cusco – Page 4 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Join Us For Christmas Eve Dinner at Pirwa Colonial Hostel in Cusco

December 19, 2015 Pirwa

There’s less than half a week left until Christmas! At Pirwa Colonial Hostel in Cusco, we’re happily preparing for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The halls have been decked, and the menu has been set in partnership with a local restaurant. The good news is that no matter where you’re staying during your visit to the Imperial City of the Incas, you’re invited! Just stop by reception at any of our Pirwa hostels to sign up so that we’ll know to expect you.

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Inside Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun in Cusco

December 16, 2015 Pirwa

Qorikancha was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. The name means golden enclosure in Quechua- an apt choice, as when the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Peru, Qorikancha’s exterior walls were covered with a band of gold. The temple was dedicated to the sun, Inti, the supreme deity. Originally, one could only enter the temple barefoot, carrying a load on their back to show humility, and after having fasted. Today, you only need to purchase your admission in order to explore it.

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Exciting & Chaotic New Year’s Eve in Cusco

November 14, 2015 Pirwa

New Year’s Eve in Cusco is chaotic and exciting, marked by free concerts, uncontrolled fireworks and drinking, fun traditions and local superstitions. Learn why the former imperial city of the Incas is the most popular city in Peru to celebrate the festivities…

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Santurantikuy in Cusco this Christmas Eve

November 7, 2015 Pirwa

Santurantikuy: Then & Now

On December 24th each year, Peru’s largest folk art fair, Santurantikuy, hits the main square of Cusco in a tradition dating back to the colonial period. The name is Quechua for Saints’ Sale, which is what it originally was: an art fair providing wise men, holy family, virgins and saints for home nativities. The fair’s most prevalent product was the Niño Manuelito in many manifestations. (The Niño Manuelito is the child Christ, and the most traditional incarnation is that of a young child seated in a wooden chair with a raised foot showing a wound into which buyers insert a thorn which remains in the wound until a wish is granted.)

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The Unforgettable Southern Sacred Valley of the Incas

September 23, 2015 Pirwa

One of the most popular standard group tours in Cusco is a day-trip to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which includes as a highlight visits to the town and ruins of Ollantaytambo and the Pisac market (depending on the day). While the former is overrun, the southern circuit through the Sacred Valley is much less traveled, mainly because most travelers don’t have the time to do more than one or two basic tours and because the sights the southern circuit includes are less publicized. This is a shame, because the route boasts evocatively beautiful natural landscapes as well as mysterious, unique historical sites. A tour of the Southern Sacred Valley includes guided visits exploring the still-functioning waterworks of the Incan ruins of Tipón, an ornate colonial church often referred to as ‘the Sistine Chapel of the Americas’, the striking Maras Salt Pans, the circular terraces of Moray, and the Wari ruins of Pikillacta.