Peru – Page 2 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Enjoy the Spectacle of the Corpus Christi Festival in Cusco, Peru

May 11, 2016 Pirwa

Up to the time of the Spanish Conquest, the people of Cusco venerated mallquis, the mummies of former leaders, adorning them with care and carrying them through the streets atop heavy litters on sacred days. Although the appalled Spanish banned this custom, it was retained through a simple solution: rather than abandoning the practice completely, the mummies were replaced with statues of saints and the Virgin Mary, giving birth of the modern Corpus Christi festival in Cusco. Thus, the colorful Corpus Christi celebrations of Cusco are as Andean as they are Catholic.

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Rafting in Arequipa

February 25, 2016 Pirwa

Peru boasts some of the world’s best rivers for whitewater rafting. Some of these are located near Cuzco, while others can be accessed from Arequipa, our focus for this post. Arequipa boasts powerful rivers which formed the two deepest canyons in the world, Cotahuasi Canyon and Colca Canyon. These rivers are ideal for those with rafting experience and the desire for unforgettable adventure. Since the rivers of Peru cater to different ability levels, today we’ll be talking about the best trips for beginning, intermediate, and expert rafters…

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Holy Week 2016 in Cusco

February 24, 2016 Pirwa

Despite the religious tenor of the Holy Week in Cuzco, the city’s unique Andean spin on the festivities means it’s a fun time for tourists of all backgrounds to enjoy. What can you expect? Fireworks, concerts, and lots of food… It begins with Palm Sunday on March 24^th and culminates with Easter Sunday on March 28^th, although in contrast to Holy Week celebrations in other cities, in Cuzco the principal day of celebrations is Holy Monday. This is because it’s the day of the Lord of Tremors processions, which we wrote about in our last post.

Here, we’ll talk about the events planned for the main days of Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, and Good Friday.

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Watch the Lord of Tremors Procession this March

February 22, 2016 Pirwa

Once a year, the patron saint of Cuzco, the Lord of Tremors (Señor de los Temblores), is taken out of the city’s cathedral to be processed through its main streets. This takes place during the Holy Week celebrations, on Holy Monday.

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Traditional Peruvian Food that’s Also Vegetarian

February 18, 2016 Pirwa

Ever more modest and upscale vegetarian restaurants are popping up throughout Peru. This is due in part to the same growth of nutritional and ethical concerns that other countries are having and in part to small fringe religious movements that include vegetarianism among their proscriptions. We reviewed some of our favorite vegetarian options in Cusco, Peru in an earlier post.

Many of these restaurants serve vegetarian versions of well-known Peruvian dishes: causa with avocado and mango rather than fish, a mushroom ceviche, creamy yellow sauce from ají de gallina dressing fetuccini rather than shredded hen. Others serve a mixture of different cuisines, those oft-used dishes that have become associated with vegetarianism internationally: falafel, hummus, black bean tacos with guacamole, veggie pizzas…

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