altitude on our loss). Intrepid is careful to rotate the communities hosting, to ensure the advantages of the home stays are spread out, and so that guests will take part in seasonal activities that mirror the daily tasks of the community.
On the vast lake, we stopped at the Uros Islands; famed man-made islets crafted from totora reeds that were initially created to escape paying taxes to the Spanish. Today they remain to keep the heritage of this usual way of life alive. Taquile – an island almost Mediterranean in looks with a brushy, stoney landscape and calm, crystalline aqua water – is known for the textiles of its people who retain the history of the island through weaving.
Peru is beautiful. I felt like my eyes were constantly feasting on another grand landscape, aged site or colourful creation. But it’s true that people make a place, and I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that as acutely as I did in Peru. In a world where life seems to move ever-quicker and people feel less connected despite an oversaturated ability to share through social media, Peru offered what seems to be becoming a rare luxury: the embrace of genuine warmth and authenticity.
All image credits: © Ryan Bolton Photography @ryanbolton
Lead Image: Quechua women from the Huilloc Alta community at Machu Picchu
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