Rural tourism in Patabamba! Patabamba is a community sheltered by the Peruvian Andes and very famous thanks to its weaving products and its warm people. Here, we have the opportunity of sharing 3 days of our lives with the locals and watch their weaving and dyeing, help them to herd their sheep, with their agricultural work and have the chance to visit the impressive «Balcón» in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Length of this trip: 3 days/2 nights Trip code: ALZZ-BES
Starting point: Cuzco (Peru) Finishing point: Cuzco (Peru)
Difficult level: 2/6
Trip style: Rural tourism
Service level: Basic
Group size: Min. 4 – Max. 16
Recommended departures: Year-round
This adventure begins with a bus transfer to the Andean community of Patabamba (3951 m). In Patabamba, the locals and their families will be waiting to give us the welcome. Here the group will split two by two and each pair will «live» with a family that will provide them with meals and a room especially prepared for them. This community is well-known for the quality of its weaving, its dyeing with natural colours and its design, which has the quality of telling the history of the community. Once we are settled, our families will take us to pick some flowers and plants they use to dye the wool; later on, they will teach us the whole process of weaving and dyeing. After dinner, we shall have a little party where we can learn some local dance steps and maybe wear their colourful dresses.
After a pleasant night, free from the noise of the city, our day begins with going along the locals to herd the sheep. We will have the chance to observe their peculiar habit of serving food the shepherd in charge of the animal al day long. Later on, we take a short trip to a natural balcony in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, at an average altitude of 600 meters above the rest of the valley, where the view is simply impressive. From there it’s possible to see the towns of Calca, Lamay, Colla and Pisac, as well as the snow-capped peaks of Veronica, Pitusiray and Sawasiray. In the afternoon, we will help our families to get the sheep together and bring them back home.
We will spend the day with the locals of Patabamba, helping them with their day-to-day agricultural activities (harvesting, sowing, irrigating, ploughing and weeding). This will be a unique experience and a chance to learn how men in the Andes subsist with their land. In the afternoon we say goodbye to our families and return to Cuzco.