Twig delivery

Location: Cusco
Date: January 01

At the start of every year, the elders of each community in the area (the yayas) come together to designate the candidates who are to become the highest authorities of their villages: the Varayocs. In a festival that features gallons of chicha (maize beer) and llonque (sugarcane alcohol), the mayor or Varayoc receives the scepter or vara that symbolizes his power. This pre-Hispanic custom has been glossed over with Occidental formalities.

The varas are crafted from local wood varieties such as chonta palm, black hualtaco, huallacán or membrillo, measure around a meter in length and are inlaid with gold and silver (Cusco's Town Hall features a small museum that exhibits some superb examples). When a Varayoc steps down from his post, he ceases to hold any post in his community ever again, and becomes one of the venerable elders.

UP

Chiaraje Ritual Battle

The tradition of staging ritual battles to ensure the fertility of the land lives on in a remote part of the department of Cusco. The Pampa del Chiaraje, at an altitude of 4,700 meters above sea level, in the province of Canas, can be reached by a paved road from the old Inca capital and then via a dirt road. Here, every year the peaceful villagers of Checcas, Langui and Layo stage an impressive battle.

Armed with hardened lambswool slings, leather whips and waistcoats decorated with flowers, young warriors taunt each other in the mist or amidst pelting hailstorms. This is pucllay, or war games, where the name of the game is to control as much territory as possible and force the enemy to retreat.

UP

Celebration of the Peruvian Sailor

Location: Trujillo (La Libertad)
Date: January 20

The marinera is one of the most elegant dances in Peru. The dance involves a great deal of flirting between a couple, who each twitch a handkerchief in their right hand, while keeping the beat during what is fairly complex choreography.
Dance steps, characteristic of the marinera include the coqueteo (with the couple dancing very closely together) and the skillful cepillado footwork (literally "brushing"). The daring marinera, danced in the department of La Libertad, features the man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and poncho and the lady dressed in an intricate Moche lace dress.

From January 20-30, the Gran Chimú stadium in the city of Trujillo holds the country's most important marinera festival. This competition, that draws couples from all over the country, is organized by the Club Libertad. During the festival, the city also hosts processions involving floats, and the whole town takes on a festive air. The people of Trujillo gather at the main square to dance and celebrate.

UP

Virgin of the Candelas

Location: Puno
Date: February 1-14

For 18 days, the highland town of Puno, nestled on the shores of Lake Titicaca at an altitude of 3,870 meters above sea level, is becomes the Folk Capital of the Americas. The festival gathers more than 200 groups of musicians and dancers to celebrate the Mamacha Candelaria. For the first nine days, the mayordomos (those in charge of organizing the festivities), decorate the church and pay for Mass, banquets and fireworks displays.
On the main day, February 2, the virgin is led through the city in a colorful procession comprising priests, altar boys, the faithful, Christians and pagans carefully maintaining the hierarchy. This is the moment when the troupes of musicians and dancers take the scene, performing and dancing throughout the city. The festival is linked to the pre-Hispanic agricultural cycles of sowing and harvesting, as well as mining activities in the region. It is the result of a blend of respectful Aymara gaiety and ancestral Quechua seriousness.

The dance of the demons, or diablada, the main dance of the festival, was allegedly dreamed up by a group of miners trapped down a mine who, in their desperation, resigned their souls to the Virgen de la Candelaria. The dancers, blowing zampoña pan-pipes and clad in spectacular costumes and outlandish masks, make their offerings to the earth goddess Pachamama. The most impressive masks, for their terrifying aspect, are those of the deer fitted with long twisted horns similar to the Devil, and Jacancho, the god of minerals.
During the farewell, or cacharpari, the dancers who fill the streets finally head to the cemetery to render homage to the dead.

UP

Carnivals

Peruvian carnivals are marked by the festive character of Andean areas, which regularly break with their solemn traditions. Beyond regional variations, a common characteristic of nearly the entire highland chain is the ritual of the yunza, called umisha in the jungle and cortamonte on the coast. It involves artificially planting a tree trunk laden with gifts, around which the guests dance until it is chopped with a machete or an ax.
The couple who make the final hack that brings down the tree will then both be in charge of organizing the yunza next year. Peruvians across the country are extremely fond of tossing buckets of water at each other during this festival, so onlookers would be wise to take precautions. Cities where carnivals reach a high point include Cajamarca and Puno.

UP

Lunahuana Adventure Sports Week

Location: Cañete (Lima)
Date: (March) 1st week

The pleasant valley of Lunahuaná, a paradise for adventure sports lovers, is just half an hour from San Vicente de Cañete, a town 150 km south of Lima.

The main attraction is the fast-running Cañete River, which features rapids up to Class IV. Each year, the valley hosts a festival involving rafting, parasailing, trekking, gliding, mountain biking and fishing competitions.
A visit to Lunahuaná is a first-rate excuse to take in the nearby archaeological site of Incahuasi and the hanging bridge of Catapalla. Other attractions include wine-tasting at local vineyards and the exotic regional cuisine, such as conejos a la carapulcra (spicy jugged hare) and cuy al vino (guinea pig braised in wine) .

UP

La Vendimia Wine Festival

Location : Ica
Date : March (2nd week)

This festival is a celebration of the abundance of grapes and wine in the region of Ica (a four-hour drive south of Lima), where persevering efforts in local vineyards have spread greenery across vast tracts of once bone-dry desert.

The Wine Festival (Festival de la Vendimia) involves fairs, competitions, processions of floats, musical festivals and parties where guests dance the Afro-Peruvian festejo.
One of the major attractions of the event is the Queen of the Wine Festival beauty pageant. Accompanied by her hand-maidens, the beauty queen treads grapes in a vat in the time-honored tradition to extract the juice that will eventually be fermented. Apart from the delicious local sweets known as tejas, made from pecans or candied fruits, filled with caramel and covered with sugar icing, those attending the event can try pisco, the aromatic and tasty grape brandy that originated in this part of southern Peru four centuries ago.

UP

Crossings of Porcon

Location: Porcón (Cajamarca)
Date: 2nd half of March-1st week of April

Weaving through the early mists that still shroud the highlands just before dawn, an impressive procession of huge, colorful wooden crosses progresses down the valley of Porcón to celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.

Unlike other Easter Week celebrations, the one in this fun-loving village located half an hour by road from the city of Cajamarca does not dwell on the death of Christ. On the main day of the festival, Palm Sunday, four different ceremonies are held: the crowning of the crosses, the greeting of the Lord at the home of the mayordomo (the person in charge of organizing the festivities), the various responses sung in Quechua and Latin, and finally the procession to the plantation chapel.
The crosses are decorated with round and oval-shaped mirrors symbolizing the souls of the dead, as well as figures representing the Virgin Mary, the Heart of Jesus and a wealth of symmetrically placed patron saints forming a huge rhomboid. The locals hang metal bells from the corners to announce the arrival of the crosses to the community. During the imposing procession of the crosses, angels dressed out in turquoise, yellow and pink, stride ahead, hanging onto the señorca, the donkey carrying the Lord of the Palms.

UP

Easter Week

Location: Ayacucho
Date: 2nd half of March-1st week of April

Easter week represents the peak of religious sentiment for the people of the Andes. The departmental capital of Ayacucho, San Cristóbal de Huamanga, located in the central Andes at an altitude of 2,761 meters above sea level, celebrates one of the most intense portrayals of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
The week starts out with the entry of Jesus into the city riding on a donkey. On Wednesday, the images of the Virgin Mary and Saint John are paraded in fervent processions through streets carpeted with flower petals until they meet up with the litter bearing the image of Christ, whom they "greet" in the main square. On the evening of Holy Friday, the lights of the city wink out to give way to the Christ of Calvary.

The image sets out from the Monastery of Santa Clara in a procession through the streets on a litter strewn with white roses, followed by the grieving Virgin Mary and lines of men and women strictly dressed in mourning bearing lit candles. The litter, which features thousands of white candles, is simply magnificent.
The litter is then accompanied with prayers and songs throughout the night until the three-hour sermon is delivered on Saturday. After days of grieving, Resurrection Sunday takes on a festive air, Christ is resurrected and appears once more on his litter and is carried through the streets.

UP

Lord of the Earthquakes

Location: Cusco
Date: 2nd half of March-1st week of April

Ever since 1,650, when the faithful claim that an oil painting of Christ on the Cross held off a devastating earthquake that was rattling the city of Cuzco, the locals have been rendering homage to the image of Taitacha Temblores, the Lord of the Earthquakes. The celebration is held on Easter Monday against the backdrop of Easter Week in the city of Cuzco.
This celebration is of particular interest because it allows onlookers to get a glimpse of the fusion of Andean religions and Christianity. The Cuzco Cathedral, where the image is kept, is built on the foundations of the ancient temple dedicated to the pagan god Apulla Tikse Wiracocha.
The image of the Lord of Earthquakes is borne aloft in a procession through the streets of the city just as the Incas used to parade the mummies of their chieftains, high priests and supreme rulers. In the end, the dominating part of the celebration involves the ñucchu flower (salvia esplendes), used as an offering to the ancient gods Kon and Wiracocha.

The same flower today is used to weave a crown for the Lord of the Earthquakes. This crimson colored flower, whose petals are scattered by the faithful over the venerated image, symbolizes the blood of Christ.
The image used today was donated by King Charles V, and despite centuries of smoke from the candles and incense, no one has dared to restore the blackened painting, that has given the Christ a somber aspect and a dark countenance.

UP

Peruvian Paso Horse Festival

Location: Pachacámac (Lima)
Date: April 15-20

The Spanish horse, bred with the Arab stallion and reared in a desert environment, which formed its gait, gave rise to the Peruvian Paso horse.
For 300 years, the blood of this new breed was improved upon until the Paso horse developed the characteristics that have made it one of the world's most beautiful and elegant breeds. Breeders, chalán riders and artisans, over the years, have worked on the art of ambladura -the synchronized gait of the fore and hindlegs- which in turn gave rise to the elegant steps and dress of the marinera. The entire costume comprises the saddle and trimmings and the splendid outfit of the chalán himself (white shirt and trousers, wide-brimmed straw hat, vicuña wool poncho, handkerchief, boots and spurs).

This tradition, which has been exported all over the world, has been spurred on by a number of competitions both along the Peruvian coast as well as in the highlands.
The most important competition, however, is the National El Paso Horse Competition held every year at the Mamacona stables near Pachacámac, located 30 km south of Lima.

UP

Virgin of Chapi

Location: Chapi (Arequipa)
Date: May 1

Every year, thousands of pilgrims cross the desert from the city of Arequipa to the sanctuary of Chapi to worship the image of the Virgin of Purification, today known as the Virgen de Chapi.
In 1,790, the parish priest of Pocsi, Juan de Dios José Tamayo, tried to move the small image to another community and failed, reportedly because the statue suddenly became too heavy to move.
News of the miracle spread like wildfire, and today the faithful take around 15 hours to walk 45 km through the night, leaning on rustic walking staffs to reach the deserted spot located at 2,420 meters above sea level.

Before the first stop, the pilgrims gather stones of varying sizes which they will leave at Tres Cruces next to the road, forming the so-called apachetas which symbolize the weariness and sins that the faithful leave behind them.
The same thing occurs at Alto de Hornilla and then at Siete Toldos, 15 km from the spot, with countless candles flickering in the night. The following day, in Chapi, the virgin is borne aloft in a procession over carpets of flower petals. At night, next to the sanctuary, pilgrims set off fireworks and sell foodstuffs.

UP

Lord of Muruhuay

Location: Acobamba (Junín)
Date: May 3

Left to their fate by officials of the vice-regency, those sick with smallpox (muru: smallpox, huay: house) were allegedly healed by an image of Christ that took shape on a stone slab at the foot of Mount Shalacoto (2,959 meters above sea level), and has remained there ever since. This spot, located in the district of Acobamba, 12 km from the town of Tarma in the department of Junín, is Peru's foremost pilgrimage center. The celebration of this image abounds in pre-Hispanic rites dominated by elements such as water, earth and stone. Today, the worship rituals begin the night before with a fireworks display. On the main day, after a Mass held in Quechua, the devout deposit a "letter to God".
Then everyone returns to Tarma in a procession headed by the mayordomo (the organizer of the festivities), his wife and troupes of dancers including the caracolillos and negritos, who compete in dances such as the abrecalle and the chutos.

After the dancing, everyone settles down to lunch featuring typical Andean dishes such as fried guinea pig served with peanuts and beans. Over the following days, the locals dance the famous chonguinada in the streets of Acobamba, that have been carpeted in flower petals.

UP

Celebration of the Crosses

This festival, which is widespread in the highlands, is organized by the members of each community who decorate their respective crosses and prepare then for the procession to neighboring churches.
The celebration is linked to giving thanks for bountiful harvests, a custom maintained by peasant farmers since the pre-Hispanic era. The festival often features folk music shows involving danzantes de tijeras (scissors dancers). In ancient times, the danzaq or scissors dancers would perform their daring feats on top of the church belltowers.
Even today, the dancers strive to outdo each other, performing extraordinary feats of derring-do

UP

Qoyllur Rit'i

Ubication. Quispicanchis (Cuzco)
Date: May (1st week)

Each year the people of the district of Ocongate (Quispicanchis) perform a ritual whose external aspect appears to be the image of Christ, but whose real objective is to bring Man closer to Nature.

The ritual, associated with the fertility of the land and the worship of Apus, the spirits of the mountains, forms part of the greatest festival of native Indian nations in the hemisphere: Qoyllur Rit'i. The main ceremony is held at the foot of Mount Ausangate, at 4,700 meters, where temperatures often plunge below freezing.

The ritual brings thousands of pilgrims, including shepherds, traders and the merely curious who gather at the shrine at Sinakara. Popular belief has it that the infant Christ, dressed as a shepherd, appeared to a young highland Indian boy, Marianito Mayta, and they quickly became friends. When Mayta's parents found them dressed in rich tunics, they informed the local parish priest, Pedro de Landa, who attempted in vain to capture the infant Christ who had disappeared and left behind only a stone. Marianito died immediately, and the image of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i appeared on the stone.
Today, the festival starts off with the day of the Holy Trinity, when more than 10,000 pilgrims climb to the snowline, accompanied by all sorts of dancers in full costume (chauchos, qollas, pabluchas or ukukus) portray various mythical characters. The ukukus, or bears, are the guardians of the Lord and the Apu mountain spirits and apachetas, stone cairns built along the way by pilgrims to atone for their sins. The ukukus maintain order during religious ceremonies. A group of hefty queros, members of what is probably Peru's purest Quechua community, dress up as pabluchas and set out for the mountaintop, at 6,362 meters in search of the Snow Star which is reputedly buried within the mountain.

On their way back down to their communities, they haul massive blocks of ice on their backs for the symbolic irrigation of their lands with holy water from the Ausangate.

UP

Inti Raymi Festival

Location: Cusco
Date: June 24

The Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere and the local harvests are the driving force behind the greatest, most majestic pre-Hispanic ceremony to render homage to the sun.
Today, the Inti Raymi festival evokes the splendid Inca ritual of yore, being carefully scripted by Cusco professors, archaeologists and historians. The central event is acted out on the esplanade below the imposing fortress of Sacsayhuamán, 2 km outside the city of Cusco, easily reached by car or on foot. There, step by step, thousands of actors enact a long ceremony giving thanks to the sun god, Inti.
The Inca ruler is borne on a royal litter from the Koricancha, or Temple of the Sun to the Huacaypata, the city's main square, where he commands the local authorities to govern fairly. Then all the participants set out for Sacsayhuamán, where the ceremony calls for the sacrifice of two llamas, one black and one white.

The llamas' entrails and fat are handed to a pair of high priests: the first, the Callpa Ricuy, examines the intestines to predict what sort of year lies ahead; while the second priest, the Wupariruj, makes his predictions based on the smoke that wafts up from the burning fat.
The high priests' predictions are then interpreted by the Willac Umo, the lord high priest, who bears the news to the Inca. Finally, at sunset, the Inca orders all to withdraw from the site, and the entire city breaks out into a festivities that will rage for several days.

UP

Celebration of San Juan

In the jungle, Saint John the Baptist has taken on a major symbolic significance because of the importance of water as a vital element in the entire Amazon region. This is why June 24 (St. John's the Baptist's day) is the most important date on the festival calendar in the entire Peruvian jungle.
The northeastern city of Iquitos hosts a variety of festivals and public events: fiestas with typical local bands where cooks dish up some of the regional cuisine, featuring tacacho (baked banana) and juanes (rice pastries), named after the patron saint, San Juan Bautista. This carnival atmosphere, redolent with the warmth of the local hospitality, has given rise to the myth of a special sensuality to be found in Loreto.

It is widely held that the best aphrodisiacs are concocted in Iquitos, potions blended from fruits and herbs steeped in sugarcane alcohol, with strange and suggestive names. The best-known is without a doubt the chuchuhuasi, fermented from a local root. In the highlands, the festival is also linked to the concept of fertility, but here the main theme is livestock, something that is easily associated with the image of Saint John as the pastor of souls.
On this day, livestock are counted and branded, and llamas are sometimes even the object of prayer. In Cusco, where peasant farmers used to bring their richly decorated sheep to Mass, the tradition has been shifted to June 25, yielding to Inti Raymi.

UP

San Pedro and San Pablo  

Together with the communal task of dredging irrigation ditches, highland communities celebrate a veritable water festival.
On the coast, fishing communities have chosen Saint Peter as their patron saint, and render him homage in Lima's fishing districts of Chorrillos and Lurín, as well as in San José, located 13 km north of the city of Chiclayo. The ceremony is held by the mouth of the Lambayeque River, where legend has it the founding god Naylamp landed on Peruvian shores. The figure of the saint is borne aloft amidst burning incense, prayers and hymns down to the sea where it boards a fishing launch and is taken around the bay to bless the waters in the hope of a good fishing season

UP

Corpus Christi

Location: Cusco
Date: June (Movable feast)

The festival of Corpus Christi has been celebrated all over Peru since colonial times, but reaches a high point in Cuzco.
Fifteen saints and virgins from various districts are borne in a procession to the Cathedral where they "greet" the body of Christ embodied in the Sacred Host, kept in a fabulous gold goblet weighing 26 kilos and standing 1.2 meters high.
Sixty days after Easter Sunday, the members of each nearby church bear their patron saint in a procession to the chimes of the María Angola, Peru's largest church bell, forged in a copper-gold alloy in the sixteenth century by local artisan Diego Arias de Cerda.

At night everyone gathers together, for an overnight vigil, where typical dishes such as chiriuchu (spicy guinea pig), beer, chicha and cornbread are served.
At dawn the procession sets off around the main square, bearing the images of five virgins clad in richly embroidered tunics, plus the images of four saints: Sebastian, Blas, Joseph and the Apostle Santiago (Saint James) mounted on a beautiful white horse.

Then the saints enter the Cathedral to receive homage, time after which representatives and authorities from various communities of Cuzco meet in the main square to discuss local affairs. Finally, the delegations return to the churches amidst hymns and prayers

UP

Independence Day

Location: All over Peru
Date: July 28-29
Peruvians throw parties and hold patriotic celebrations to remember the Declaration of Peru's Independence (,821) by José de San Martín. Across Peru, even in remote communities, homes fly the Peruvian flag from the start of July.
On the night of July 27, Peruvians often stage serenatas to the strains of folk and Creole music in plazas and public parks. Dawn on July 28 is greeted with a salvo of 21 cannons, to herald the ceremony of raising the flag. On the following day, before the famous military parade is held in downtown Lima, the Te Deum ceremony, attended by the president, is celebrated in the Lima Cathedral.
In various parts of the country, Peruvians also hold agricultural and livestock fairs (Cajamarca, Piura, Monsefú) together with three festivals that are the soul of Creole culture: cockfighting, bullfighting and Peruvian paso horse exhibitions.

UP

Santa Rosa de Lima Festival

UP

Lord Cautivo of Ayabaca

UP

International Spring Festival

The festival of spring is celebrated all over Peru, with especially colorful variants in the jungle. However Trujillo, capital of the department of La Libertad, has forged a particular reputation for holding the festival of greatest splendor.
The festival is intimately linked to the marinera norteña, which is always danced by a couple, waving a handkerchief in the air to keep time. The festival features various tournaments demonstrating the regional variations of this dance.
During the week-long festival, streets and homes fill with decorations, floats are paraded through the city, and troupes of schoolchildren dance through the streets, led by the beauty queen of the spring pageant. The beauty queen is always flanked by drum majorettes who travel here from all over the world to show off their skills

UP

Lord of Miracles

UP

All Saints Day

UP

Lord of Luren

UP

Andean Christmas

UP

Santuranticuy Fair

UP

Virgin del Carmen de Chincha Festival

UP

Pachamama Offerings

UP