Visit Peru's festivals: November and December 2011

NOVEMBER 2011


Tourist Week in Palpa

Location: Ica
Date: November 1 - 7



The town of Palpa annually celebrates Tourist Week with food contests, handicraft fairs, guided tours through local tourist sites and its popular Ms. Tourist Week Queen beauty pageant.

Tourist Week in Puno

Location: Puno
Date: November 2 - 8



The city of Puno celebrates Tourist Week with several vibrant folkloric dance exhibitions, food fairs, parades and a huge tourism and handicraft fair.

Anniversary of the City of Puno

Location: Puno
Date: November 4



The city of Puno celebrates its anniversary with several cultural activities including folkloric dance parades; a reenactment of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo emergence staged in Lake Titicaca as well as concerts by popular national music bands and food fairs.

Emergence of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo

Location: Puno
Date: November 5



The legend of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, who emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca to found the Inca Empire, is staged annually in the waters of Lake Titicaca as one of Puno's main anniversary celebrations. More than 200 artists take part in this production where the mythical couple arrives in Puno's port in giant reed boats, followed by more than a hundred rafters.




The mythical Inca king and queen arise from Lake Titicaca in a yearly celebration in Puno. (Photo by Nathan Paluck)

Anniversary Tourist Week in Moquegua

Location: Moquegua
Date: November 20 - 26



The city of Moquegua organizes a series of cultural events for its Anniversary Tourist Week celebration, including its famous Amacerado de Damasco brandy contest, regional dance contests and its annual craft, tourist and industrial fair.

Jubilee and Tourism Week in Pasco

Location: Pasco
Date: November 21 - 30



The city of Pasco hosts many activities during this week, there is its famous annual crafts, agriculture and tourism fair; many folkloric shows; dog expos, a coffee and maca sampling event; an archery contest, races and food contests.


Tourist Craft Fair in Tumbes

Location: Tumbes
Date: November 22 - 26



Every year, Tumbes hosts a large craft fair to help promote tourism and exportation throughout the region.

Anniversary of Tumbes
Location: Tumbes Date: November 25


On this day, the entire region of Tumbes takes the day off and participates in sport contests, concerts, food fairs and dances.






DECEMBER 2011


Tocache Banana Festival

Location: San Martin
Date: December 1 - 6



The Tocache banana is one of the largest fruit crops produced in this northern town. Every, in its honor, it hosts a festival with food expos of banana based food products, various cultural activities and a Ms. Festival beauty pageant.

Lady of the Immaculate Conception Feast

Location: Loreto
Date: December 1 - 8



The town of Tocache pays homage to their patron, the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, with a day of food fairs, boating contests, motorcycle races, singing contests, outdoor concerts, processions and a large mass wedding ceremony.

The Scissor Dance Festival

Location: Huancavelica
Date: December 22 - 26



The scissors dance originated and continues to be immensely popular in the deep Peruvian highland region of Huancavelica. The dance consists of two or more dancers taking turns doing intricate steps and gymnastics-like jumps to the sounds of a violin and harp orchestra while cutting the air and following the beat with a scissor in one hand. This festival consists of a series of contests to determine the best scissor dancers of the region. These include physical skill, magic and blood challenges.

Related:
Peru’s scissor dance inscribed intangible heritage by Unesco
Scissor Dance to open Chinese New Year in Hong Kong


The Lady of the Immaculate Conception Fair

Location: Tumbes
Date: December 8



Every year the city of Tumbes hosts a fair in honor of the Immaculate Virgin. There are concerts, food and craft expos, carnival rides and a regional beauty pageant.

Peru recovers 98 artifacts from U.S., Argentina

Lima, Mar। 03 (ANDINA)। Peru said on Wednesday it has recovered 98 archeological pieces dating back to the pre-Inca and colonial eras from the United States and

Among them, an exquisitely carved and painted stone in 45 pieces, which was part of a 18th century church's portico in the southern Andean region, came under the spotlight।

Also returned to Peru were 26 boulders, 12 skulls and a polychrome ceramic figure.

The United States repatriated 84 pieces and Argentina returned 14 pre-Colombian objects, Peruvian Deputy Foreign Minister Nestor Pompolizio said.

Thanks to the efforts of Peruvian diplomats abroad, more than 5,000 pieces of artifacts have been returned to Peru since 2007, Vice Culture Minister Bernardo Roca Rey said.

In January, the South American country, which is dotted with hundreds of archeological sites, had 27 objects repatriated from Chile, according to a Xinhua report.

"The illegal trafficking of cultural goods is a profitable trade which continues and makes so complex networks just like drug trafficking and money laundering," Pompolizio said. "So it is necessary to set up a smooth coordination mechanism between national and international entities."

Peru has signed more than 30 bilateral agreements to protect its cultural heritage. According to one pact signed late last year, Yale University in the United States will return to Peru 363 pieces excavated from the Machu Picchu archeological site in the coming days.

More enigmatic geoglyphs found in Peru

Lima, Feb. 28 (ANDINA). Japanese researchers have discovered 138 more hills and lines in Peru near the world-famous Nazca lines and geoglyphs. The purpose of the formations, thought to have been created more than 2,000 years ago, is unknown.

Equally enigmatic are the Nazca lines - straight as an arrow and up to 20 kilometres long - and geoglyphs of humans and animals scratched on the arid plain. The designs are so gigantic that they are recognizable only from the air.

The Japanese also found two new geoglyphs of a human head and an animal. Both are relatively small, they said, which is probably why there had previously been no aerial sighting of them, dpa reported.

The Nazca lines and geoglyphs date from 800 BC to 600 AD, when the Paracas and subsequently Nazca cultures flourished. Situated on an immense plain about 460 kilometres south of Lima, the Peruvian capital, they were discovered when the first airplanes flew over the area in the 1920s.

Peru's El Comercio newspaper quoted the head of the Japanese team, Masato Sakai of Yamagata University, and his Peruvian colleague Jorge Olano as saying that the hills, all focal points of several converging lines, may have been places of worship, direction pointers to temples or markers of subterranean streams.

The researchers found some 8,000 earthenware fragments at the Peruvian site as well. They said that discovery of the hills, aided by satellites, was of enormous significance because only 62 similar hill formations had previously been known.

Machu Picchu Inca Trail reopens after a month of maintenance work

Cusco, Mar. 02 (ANDINA). The Inca Trail leading to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco was reopened yesterday after a month of preservation work, cleaning of drains and maintenance tasks carried out by authorities in charge of its management.

Rene Carbajal, person in charge of the administration of the Machu Picchu’s Archeological Park, told Andina news agency that hikers can get off the train at KM 82, 88, 104, as entrance points have reopened.

According to Carbajal, the number of trek permits issued is limited to 500 per day including tour guides and porters.

Every February since 2002 the route of the classic 4-day Inca Trail is closed to allow conservation projects to be undertaken as well as giving the vegetation a chance to recover.

Initiative is also aimed at improving security conditions for both tourists and locals.

“Our staff has cleaned the routes where torrential rains disrupted access to the famous archaeological site। Everything is perfect. Tourists are visiting Machu Pichu normally, but we are prepared for any contingency,” Carbajal added.

Wari artifacts to go on display at Casa Garcilazo

Cusco, Feb. 24 (ANDINA). The Wari artifacts discovered near the Andean district of Vilcabamba in Cusco will be exhibited for fifteen days at the city's Museo Casa Garcilaso.
Casa Gacilaso is one of the most visited museums in Cusco and is located in the same house where Inca Garcilaso de la Vega used to live, two blocks away from the main square.

Furthermore, Garcia announced that he will request the help from national and international scientific community to continue with the archaeological researches, as the discovery of the Lord of Wari would be as important as that of the Lord of Sipan.

In turn, Deputy Culture Minister Bernardo Roca Rey noted that they will take extreme security measures in the discovery site to prevent the stealing of the artifacts found in the tomb.

Some of the discovered artifacts include a silver breastplate, a silver mask, two golden bracelets, two wooden sceptres covered with silver, an ornament made with 234 silver sheets and three necklaces made with beautiful stones among others.

Cusco to celebrate Machu Picchu discovery anniversary year-round

Cusco, Feb. 15 (ANDINA). Peruvian authorities in the southeastern Cusco region are preparing a varied calendar of activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu throughout the year.
Regional trade and tourism director Carlos Zúñiga said tourism-related organizations will soon meet to finalise and announce the schedule for the year-long celebrations.

The official told Andina that the Centennial events will include fairs, a film festival, conferences, the launch of a commemorative postage stamp and an international photography competition.

These events will be held in addition to other major activities scheduled for July 2011 in Lima.

The pre-Columbian Inca site of Machu Picchu, the legendary Lost City of the Incas, is one of the most famous historical sites in the world.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by thousands each day, Machu Picchu was first revealed to the world when American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered the site in 1911.

More About Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Archaeological Sites

Cusco to celebrate Machu Picchu discovery anniversary year-round

Cusco, Feb. 15 (ANDINA). Peruvian authorities in the southeastern Cusco region are preparing a varied calendar of activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu throughout the year.
Regional trade and tourism director Carlos Zúñiga said tourism-related organizations will soon meet to finalise and announce the schedule for the year-long celebrations.

The official told Andina that the Centennial events will include fairs, a film festival, conferences, the launch of a commemorative postage stamp and an international photography competition.

These events will be held in addition to other major activities scheduled for July 2011 in Lima.

The pre-Columbian Inca site of Machu Picchu, the legendary Lost City of the Incas, is one of the most famous historical sites in the world.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by thousands each day, Machu Picchu was first revealed to the world when American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered the site in 1911.

More About Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Archaeological Sites

Chiclayo archaeological complex to house site museum

Chiclayo, Feb. 16 (ANDINA). Local authorities are planning to build a site museum in the Ventarron archeological complex located in the district of Pomalca, Chiclayo, as a way to attract tourists to this religious sanctuary that is considered to be the cradle of northern Peru civilization.
Naylamp-Lambayeque project director Celso Sialer said specialists are preparing a technical file for the construction of this site museum.

“The construction process is expected to begin this year in collaboration with international organizations interested in investing in the complex, which will help show people in this country and around the world how magnificent our ancestors were,” Sialer highlighted.

Ventarron hosts remains of fabulous architecture that may have marked the beginning of this civilization in northern Lambayeque.

According to Sialer, the archaeological site contains the oldest example of a painted mural in the Americas dating from 4,000 years ago.

Chiclayo Peru

Peru adds new food documentary to Unesco bid

Lima, Feb. 19 (ANDINA). Peru's Culture Ministry has announced that a new documentary entitled, De Ollas y Sueños, or Cooking Up Dreams, will support Peruvian cuisine's bid to be declared World Intangible Cultural Heritage by Unesco.
The announcement was made after renowned Peruvian director Ernesto Cabellos and Guarango, a Lima-based production company, donated the film to the ministry.

"With this gesture, we want to emphasize the contribution that Peruvian documentary cinema can make to our country’s development objectives," Cabellos said.

In his documentary, Cabellos presents his country's spectacular cuisine and asks himself: Can an entire nation be represented by its cuisine? This documentary journeys to the kitchens of Peru’s coast, highlands and jungle, as well as Peruvian expat communities in Paris, London, Amsterdam and New York for answers.

From the most humble family kitchens to the poshest restaurants, from stories of pioneering Peruvian chefs abroad to those who preserve ancient recipes at home, we find that Peru’s cuisine is deliciously integrating for its people, who have historically been divided by ethnic and economic differences.

This documentary isn't just about food. This documentary is about integration, challenges, culture, poverty and wealth. We’ll discover the origin of Peru's ubiquitous national dish – cebiche – the anticuchos of beef hearts or the annual meal mourners share at the graves of their dead relatives.

Famed chefs such as Spain's Ferran Adrià, as well as Peru's Gastón Acurio share their views and experiences with Peru’s cuisine alongside the thousands of unsung chefs, who also dream of Peru’s cuisine as a motor of development.

Machu Picchu voted South America's leading green destination

The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru has been voted as South America's Leading Green Destination 2010 at the recent 17th Annual World Travel Awards Ceremony in Jamaica.
Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the “Travel Industry’s equivalent to the Oscars”, the World Travel Awards is the most comprehensive and most prestigious awards program of today’s global travel industry and involves a voting campaign of about 185,000 travel professionals worldwide.

Machu Picchu was chosen over other eight nominees that included Argentina's Patagonia; Guyana's Georgetown; Venezuela's Caracas; and Brazil's Abrolhos, Amazonas Tur, Fernando de Noronha, Manaus, and Pantanal.

"This award shows that Peru's tourism sector has a great impact on the economic, social and environmental development of the country," said Promperu's Tourism director Rocio Merino.

The ancient citadel, one of the new seven wonders of the world and a Unesco World Heritage Site, is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of scenic architecture in the world.

The city of Machu Picchu itself was built at the top of a granite mountain. The Incas, using ingenious engineering techniques, were able to transport heavy stone blocks up the mountain side, and once there, they used their excellent masonry skills to produce amazingly polished stones that fit together perfectly.

New species discovered every three days in the Amazon

A bald parrot, a pink river dolphin, a new species of anaconda and a tiny blind catfish that lives in waters deep underground are just some of more than 1,200 new species discovered in the Amazon over the last decade.
On average, scientists have found a new plant or animal species every three days for the last 10 years – and that’s not including insects, where the discoveries are almost too many to count.

The Amazon Alive! report confirms the Amazon as one of the most diverse places on Earth, and is a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect it. World governments are discussing new ways to protect species and habitats in the Amazon and elsewhere at the UN biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan, this week.

The new species described in the report are made up of 637 plants, 257 fish, 216 amphibians, 55 reptiles, 16 birds and 39 mammals. Click here to watch a slideshow of some of the new species.

They include a 4m-long anaconda, an extraordinary fire-and-water frog, a parrot with a bald head and an astonishing spectrum of feather colours, a tiger-striped tarantula, a new species of pink river dolphin, and a blind, bright red catfish that lives mainly in underground waters.

“This report clearly shows the incredible diversity of life in the Amazon, and what we could lose if we don’t act now,” says Francisco Ruiz, who leads our Living Amazon initiative.

During the last 50 years, nearly a fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. And it’s still being cleared rapidly to meet growing global demand for meat and other products such as biofuels.

“Urgent action is required to help shift to a sustainable model of development in the Amazon,” says Sarah Hutchison, who leads our work on forests in the region. “Even from here in the UK there are things we can do to help promote a sustainable forest economy in the Amazon.”

One way you can help is by supporting Sky Rainforest Rescue. The project aims to save a billion trees in the Amazon by helping local people earn a better living looking after the forest than they would from chopping it down.

Recent findings at Caral became accessible to the public

Barranca

Ancient mysteries, customs and the architectural complexity held within the 5000-year-old Sacred City of Caral -situated on a dry desert terrace overlooking the green valley of the Supe river- were featured to locals and foreign tourists upon completion of 16 years of research conducted by PEACS. Along the 1.6 kilometer route, visitors explored more than 30 architectural buildings between la Plazuela de la Confluencia or Tinkuy Runa Kancha, situated in the middle of the complex.
According to Pedro Silva, archaeologist at Caral-Supe Special Archaeological Project (PEACS), the Tinkuy Runa's existence demonstrates that Caral was an urban centre with great architectural complexity.
In addition, tourists appreciated the most recent discovery made in the citadel: ornamental designs in the shape of “V” featured in the pyramid La Galeria, located in the section H between La Huanca and minor piramidal buildings.
Visitors also explored the amphitheatre and the major pyramidal building, used to hold government meetings and public activities in high and low zones of Caral.

On the eve of October 30, visitors were able to appreciate the stunning night lighting in buildings and the Rite to the Pacha Mama or Mother Earth, offered in appreciation of 16 years of successful research conducted by PEACS.

According to PEACS director Dr. Ruth Shady, Caral is perceived as a civilization, because its people participated in different activities within a government organization that lasted more than 1000 years.

The Sacred Citadel of Caral is located in the Supe Valley on the central northern coast of Peru and is the oldest city of the Americas.

Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum attracts more European visitors

The Royal Tomb of Sipan Museum, located in the northern Peruvian region of Lambayeque, saw an increase of foreign visitors, especially from Europe (Spain and Germany), according to the museum director and discoverer of the Lord of Sipan, Walter Alva.

In statements to Andina news agency, the Peruvian archaeologist underlined that the museum “is reporting an increase of foreign tourism, especially from Europe”.

The influx of Spanish visitors has a lot to do with the promotion of a documentary about the Lord of Sipan in Spain, which has been seen by millions.

“The impact of this promotion translates into more tourists visiting the country,” he emphasized.

According to Alva, Royal Tomb of Sipan Museum expects to attract more than 140,000 local and foreign tourists this year.

On the other hand, archaeological investigations are still being conducted in the archaeological complex of Huaca Rajada-Sipan.

“We are excavating tomb Nº 16, which belongs to a Mochica`s elite priest. Archaeologists continue their research in Vetarron, dated to around 4,000 years-old, and findings revealed many animal bones on the Peruvian coast,” he stated.

President Garcia opens Huaca El Sol and La Luna On-site Museum

Peru’s President Alan Garcia launched Huaca El Sol and La Luna On-site Museum in Trujillo saying that Peru's heritage and history should be showcased to the world. The museum has diverse rooms, a research center and an amphitheater with an approximate area of 62,000 square meters.

Early on Thursday, Garcia participated in the inauguration of construction works for the National Museum of the Gran Chimu - Chan Chan, which will need a 10 million sol investment.

Garcia was accompanied by Second Vice-President and Congresswoman Lourdes Mendoza, Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Velásquez and Peruvian Congress President Luis Alva Castro, among other authorities.

More information about Sun and Moon Temples
Program Tour: The Moche Route (3 days/2 nights)
 

Over 500 artists to perform ancient Inti Raymi festival in Cusco

More than 500 artists will perform Thursday the ancient Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun in the Andean city of Cusco in southeastern Peru. Before the colonial Spaniards banned the ceremonial events occurring each Winter Solstice in Cusco, the native residents gathered to honor the Sun God, sacrifice an animal to ensure good crops and to pay homage to the Inca, as the first born Son of the Sun.

The Inti Raymi, one of the largest and most colorful festivals in Latin America, takes place at the winter solstice, when the sun is farthest from the earth. The centerpiece of the festival is the all-day celebrations on June 24, the actual day of Inti Raymi.

On this day, the ceremonial events begin with an invocation by the Sapa Inca in the Qorikancha, also spelled Koricancha square in front of the Santo Domingo church, built over the ancient Temple of the Sun.
 

Here, the Sapa Inca calls on the blessings from the sun. Following the oration, Sapa Inca is carried on a golden throne, a replica of the original which weighed about 60 kilos, in a procession to the ancient fortress of Sacsayhuamán, in the hills above Cuzco.

With the Sapa Inca come the high priests, garbed in ceremonial robes, then officials of the court, nobles and others, all elaborately costumed according to their rank, with silver and gold ornaments.
 

They walk along flower-bedecked streets, to music and prayers and dancing. Women sweep the streets to clear them of evil spirits. At Sacsayhuamán , where huge crowds await the arrival of the procession, Sapa Inca climbs to the sacred altar where all can see him.
 

Once all the celebrants are in place in the grand square of the fortress, there are speeches by Sapa Inca, the priests and representatives of the Suyos: the Snake for the world below, the Puma for life on earth, and the Condor for the upper world of the gods, as chronicled by about.com.
 

A white llama is sacrificed (now in a very realistic stage act) and the high priest holds aloft the bloody heart in honor of Pachamama. This is done to ensure the fertility of the earth which in combination with light and warmth from the sun provides a bountiful crop. The priests read the blood stains to see the future for the Inca.
 

As the sun begins to set, stacks of straw are set on fire and the celebrants dance around them to honor Tawantinsuty or the Empire of the Four Wind Directions. In ancient times, no fire was allowed that day until the evening fires.
 

The ceremony of Inti Raymi ends with a procession back to Cuzco. Sapa Inca and Mama Occla are carried on their thrones, the high priests and representatives of the Supas pronounce blessings on the people. Once again, a new year has begun.

More about Machu Picchu Archaeological Sites 
Tour: The Inca Experience

Inti Raymi: How to attend Peru's Inca sun festival this June

DDPER09-6438
Source David Ducoin
Photos Flickr

The city of Cusco will dress up again to worship the Inca god as Peru's ancestors once did. The Inti Raymi ceremony brings together over 500 performers on June 24 at the center of the Sacsahuamán archaeological park esplanade. As usual, hundreds of foreigners and Peruvians are expected.

According to the Municipal Company of Festivities in Cusco (Emufec), organizer of this event, over 40 percent of tickets have been purchased by foreign tourists who come to live the most important holiday of the empire.

Tickets are priced at US $90 for adults and US $45 for children. This year a virtual system of reservations and information has been implemented. It contains data about the scenarios, schedules, and some tips for the event.

If you are interested in participating in the Inti Raymi access the web page emufec.gob.pe until June 15 and you can book your ticket.

The big celebration will begin in the morning in the temple of Coricancha. Then, the Inca and his entourage will go to the Plaza de Armas of Cusco and finally, after noon, the main ceremony will take place in Sacsahuamán.

You can enter freely to the first two venues, so be prepared to get there several hours in advance. To be part of the main ceremony, you must have tickets.

The tourism police, archaeological complex rangers and Emufec monitors will be in charge of security.

Tours recommended:

The Inca Experience - Peru Tours

Inca Odyssey

Photo Gallery Cusco

Photo Gallery Inty Raymi Celebration - David Ducoin

Qoyllur Riti

PER_8812
Source David Ducoin
Photos Flickr

Qoyllur Rit'i is a religious festival held annually in honor of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i (Spanish: Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i) at the Sinakara Valley in the Cusco Region of Peru. According to local traditions, the celebration originated in 1780, when a young native herder called Mariano Mayta befriended a mestizo boy, called Manuel on Mount Colquepunku. Thanks to Manuel, Mariano's herd prospered so his father sent him to buy clothes for the two boys in Cusco.

Mariano took a sample of Manuel's clothes but could not find anything similar because that kind of cloth was only worn by the archbishop. The latter sent a party to investigate but when they tried to grab Manuel, he became a bush with an image of Christ hanging from it. Thinking they had harmed his friend, Mariano died on the spot and was buried under a rock. An image of Christ painted over this boulder became known as the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i which means Lord of Star Snow.

The Qoyllur Rit'i festival attracts a large number of peasants from the surrounding regions divided in two moieties. Paucartambo groups Quechuas from the agricultural regions to the northwest of the sanctuary while Quispicanchis includes Aymaras from the pastoral regions to the southeast.

Both moieties make an annual pilgrimage to the feast bringing large troupes of dancers and musicians in four main styles: ch'unchu, qolla, ukuku and machula. Besides peasant pilgrims, attendants include middle class Peruvians and foreign tourists. The festival takes place in late May or early June, one week before the Christian feast of Corpus Christi. It consists of a number of processions and dances in and around the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i shrine.

The main event is carried out by ukukus who climb glaciers over Mount Colquepunku to bring back crosses and blocks of ice which are said to be medicinal.

Photo Gallery recommended
Qoyllur Rit´y pilgrimage

Peru's Chamber of Tourism prepares for Machu Picchu centennial

Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) announced today it will lead a commission in charge of organizing the celebrations on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu on July 24 2011.

Canatur President Carlos Canales said that this commission will have the active participation of Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) and Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Board (Promperu).

He explained that, as part of the activities, they will begin an awareness campaign in the United States to prove how important the return of Machu Picchu’s archeological pieces is for Peru.

The pieces were temporarily taken by Yale University Professor Hiram Bingham to the US, but now this university refuses to return them.

“With this effort, we seek to build the archeological museum of Cusco. We will focus on social networks to recover these objects and make Yale graduates aware of our request and support it,” he explained.

On July 24, 1911, Professor Hiram Bingham discovered for the world the ruins of Machu Picchu, one of the most significant archaeological finds in the history of the Americas.

Suggest program, The Inca Experience

Cusco Photo Gallery

Peru’s tourist attractions to be promoted in France, US & Canada

Peru’s Trade and Tourism Ministry (Mincetur) announced Friday that Peru will promote its tourist attractions in France, USA and Canada with different “Door to Door” events.

Through a supreme decree published in El Peruano official gazette, Mincetur authorized Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion (Promperú) to carry out the “Door to Door” event in France from May 31 to June 5 in cities such as Paris, Lille and Niza.

According to Promperu, this kind of event is an excellent way to strength Peru’s tourist image in French market, after the global financial crisis which has made European tourists hesitant to travel to any destination.

Another legal ordinance, meanwhile, authorized the trip of other Promperu’s representatives to participate in “Door to Door-North America West Coast” in cities like San Francisco, Portand, Seattle (US) and Vancuver (Canada) from June 7 to 16.

These two events are aimed at tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and specialized press as a way to directly promote updated information on Peruvian tourist attractions

Program Suggested:

Lost Cities of the Northern Peru
Treasures of the North of Peru 

Peruvian gastronomy to be featured on French Television

A 52-minute report on Peruvian gastronomy, which is attracting the world's attention, will be aired in the second half of the year on French television.

According to “I Triping” blog, French TV production company Gedeon sought the support from the Tourist Service Department at the Peruvian Consulate General in Paris.

Likewise, some reporters of this program are already in Peru visiting cities such as Lima, Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Iquitos and Tumbes.

Its broadcast will air during the second half of 2010 on a program called Le Globe Cooker, world's cuisine explorer TV show hosted by Frederic Chesneau.

“It is rewarding to observe the increasing interest in Peru and our cuisine in France. By supporting these kinds of initiatives of some production companies, we have encouraged others to discover our gastronomy and traditions,” tourism attache of Peruvian Consulate-General in Paris Maria Elena Corvest pointed out.

The Best Peru Tour: Taste of Peru
Interested in Filming Wildlife, Archaeology or Culture in Peru ?