Village homestay Peru: Since a year ago, with an idea to impulse and help with the most needed community, our company has organized a group of families to whom we have taught and raised with awareness of not to change their habits of life; because what we want to experience at their village is an authentic way of Andean life.
We will not disturb the local culture, we will get adapted to their daily activities, because what we want is to promote and incentive to keep their customs as they have learned from their ancestors, and avoid villagers to move to bigger places.
We are convinced that it is the best way to give back to the community, be part of this agricultural tours in cusco peru; Zurite is a nice colonial town located at 3,320 m, in the Anta Pampa (cooper flat land), the agricultural capital of Cusco region, at only 45 minutes by car from Cusco city, a place where time seems that did not pass, In Incan times, Zurite because of its beauty was usually visited by the Inka, The place is one of the most beautiful of the Cusco region.
The locals are still using the inca language “RUNA SIMI” or quechua to get communicated, they are still farming in the traditional way over the great terraces made by the incas, and a place where its people are very warm and welcoming. The daily natural program of the villagers are not something that we made it to show you and impress you, we will really be involved in their daily program without disturbing their customs.
Things to do and see:
Andean Village homestay tours means, that you go in an small town or village and form part of community for one or more days, be involved in their daily activities (do not misunderstand with prepared things for tourist that is frequently seeing in some places), Zurite and inka challenge Peru offers you an authentic experience that you only will experience while visiting Zurite. We offer a large list of things to do and see: Nature, a place with great landscape, native forests with different ecosystems.
There are a wide amount of places, that we can visit in a day hike or within an hour hike. Agro-tourism, the villagers are hardworking and they are cultivating potatoes, quinoa, corn, oxalis, lupen, beans, and many native products where you will work with the villagers while you learn more of the working system that even persist in time. Sheepherding, The main livestock activity is sheepherding caws, but they also have sheep, horses, pork and other animals that usually grace natural grass.
Cooking, Andean food is tasty and nutritious, you will learn with the local ladies how to prepare a taste quinoa soup, corn soup, vegetables soup with local herbs, some traditional dishes prepared for festivity days such as baked guinea pigs, soltero de habas, watia and other meals that are eating seasonally. Organic greens garden making, The villagers have a green garden at their houses where they plant herbs that they use for their soup, and use as condiments, medicinal plants and food for guinea pigs.
The place is fantastic and has a wide angle view, from here you can see beautiful mount scenery, see nice snow cap mount such as Chicon, Salkantay, and Ausangate. if you are going up to the mountains area you should shepherd caws, the person who you go with for sure will take you to campana orcco “bell mount” where a rock formation as sort of bells where if you throw with a stone it will ring like a bell.
For the most energetic people, there is a mount climbing option to: Tirantilluyoc; from where you can see many glaciers, and lakes, it also has a native forest near to an inca site, from where the villagers take the andean grass, named icchu; for making adobe brick for houses. The other activities are farming, as all Andean villages Zurite still keeps intact all incan techniques, in the flat land bulls are used to farm, in the mountains inka foot plow named runa chaqui.
08:00 hrs
Places to visit:
Tumibamba (Tampucancha). – Inca’s important ceremonial town in shape of tumi (ceremonial knife), located at only 20 minutes of walk from town, it was buried by my ancestors, in order avoid its destruction, it is still underground awaiting that the archaeologist, and the Peruvian governor will decide to excavate, and make it visible for the world.
Qente qenteyoc – qori Huayrachina (colibri shape terraces). – inca ceremonial site on the hills, consist in a group of terraces and a platform where import ceremonies was made, the highlight of this site is that, when you climb just a bit, you can see that is has the shape of the colibri, this place is one of the unfrequented place and available in a day hike.
Incaq Moq’o Mayllinan. Worship rock, caved on outstanding lime stone, located at only few minutes hike form the village, where below you will see the terraces of Zurite that are still in use, some of our families own a piece of land on those terraces where we will farm potatoes and corn.
Puma Mat’i. A magic site consisting in large stone fences, this belongs to the older pre inca cultures. This place is known only by few people, it needs special hike where we can meditate and do some Andean ceremony.
Inti Pintasqa: At about two hours of walk from the town, there is a rock cliff, during the pre-history times our ancestors has painted on the rock the sun, moon, llamas, human and other abstract symbols, it is fantastic and not known even by some villagers. Hiking to this place is rewarding because the landscape itself is fantastic.
Andenes: consisting in large and big inca terraces “there are the largest terraces of the world”, the terraces are about 200 meter wide and some of them only 02 meter wide, but the large of these are more than a kilometer, This terraces are still in use.
These terraces are owned by the ministry of agriculture (INIA-Cusco), on these terraces you can see many andean crops farmed, in the rainy season it is fantastic to see the many different colors of the plants that indicates that are many different varieties of corn, potatoes, quinoa and other native products, part of these terraces are owned by the villagers. This place seems a place taken out from a Hollywood movie, but this is real.
How to get there?
Zurite is a place easy to reach, you can to take taxi collective from Cusco to Izcuchaca and then get another transport to finally arrive to Zurite, there is not direct transport from Cusco, but do not worry all our programs includes transport, If by any reason you may want to go Cusco we can arrange a car for you. During the day there frequent collectives leaving to Zurite from izcuchaca.
About facilities:
Do not worry, there is: Medical center, Telephone service, Internet.
Local transport from 05:00 hours to 19:00 hours.
Feel free to contact us and we can give you more information, our experiential tour programs are available even for solo travelers, if you are coming in group let us to know according this to choose a family where you can stay well, you can stay from 3 days up to 10 or more days. Choose to spend your experiential tours in Peru, experiential tour in Zurite you fell in love about it. if you want more info about our Andean Village Homestay Peru, write us.
