Agrotourism Chichubamba

Agrotourism Chichubamba is a program founded and maintained jointly by the residents of the community of Chichubamba, Peru, and the NGO ProPeru. The goal of the program is supplement the income of residents, and thus improving the economic condition of the town.

The program consists of a number of families who specalize in traditional peruvian agricultural products and services. All products are 100% natural and are farmed or made by the locals. Through informative and entertaining workshops visitors are immeresed into traditional Peruvian life and learn how those living in the Peruvian Andes for many hundreds of years have lived.

Many of the techniques have been passed down for hundreds of years and are very similar to those methods used by the Incan empire. Demonstrations and workshops include: ceramics, bee-keeping, horticulture, cuy (guinea pig, a local Peruvian delicacy), chicha (a locally brewed corn beer), chocolate and weaving. In addition tourists may stay a hostel located directly in Chichubamba and sample some of the traditional foods.

In addition to the above, the agrotourism program also takes visitors to two very unique, and not well known, Incan ruins. The first is el Tambo de Q'espiwanca (Palace of Q'espiwanca) which was built by the last great Incan king Huayna Capac. Much of the ruins of the palace still exisit today including the spectacular Wall of Niches. The other site, a two hour hike from Chichubamba, is Los Dos Torres (The Two Towers) which site atop a mountain overlooking the Sacred Valley.

These towers were used by the Incans to monitor the valley and warn the tribes below of an impending attack. In addition the views of Urubamba, Chichubamba, the Sacred Valley and the Chichon Glacier are very magnificent and not to be missed.

The Chichubamba Agrotourism program is a great way to learn about the local culture in the Sacred Valley in Peru.