Pirwa – Page 33 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Friendly & Colorful Pirwa La Paz

August 21, 2015 Pirwa

Thanks to all of our friends who’ve visited us at Pirwa La Paz, our hostel in Bolivia, centrally located just two blocks from Sopocachi cable-car station. It boasts a mix of shared dorms and private rooms, hot showers 24 hours a day, comfy semi-orthopedic mattresses and down pillows. Being La Paz, it can get cool on the terrace, but thanks to the great view overlooking the city it’s still a wonderful place to hang out and throw a barbecue. Pirwa La Paz is a great choice for those of you looking for affordable but comfortable accommodations and a place to meet fellow travelers.

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Huascarán National Park to host the Ande Trail Race Next Week

August 19, 2015 Pirwa

This year, one of the most beautiful and diverse protected areas in Peru celebrated its 40^th anniversary, Huascarán National Park. We’ve talked about the park before, when the Santa Cruz Trek in Huascarán was included on National Geographic’s The World’s Most Epic Hikes list. Huascarán contains all of the strikingly beautiful glacial peaks of the Cordillera Blanca as well as pristine turquoise lakes and rivers, red quenua forests, eucalyptus groves, waterfalls, rock spires, and flowering bushes. It’s popular mainly for hiking and camping, but is also good for mountain climbing, skiing and biking.

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Inside the Basilica Cathedral of Cusco

August 16, 2015 Pirwa

The 16^th-century Basilica Cathedral of Cusco, which dominates the city’s main square, took nearly 100 years to complete. It was built on the site of Inca Wiracocha’s palace, in part with stones from nearby Sacsayhuaman Fortress, the Inca fortification which fell to the Spanish conquistadores during the conquest. It houses countless treasures collected over the centuries, from precious silver and gold artifacts to paintings and statues now considered colonial masterpieces.

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The Yaku Raymi Water Festival

August 13, 2015 Pirwa

The Andean town of Andamarca in Peru’s Ayacucho region receives thousands of visitors during Qatun Yaku Raymi (Big Water Festival) on August 20^th-26^th. Andamarca was the historic capital of the Rucanas (Working People) from 700AD up to their conquest by Incas. In this dry climate, the pre-Inca agricultural terraces rely on an underground irrigating system and water is not only precious but still revered as a deity in pre-Columbian rituals.

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Chewing Leaves & Drinking Coca Tea in Peru and Bolivia

August 12, 2015 Pirwa

Coca leaves have been cultivated in the Andes dating back 4,000 years. They have a historical, cultural, and medicinal significance and are incredibly cheap and omnipresent in markets throughout Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. They are still included in offerings to apu mountain deities and the pachamama earth mother, often burned or arranged into 3-leafed fan shapes. Most coca, however, is consumes. Locals will ball up some leaves and placed them in a side of their mouths to chew, hoping to alleviate hunger and be able to work harder and longer. Steeped in order to make tea, one can warm up during a cold Andean evening.