For the traveler who is also a history and culture enthusiast, we recommend beginning your adventure with a cultural tour of Cusco, a region of rich history and expansive cultural heritage.
Cultural tours offer various combinations of holistic experiences for visitors to immerse themselves in the city’s rich cultural heritage. Each tour allows them to engage with local communities that continue to practice ancient traditions and customs.
Some of the cultural tours we suggest:
Huaran Weaving and Eco Tour
This is a full-day tour that can be extended into an overnight stay in a Quechua community. This tour begins at a Huaran weaving house led by Master Weaver-Dyer Andrés Sallo and weavers from the Munay Urpi association.
Learn about the traditional Andean weaving process and get a chance to do some actual dyeing with natural plant dyes. Or tag along with the weavers as they collect dye plants found in the wild.
Visit a family-run organic farm that is also a bed and breakfast place. Learn about Andean organic farming, join the family in their farm chores, and enjoy an authentic, home-cooked Andean meal.
Potato Park Tour
Savor the various flavors and textures of different types of potatoes and other regional products at the Potato Park–a unique joint project of the indigenous communities that aims to preserve the ancestral knowledge and diversity of potatoes in the Sacred Valley.
Quechua Cultural Immersion Tour
A 4-day tour that allows you to intimately experience Quechua culture by staying in an authentic Quechua village, listening to them communicate in their native language, cooking traditional meals, and weaving brightly colored textiles.
Attend Quechua lessons, visit 3000-year-old cave paintings of Manto, enjoy a field picnic lunch, listen to village musicians, or join the Quechua welcome dance.
Traditional Andean Cooking Classes
For the ultimate foodie, these cultural tours involve learning how to prepare authentic Andean cuisine or concoct genuine Peruvian cocktails. This tour is a true gastronomic adventure and a tasty way of engaging the local culture.
One of these cultural tours should definitely make it to your Cusco Adventure Planner!