The 28th annual Gran Corso Wong, Great Wong Parade, will take place this Sunday, July 19th. The event has become a local tradition and one of the main events of Lima’s Fiestas Patrias (Independence Days) celebrations. Although the official dates of Fiestas Patrias aren’t until the 28th and 29th of this month, Lima will kick off the celebrations this weekend.
On January 18th, Lima will celebrate its 480th founding anniversary. The City of Kings always marks the event in style, with weeks of events. Unfortunately, the official program has yet to be announced, but we’ll be checking every day to get that information to our guests and readers as soon as possible.
Lima has been enjoying a steadily increasing profile over the last years, especially its culinary scene. This month, Peru’s capital city pulled off another coup winning the competition to host the 2019 Pan American Games, beating other contending cities such as Santiago, La Punta, and Ciudad Bolívar. This is the first time the games will be held in Peru. The Peruvian delegation made a strong case to win the honor for Lima, arguing in emotional bilingual speeches and promotional videos that Lima was the only capital city candidate boating a shoreline and a temperate climate conducive for athletic competition. In addition, Lima’s airport is considered the best in South America.
A decade ago, Pirwa Hostels was founded with the dream of creating a welcoming haven where travelers could relax and interact, one providing an experience rather than merely a bed and shower. It all began with only Pirwa Colonial Backpackers hostel in Cusco, but despite these modest beginnings, the Pirwa Family has grown incredibly. As we approach our 10 year anniversary this June, we wanted to look back at some of the milestones along the way.
We’ve grown a lot in the last ten years, improving facilities and services based on your feedback along the way. Today, Pirwa Hostels boasts 
backpackers’ hostels or Bed & Breakfasts throughout Peru and Bolivia: two in Lima, four in Cusco, two in Machu Picchu, and one each in Nazca, Puno, Arequipa, and La Paz. The Pirwa family has also grown into a one-stop shop offering transport and excursions through our own travel agency, Pirwa Travel Service, whose friendly s staff helps travelers with all aspects of their trip.
There’s also been quite a bit of formal recognition over the years, none prouder than when the agency became an officially recognized Inca Trail operator. Other notable events were Pirwa Colonial winning Hostelworld’s #1 Hostel in Peru award in 2009, and Pirwa Machu Picchu B&B winning Hostelbooker’s Cleanest Hostel award in 2011.
It hasn’t been all work, however. Last year was a blast: We added new activities we hadn’t done before, such as free weekly walking tours of Cusco that always ended with free drinks, and the New Years Party at Pirwa Colonial was the biggest we ever had! Currently, we’re happily planning all of the events for our anniversary week this June- details will be forthcoming soon!
So far this year, we renovated several hostels, so that even after all these years and the memories they hold, they feel new again, and more adapted to the needs of our friends and guests from around the world.
Through hard work, trial and error, and lots 
of listening, Pirwa Hostels’ founders created something different, and you’ll see them at various events still putting their all into making sure that guests enjoy their stay and have an unforgettable. Were it not for the support of our backpacking and traveling friends, we could never have experienced all of these things. So from all of us to all of you, thank you for the memories. The next decade will be even better- we hope that you’ll experience it with us as part of the Pirwa Family!
Lima’s annual National Show and Competition is a major event in local cultural life, garnering a festival-like atmosphere and lasting a week each April. This year, the Official Peruvian Paso Horse contest will take place from April 14th through April 21st. As always, the site will be Mamacona Fair Center just south of Lima (near Pachacamac Archeological Complex).
Daily competitions are followed by evening concerts and other events celebrating the Peruvian coastal, or Criollo, culture. Highlights include a closing parade and prize ceremony accompanied by folkloric dancers and music as well as a food fair, and the 5th National Marinera on Horse & Foot Competition.
The compact Peruvian Stepping horse, more 
commonly referred to as the Peruvian Paso horse, is unique in the equine world- rather than the standard trot, it employs a peculiar parallel 4-beat sidestepping which aficionados know as the paso llano, or ambladura, the art of the synchronized gait mastered by breeders and riders known as Chalánes. The singular breed is the result of isolation along the desert coast of Peru and a 400 year process of selectively breeding Spanish and Berber horse breeds brought to the country during the Conquest.
The horses’ natural rhythm has won it popularity not only as a show horse, but also a dance partner… in shows and competitions throughout Peru, riders on horseback couple with women on foot in Marinera shows. It is the paso llano which gave rise to the Marinera, Peru’s national dance. Even the costumes worn by dancers are reminiscent of the chalán riders, comprising the saddle and its trimmings, white shirt and trousers, straw hat, vicuña poncho, handkerchief, boots and spurs.
If you’re interested in catching a glimpse of 
this side of Lima’s social year, you can arrange to be picked up in Miraflores, Lima (the most popular district for travelers to use as a base for their visit to the capital, and the neighborhood where both Pirwa Inclan B&B and Pirwa Prada Backpackers are located) for a ranch visit to learn about the horses and their history and training before continuing on to the National Contest. Ranches that participate in this sort of outing generally include lunch or dinner depending on the schedule (last year, departures were at 10am and 3pm).
For more info on this and other events and outings, don’t forget that Pirwa Travel Service has information counters in both of our hostels in Miraflores. Because we have locations in Lima, Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Nazca, Machu Picchu, and La Paz, our travel specialists can assist with transport, entrances, treks, and tours throughout Peru and Bolivia.
Check out the following video (set to begin at 7:20s) for a close view of the special gait of the Peruvian Paso Horses:
