Andean Overnight

Your trip begins in Ollantaytambo. From there you will enjoy a beautiful drive ascending nearly 1000 meters up the Patacancha Valley. Following the Patacancha River, you will pass small farms, Incan agricultural terraces, little-visited ruins, a colonial church, and stunning mountain views. Upon arrival in one of the upper Andean villages of Patacancha or Huilloc, Awamaki’s partner artisans will meet you and welcome you to their cooperative’s weaving center.

Descripción en Español abajo

The artisans will lead you in a sharing of Quechua culture and traditions, and a demonstration of the entire weaving process. They will show you how alpaca or sheep wool is spun into yarn by hand on the pushka, the traditional Andean drop spindle, and you can give it a try. They will explain how different local plants and materials are used in the dyeing process, and show you how they dye the yarn. They will demonstrate the warping of the traditional backstrap loom and the weaving process, including a discussion of the traditional pallay designs used in their villages. Finally, the artisans will teach you to weave a small bracelet on the backstrap loom in a one-on-one lesson.

After the demonstration, you will go to meet your homestay, settle in, and enjoy a nourishing, traditional home-cooked meal including soup and a main course.

After lunch, we will have a choice of a hike up to the glacial lakes or alpaca grazing lands above the community; a gentler walk through the village; or another bracelet weaving class, learning a more complicated pattern and weaving a headband or hatband. Throughout these activities, you will have an opportunity to hear from the artisans about how they learned to weave, and the meanings behind some of the traditional designs in their work. They will also share their knowledge about native and medicinal plants, and plants used for dyes.  

After our afternoon activity, we will make our way back to our homestay to spend time with our host family, possibly have a bonfire, and share a traditional Peruvian meal for dinner.

The next morning, after sharing breakfast with our host families, we will have a choice of a hike up to the glacial lakes or alpaca grazing lands above the community, or a gentler walk through the village.

We will of course stop to enjoy the views and drink tea with the artisan partners guiding us on the walk through their land. 

For lunch, we will share a traditional Pachamanca, or earth oven lunch, in which our food is cooked underground in an oven of hot stones. Community members will dig a hole, build a fire, and cover it with rocks. After the rocks are heated, they will pack marinated, wrapped chicken pieces among the rocks, alongside sweet potatoes, aba broad beans, and a variety of Andean potatoes and native tubers. We will watch the uncovering of the hot food and share a farewell Pachamanca lunch with our host families and artisan hosts.

Finally, our artisan hosts will offer a small private market in which you can purchase handwoven, naturally dyed, traditional textiles directly from them.

After the market, we say goodbye and drive back down to Ollantaytambo.

An Awamaki representative will accompany you on the whole visit to support and facilitate your stay; translate any discussion or questions you may have for your hosts; and support any needs that may arise. 

Logistical Information

Because we are a small non-profit, we are not able to guarantee a private tour. There may be other visitors in your tour group. Most of our tours are very small, between 2 and 6 people, and no one from outside your party will share your homestay. 

Schedule:

Day 1: Leave by 9 am. 

Day 2: Return to Ollantaytambo by 2 or 3 pm.

About the homestays:

We can accommodate families and small groups in the homestays if desired. Homestays generally can host between 1 and 4 people. We will place you in the same homestay as your traveling companions. If your group is too large for the same homestay, we will place you nearby. We do not place people together in a homestay if they are not traveling companions. You will have your own room in your homestay, or share with your traveling companions. You will not share a room with members of your host family. Your Awamaki representative will stay in a different homestay in the village.

Most homestays have shared bathrooms. Facilities include a toilet and running water, but accommodations can be rustic, including a sink that is outside instead of in the bathroom; packed earth floors; or a cooking fire. Facilities do not always include a hot shower. Bottled water will be provided for drinking. Please bring a refillable water bottle. Hot water bottles will also be provided to help heat up your bedroom at night. If you have a special request for your homestay, please note in the “special instructions” section when you book.

You do not need to bring a gift for your homestay. If you would like to bring something, please purchase some fresh fruit in Ollantaytambo before you depart, as this is not readily available in the villages. However, this is not expected or necessary.

Food:

Lunch and dinner in your homestay will be a traditional Andean meal including appetizer/soup, main entrée and native Andean herbal tea. Traditional Andean breakfast may include tea, oatmeal, egg, potato, ponche de abas (like a drinkable oatmeal made with beans), or other traditional foods.

The Pachamanca Earth Oven Lunch includes chicken, aba bean and native tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and others, like lisa or oca. 

Packing list:

• Hiking boots or sturdy shoes for mud
• Water and refillable water bottle
• Sunscreen
• Warm layers
• Rain layers for rainy season (Oct/Nov through Mar/Apr), but also nice to have just in case year round
• Spare shoes are optional, but recommended in rainy season (Oct/Nov through Mar/Apr)
• Snacks: dried fruit, chocolate, trail mix, granola bars, etc. Optional but these can be nice to
  have.
• Sleeping bag is not necessary, but some travelers choose to bring one if they have it with them
  during their travels 
• Bills in soles if you plan to purchase from the artisans. Please note: This will be one of the best shopping opportunities of your trip. Most of the markets just do not offer the quantity and quality of weavings that you will see on this visit. The artisans are not able to accept credit cards. The main feedback we get from our travelers is that they wish they had brought more cash to shop from the artisans. Typical spending per traveler ranges from 100 to 800 soles. 

Special requests:

If your group is larger than 10 people, please contact us directly to book. 

We can accommodate most special requests. We can accommodate all dietary restrictions. Please note special requests or dietary restrictions in the “special instructions” section when you book. We will contact you if we are unable to accommodate your request.

If you need transportation from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, please book on our reservations page. We can also bring your luggage on the tour if you are in transit, or store it securely at our office.

Solo travelers: If you are travelling alone and would like to book a tour, book for two people and then at check-out use discount code: SoloTravelerON for 10% off. 

Descripción en Español:

Después de su visita al centro de tejido, quédese en el pueblo para disfrutar de una experiencia verdaderamente inmersiva y única. Se hospedará en una casa de familia en el pueblo con los anfitriones de su comunidad, en alojamientos rústicos y confortables, incluida una habitación privada. Camine hasta los terrenos de pastoreo de alpacas o los lagos glaciares sobre los pueblos, o para una opción más tranquila, elija un paseo por el pueblo o lecciones de tejido más profundas. Aprende sobre agricultura comunitaria y hierbas nativas y medicinales. Comparta una ceremonia de esquila de alpacas o una ceremonia de fertilidad de ovejas. Disfrute de un almuerzo tradicional en horno de tierra llamado Pachamanca y una venta de mercado textil privado antes de partir. En todo momento, compartirá comidas típicas con su familia anfitriona.

Cronograma:

Día 1: Salida a las 9 am. 

Día 2: regreso a Ollantaytambo a las 2 o 3 pm

Alimentación:

El almuerzo y la cena en su casa de familia serán una comida tradicional andina que incluye un aperitivo/sopa, un plato principal y un té de hierbas nativo andino.

El desayuno andino tradicional puede incluir té, avena, huevo, papa, ponche de abas (como una avena bebible hecha con frijoles) u otros alimentos tradicionales.

El Almuerzo de Horno de Tierra Pachamanca incluye pollo, frijol aba y tubérculos nativos como papa, camote y otros, como olluco y/u oca.