Duration: 7 hours or 1d/1n
Highlights:
- Learn about vertical control, time cycles, seasons and agricultural rituals
- Work in the fields with Andean tools
- Spectacular nature hike
- Interact with locals
- Amazing local gastronomy
- Transportation to and from community
- Local Guide
- Bilingual Guide
- Agriculture Activity
- Lunch
- Work Gloves
- Community ceremony
- Rural homestay (for extension)
- Dinner/breakfast (for extension)
- Cultural exchange (for extension)
- Comfortable hiking shoes
- Camera
- Sunscreen
- Raincoat (for November-March)
- Binoculars (suggested)
- Hat
The “Yachaqs” (Quechua word for “wise”) collect the fruits of the Earth. Decoding the cycles and the desires of the Pachamama (Mother Earth) is not only an ancient knowledge, but also a way of ensuring their subsistence. In the community of Huayllafara you will make a complete journey of the art of Andean agriculture and the importance of the environment, all through the perspective of the Andean man. The community members will teach you the importance of vertical control, time cycles, seasons and agricultural rituals. Then you get to practice using traditional tools to plant or harvest food and manage a team of oxen!
Day 1
Children of the Earth - Andean Agriculture
We will depart Cusco at 8:30 AM after breakfast in the hotel. After a 1-hour drive to the Sacred Valley town of Lamay, we will take a canyon road to the village of Huayllafara. We will arrive in Huayllafara at approximately 10:00 AM, and we will be greeted by an amazing community reception ceremony complete with traditional music and beautiful Incan flowers (Kantu). This ceremony represents an offering to the “Pacha Mama” (Mother-Earth in Quechua) to thank her for this new day and the chance for people of different cultures to share an intercultural experience together.
After the welcoming ceremony, we will begin the activity “Yachaqs – Children of the Earth.” The “Yachaqs” (Quechua word for “wise”) are experts in Andean agriculture. Decoding the cycles and the desires of the Pachamama (Mother Earth) is not only an ancient knowledge, but also a way of ensuring their subsistence. In the community of Huayllafara you will make a complete journey of the art of Andean agriculture and the importance of the environment, all through the perspective of the Andean man. The community members will teach you the importance of vertical control, time cycles, seasons and agricultural rituals. Then you get to practice using traditional tools to plant or harvest food and manage a team of oxen! You will walk away from this experience an expert in Andean agriculture and with a better understanding of the villager’s relationship with the Earth.
We will break at 1:00 for an amazing lunch consisting of local cuisine prepared fresh with local ingredients harvested from the fields of Huayllafara.
After lunch, passengers will have the choice to continue to work in the fields, take a nap surrounded by beautiful scenery, or take a nature hike through the community with a local guide in which they will observe local flora and fauna, lagoons above the community, and amazing Andean landscapes. At 4:30 PM, we will depart for Cusco (if you choose not to stay for the rural tourism overnight).
Possible Extension
Rural Tourism Overnight
Rural homestay accommodations are available. They are clean and comfortable, and bathrooms with running water and hot showers are provided. Dinner will be provided and before eating, passengers will be treated to a unique intercultural presentation with local dancing, Andean poetry and storytelling, and a warm campfire. You can relax under the starry sky and truly become part of the rural Andean lifestyle for a night.
