Titicaca Reserve received Andean New Year

Colorful costumes, dances and offerings to Mother Earth welcomed The Andean New Year, an important event for native communities emerging from the National Reserve of Lake Titicaca located in Peru's Southern Puno region.

This New Year marks the beginning of a new agricultural cycle, considered the starting point for the reorganization of the Earth.

On this occasion, the celebration was held in Llachon, a town where many community representatives gathered.

Visitors were welcomed by the authorities and locals, who served as hosts of this pro-community-integration and cultural-identity-strengthening festivity. The hosting committee was also composed of the National Reserve of Lake Titicaca's staff.

On June 21, representatives of the 16 Reserve Conservation Committees participated in a ritual ceremony to pay homage to the Apu (God) and to the sacred Titicaca Lake. The collective placed offerings aimed at thanking deities for providing wellness throughout the year.

By organizing the said event, the State-run National Service of Natural Protected Areas (Sernanp) promotes reevaluating High Andean native people's cultural traditions to boost the "intercultural attitude."

Tours to Puno:  Lake Titicaca Tour 3D/2N

Source: Andina

Peru: close to 20k tourists travel to Puno for Virgen de la Candelaria

About 20 thousand tourists traveled to Puno to witness the feast of the Virgen de la Candelaria.

According to the Regional Chamber of Tourism (Caretur), the number is up, from the 11 thousand that visited in 2011.

"This year we noticed more domestic tourism from Junín, Cajamarca and Lima; in previous years we mostly saw tourists from Tacna, Moquegua, Arequipa, Cusco, and Apurimac," Caretur president Manuel Quinones Leon said to Andina news agency.

Quinones said that was coupled with the increase of airlines flying to Puno.

"Until a year ago we only had an airline and we now have three, so there is healthy competition that has led to better rates and service," he said.

Presumably many were motivated to travel during the long weekend, after the government declared Monday and Tuesday to be a holiday.

Quinones said it was the first time a long holiday "so directly benefits us, as it coincides with one of the biggest festivals in the country."

"The arrival of visitors from various parts of the country, such as Junín, Cajamarca and Lima, fills us with pride, because thanks to them Candelaria is becoming a national holiday," he said.

Source: Peru This Week

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