Festivals
Depending on your trip dates, you will take part in one of several incredible celebrations:

El Senor de los Temblores is solemn and powerful. Thousands of faithful pay honor to the Statue of Jesus Christ which they credit for saving Cusco from a destructive earthquake in 1650.

La Virgen del Carmen is playful, animated and fun! Masked and dancing revelers pay homage to the virgen of Carmen in Paucartambo. The energy is contagious!

More - for each departure date to Peru, you can read details about the specific festival in which you will participate during your trip.

Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
The ancient archeological sites of Peru are man-made wonders connecting us to great civilizations dating back two millennium and more. Among the sites we explore are Saqsayhuaman near Cusco and several along the legendary Inca Trail leading to the incomparable Machu Picchu.

Earth Offering
Later in the week we will go to a place where CULTURE XPLORERS is the only foreign presence. Near Yuarisque, we will participate in a ceremony called an earth offering (pago a la tierra), performed by a shaman or, as they are called in the Andes, a Paco. We will learn about the items used - from pig fetuses to sugar wafers - and the significance of each.

Villa el Salvador and Lima
Finally, we will discover perseverance, dignity and organization in a shanty town south of the capital, Lima, called Villa el Salvador. It is not the vision of poverty here that strikes us after our visit, it is the tireless effort of the people to escape from poverty that stays with us. For good reason Villa el Salvador has been nominated for a Nobel Peace prize.

Note: CULTURE XPLORERS has adopted an elementary school here, where we contribute
regularly to infrastructure projects.