Duration: 7 hours or 1d/1n
Highlights:
- Learn all about the different ingredients used in Andean cuisine
- Learn different recipes that you can take home with you
- Work alongside a local villager
- Eat a lunch and dinner that you helped prepare!
- Local theatre and dancing
- Transportation to communicty
- Local Guide
- Bilingual Guide
- Cooking Activity
- Lunch and Dinner
- Community ceremony
- Rural homestay (for extension)
- Breakfast (for extension)
- Cultural exchange (for extension)
- A strong appetite!
- Camera
- Sunscreen
- Raincoat (for November-March)
- Binoculars (suggested)
- Hat
The villagers of Huchuy Qosqo are masters at preparing ancient Andean recipes as well as modernized takes on classic Andean fare. This savory experience will have you traveling back in time with flavors that you have never tasted before. Learn different ways of preparing and presenting dishes from a wide-range of cuisine that uses the biodiversity of the Andes. Products such as potatoes, quinoa, corn, grains and organic vegetables are the stars of this culinary exhibition. All villagers have been trained in sanitary food preparation, and the food is guaranteed to be safe. Our guides will be with to explain every step of the process so you can give these recipes a try when you get back home! After the meal enjoy and participate in traditional dance and theatre performances by the villagers of Huchuy Qosqo.
Day 1
Flavors of the Andes
We will depart Cusco at 8:30 AM after breakfast in the hotel. After a 1-hour 15-minute drive to the Sacred Valley town of Lamay, we will drive down the short dirt road to the community of Huchuy Qosqo. Upon arrival, 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 “Flavors of the Andes.” You will be presented an apron and taken to the communal cooking area where the activity will take place. At first, we will see a short presentation about the various different ingredients used in Andean cuisine and what their nutritional values are. Each participant will work side-by-side with a local from Huchuy Qosqo and our guide will be on hand to make sure that you understand every step of the process. At first, we will get to help prepare a savory lunch that we will enjoy at 1:00, and then we will take a short break before starting on dinner. Products such as potatoes, quinoa, corn, grains and organic vegetables are the stars of this culinary exhibition. All villagers have been trained in sanitary food preparation, and the food is guaranteed to be safe. At 6:00 PM, we will enjoy our homemade dinner as well as a traditional dance and theatre performance by the locals. At 7:00, we will return to Cusco (if you choose not to do the rural homestay).
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.
