Puno’s great party: Virgen de la Candelaria

They say that only the carnival in Rio-Brasil and the carnival in Oruco-Bolivia compare to this, the biggest party in Peru in the city with the most traditional dances in the world – Puno.

February 18, 2007 | Culture & History, Puno & Titicaca Guide

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Fur seals leave Galapagos and head for Peru

A colony of fur seals has moved 1,500km away from the Galapagos Islands, a Peru-based organisation which monitors the aquatic mammals has said. Average sea temperatures off northern Peru have risen by 6C in past 10 years.

February 8, 2010 | Nature, News

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Drug Lords vs. Chocolate: From Coca to Cacao in Peru [Featured]

Chocolate could revolutionise a part of Peru once better known for Tupac Amaru rebels, The Shining Path terrorists, and cocaine. Tapping into a niche market for organic cocoa, some Peruvian farmers have turned away from growing cocaine in favour of cultivating beans for high-end chocolatiers in Europe and the US.

February 8, 2010 | News, Peruvian Food

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Without Machu Picchu you’ll enjoy the trip of a lifetime

SPECIAL: PERU WITHOUT MACHU PICCHU – Machu Picchu is closed. It will stay that way through all of February at the very least. Do you have your flights booked and are wondering what to do next? Should you cancel or put off your trip to Cuzco?

February 4, 2010 | Travel and Places

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New Year Traditions: Die!…Muñeco…Die!

Tom Filipowicz in Chiclayo recounts the tradition of burning mannequins as part of New Year celebrations in Peru, as well as other customs.

January 31, 2010 | Culture & History

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Humanitarian disaster in Cusco, abandoned communities help themselves

Andy Dare in Cusco borrows a pickup, and with some friends goes to do what no government or aid agency has done – provide aid to the real victims of the worst natural disaster to hit the region in decades.

January 29, 2010 | News

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Access to Machu Picchu completely destroyed

Machu Picchu looks set to be out of service for quite some time as the single rail link taking tourists to the ancient Inca citadel has been completely wiped out. Peru’s over-sold main tourist attraction is an example of hyping a single site in a single small area of Peru to concentrate revenue that now looks to be backfiring.

See the amazing photos and videos of the destruction here.

January 28, 2010 | News, Opinion

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Thousands of tourists trapped at Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley cut off, Rescue plans need re-think

Somewhere between 2000 and 3000 tourists are trapped in Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, with plans to evacuate getting ever more complicated.

January 26, 2010 | News

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Emergency declared in Cusco: Heavy rains flood the region

UP TO THE MINUTE NEWS – State of Emergency in six provinces of Cusco and all of Apurímac. Weather service reports rain around 67% in excess of the norm. 66 people rescued from Aguas Calientes by helicopters, 3000 tourists and locals are trapped. 8 people dead, including two foreign tourists, and more than 7000 families left homeless.

January 26, 2010 | Nature, News

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800 year old tomb of shaman discovered

Curandero – witch-doctor or medicine-man in English, but the most direct translation is healer. The tradition of the curanderos still runs strong in the Muchik northern coast of La Libertad and Lambayeque, particularly around Chiclayo. The traditions and techniques of theses healers date back to pre-Colombian times and the the civilisations of the Chimú, Sicán and the Moche before them. Archaeologists have recently been given a glimpse into this period of time with the discovery of the 800 year old tomb of a Sicán curandero.

January 23, 2010 | Archaeology, News

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