Looking for interesting and engaging activities to do on your Peru family vacation? Ever wondered about how different the sky looks from the southern hemisphere?

How about some stargazing with the kids?

There is something enchanting and mysterious about the night sky. Humans through the ages have mapped the cosmos, assigned meaning to constellations, and used the sun, moon, and planets to guide their actions. The Incas were no exception. In fact, the Inca named and honored not only the constellations formed by the stars,  but also the dark shapes formed by dust clouds in the sacred river in the sky (what we call the Milky Way). On your custom trip to Peru, we welcome you to participate in “astro-tourism,” learning about the southern constellations, and the differences between the stars on the southern and northern sides of the celestial equator.

The Southern Constellations, as known to the Western world, were first mapped in the late 16th century. They include a group of 11 constellations known as the Bayer Family, named for Johann Bayer, a German celestial cartographer, or star-mapper. These 11 pictographs in the sky are: Phoenix, the Firebird; Tucana, the Toucan; Volans, the Flying Fish; Pavo, the Peacock, Hydrus, the Watersnake; Apus, the Bird of Paradise; Chamaeleon, the Chameleon; Grus, the Crane; Dorado, the Dolphinfish; Musca, the Fly; and Indus, the Indian. These star pictographs were first observed by the Flemish astronomer, Pettus Plancius, who used information provided by Dutch navigators of the late 1500s to map them.

As for the Inca, they had already developed a belief system in which the sun, moon, and stars figured powerfully. The sun and moon, Inti and Quilla, were major Inca deities. Temples and buildings were constructed in such a way that the sun and moon would shine through their apertures on particular days of the year, such as the summer and winter solstice. The stars also had an important role to play in Inca cosmology: they were the guardians and protectors of animals. The Inca saw and recognized the grouping known as the Pleiades as of particular significance, as.

Incas observed two types of constellations: those made of connected points of starlight, similar to those observed by Western astronomers, and those formed by darker patches that you can see in the Milky Way. They thought the dark blotches were living animals on the sacred river in the sky, a mirror of the Vilcanota river, which runs through the Sacred Valley. The most important, and easiest to spot, is Urcuchillay, the Llama. According to legend, she is the cause of the dry and rainy seasons – just before dry season, she gets very thirsty, and comes down to drink, drying out the land. Then, she gives the water back in the form of rain, causing rainy season.

There are also other interesting dark constellations – Mach’ acuay, the Serpent; Hanp’atu, the Toad; Yutu, the Tinamou (a large, ground-dwelling species of bird); Atoq, the Fox; and others. These constellations are still recognized by modern Quechua people and continue to be ceremonially honored by the Andean shamans of today.

If you are interested in the stars, when you arrive for your luxury Peru vacation, join us for a trip to the Cusco Planetarium, where you will be able to learn more about the Inca astronomy and observe the Dark and Light constellations they have included in their cosmology for many centuries. At the observatory, you will first learn about the Andean night sky, and then have the opportunity to stargaze through telescopes to observe star constellations, the moon, and visible planets.  This is an extra special activity to engage in with the kids during your Peru family vacation!

Congratulations! You’ve just booked your luxury Peru vacation! You have gone over the details with your Kuoda Travel Designer, and you are confident that this will truly be your dream trip to Peru: the trip of a lifetime! As you make arrangements to take this much-deserved time off from the daily grind, you find yourself faced with an enigma: what can and cannot be brought into Peru?

It would be a shame to have to face hefty tariffs, just because you innocently didn’t know that your goods would be evaluated and taxed. This guide is to help you avoid just that situation with a list of what can and cannot be brought with you on your Peru custom vacation. (Please note that the information provided is correct during time of publication.)

Items allowed into Peru must be in quantities for personal use or consumption only and include such goods as:

PERSONAL ITEMS (for personal use only):

• Toiletry
• Clothing and wearable gear
• Jewelry
• Books, magazines, newspapers, etc.

MEDICATION, SUPPLEMENTS, AND MEDICAL DEVICES

• Personal medications (narcotics may be restricted)
• Vitamins and supplements for your own use
• Medical devices and appliances, such as glucose monitors, crutches, or walkers, may be brought in as long as they are for the purpose of mobility and monitoring the health of the traveler.

Don’t bring medical marijuana or CBD-oil products.  Medical marijuana is legal in Peru, but the policies and procedures are not yet fully delineated, so no need for you to experiment by bringing cannabis products. If you absolutely must have that CBD oil for your aches and pains, such products may be found in Peru.

ELECTRIC AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES:

• 1 laptop computer
• 2 cellphones
• 1 tablet
• 2 cameras (conventional or digital) with up to 10 rolls of film, or 4 memory cards,
• 4 USB sticks and 2 external hard drives
• 1 video camera or camcorder (portable and not for professional use)
• 1 video game device (portable) including 10 games,
• 1 portable CD player
• 20 CDs or DVDs
• 1 portable calculator,
• 2 hairdryers /electric combing devices
• 1 Electric shaver
• You can bring drones into Peru but they MUST be declared.

If for some reason you need to bring items above the allowed limits, for example, if you need to bring two laptop computers, the rule states that the excess item must be declared to “aduanas” or customs and that the value of the second item must be lower than $500 in order to not be assessed.  If it does exceed $500 but is worth less than $1000, it should be declared and a 12% tax will be assessed. It is best to bring receipts if you have to declare items, as you may find yourself being taxed at very high rates if the customs officer looks up the items and assesses them on his or her own discretion.

FOOD THAT ARE ALLOWED INTO PERU:

Food items can be brought into Peru from the USA, Canada, or the European Union if they are in normal household quantities, labeled, unopened and commercially packaged or sealed. These items include:

• Cooked meats
• Processed cheeses
• Canned foods
• Pasteurized milk and dairy products
• Processed honey.

CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL:

• For travelers 18 or older, you are permitted to bring tobacco products up to 400 cigarettes, up to 50 cigars, or up to 250 grams of tobacco. You can also bring 3 liters of alcohol beverages. If the name “Pisco” is on the label and it is not from Peru, it is not allowed.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS:

• 1 musical instrument (portable)
• 1 set of sports gear for personal use
• You can also bring up to US$500 in miscellaneous articles for personal use or for gifts.

BRINGING MONEY INTO PERU:

• Amounts less than $10,000 cash or monetary instruments, you do not have to be declared when entering Peru. However, it is prohibited to enter or exit the country with amounts in excess of US$30,000 or its equivalent in another currency.

The regulations I’ve mentioned here are geared towards tourists bringing items in their suitcases, which is not the same as shipping goods into Peru.

Lastly, please remember your baggage will be cleared at the first airport of entry in Peru. For most people, this will be in Lima.

Now that you have access to the information you will need to pack appropriately, you can rest easy, knowing what to expect from customs when you begin your luxury Peru vacation!

Come join us to celebrate one of the most vibrant and lively festivals in South America during your exclusive Peru tour! The Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated throughout Peru, but it is at its most festive in Cusco. This feast is a celebration of the Eucharist: the Spanish conquistadors introduced it to the indigenous Andean population in the 16^th century.  Perhaps, it is a way to counter the Incan celebration of Inti Raymi, which follows soon after and is another of Cusco’s great festivals. Today the city celebrates both holidays, in the colorful and raucous manner that characterizes this wild and magical high Andean city.

This vibrant celebration occurs annually in May or June, coming 60 days after Easter Sunday, and this year it will take place on Thursday^, June 20^th. The incoming parades begin in the early hours of the morning, as elaborately decorated Saints and Sacred Virgin icons are brought to the Plaza de Armas from various church parishes around the city. Gorgeously costumed groups of musicians and dancers accompany the Saints, as traffic coming into downtown is blocked to make way. They all converge on the Main Square, where the Saints are paraded around and exhibited to the attending masses.

After the parade around the Main Square, the icons are hosted in the Cathedral for a week, after which they are returned to their respective parishes on the eighth day. More parades are in order as the statues are borne with great ceremony back to their usual homes.

If you wish to join in the festivities during your exclusive Peru tour, we will happily arrange for a private guide to accompany you. Expect the main square to be quite crowded! If you want to get more of a bird’s eye view of the events, there are various cantinas and eateries around the plaza that offer a perfect view from their upstairs balconies.

There is a special meal that accompanies the Corpus Christi celebration, known as Chiriuchu, which literally means “cold dish,” as it is served at room temperature and eaten with your hands. Served mainly in Cusco and its surrounds, this dish consists of a little of everything from all around Peru: foods from land, sea. It is a plate made to celebrate the diversity of products available from all over the country, and may have originated during Inca times as a way to bring different indigenous communities together to serve up their specialties. Chiriuchu includes chicken, sausage, torrejas (savory cornmeal or quinoa pancakes), fish roe, seaweed, cuy (guinea pig), corn on the cob, jerky, Andean cheese, and brightly colored red or orange rocoto peppers.

During your luxury trip to Peru, you can try Chiriuchu at La Cusqueñita Restaurant on Avenida Centenario, located about a kilometer from the Main Square. Another option, if you like street food and are feeling adventurous, is to buy a platter of this “something for everyone” meal from one of the many food booths that will be set up throughout the city around Cusco’s various plazas during Corpus Christi week. Or you can take a taxi up to Sacsayhuaman, where families will gather together to celebrate, eat Chiriuchu, and enjoy a beer… or three.

June is definitely the month to enjoy festivals in Cusco: Corpus Christi is shortly followed by the Inca Feast of Inti Raymi on June 24th. Basically, the whole town will be one gigantic party starting the third week of June. Come join in the fun with Kuoda, your personalized travel agency in Peru.

For some, traveling to a foreign country can be as exciting as it is anxiety inducing. There’s a new culture and strange language to navigate and there’s often the pressure of making sure that you see it all and miss nothing. That’s why tour operators and agencies exist to help maximize what could be your only visit to that destination.

The benefit of going with a local tour operator or travel agency versus a foreign one really boils down to how intimately connected they are to the destination. For this reason, local companies beat larger, foreign companies every single time. We’ll explain:

Local Operators Have Better Local Knowledge

How well do you know your hometown? We’ll bet you know it like the back of your hand, from where to find the best bite to eat to what attractions are actually worth visiting and when. Local tour operators and agencies will always have an edge on their foreign counterparts because you simply can’t beat the local knowledge that comes from growing up in a place, not to mention the ‘insider knowledge’ and random local information that comes with it.

Local Operators Are Proud to Share the Place They Call Home

On the same vein, growing up in a place instills within a person a certain sense of pride and passion for it. By choosing a local tour operator or travel agency over a foreign company, you get to tap into that local pride and passion through the man or woman leading your tour. Foreign tour operators might pair you with a guide that shares your accent and speaks your language, thinking it will simplify your experience, but it’s actually through the passionate, local guides that the true magic really unfolds.

Local Operators Have Better Local Relationships

Local tour operators and agencies are likely to have a more extensive network of local partners and contacts. For example, Kuoda Travel, as a Cusco-based tour agency, can put together some extremely unique and tailored experiences for travelers to Cusco(and Peru) that you won’t find on your typical Peru travel brochure. This is all because of the local and long-standing relationships we have established with everyone from the chefs at Cusco Restaurants to the weavers in Umasbamba and the adorable school children of a little-known Sacred Valley community.

Local Operators Have Intimate Connections With Local Suppliers

This has its benefits. By being able to form and develop in-person relationships with local suppliers like hotels, restaurants, and transportation services, local travel agencies are better able to do things like reserve the best table for you at the restaurant or get you booked into the room with the best view of the city. These intimate local connections translate to extra special upgrades for your travel experience.

You Are Helping to Support the Local Economy

If supporting the destination you visit is high on your list of priorities, choosing a local tour operator or agency to travel with is one of the easiest ways to give back. By pouring your tourism dollars into the local companies and people directly, you’re helping to ensure that everyone is benefitting from the life-changing power of tourism.

If Peru is on Your Travel List, Book Local with Kuoda Travel

Based out of our Cusco office, our team of Kuoda Travel Designers are well-versed in putting together tailor-made Peru travel experiences that uniquely fit each traveler’s wants and needs. We’re always cultivating and maintaining our excellent relationships with top local guides, hotels and restaurants to ensure that anything and everything is possible for our guests. Get in touch with us today to begin discovering what is possible for you in Peru.

While traveling to Cusco, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself face-to-face with the vivid and earthy tones, gold leaf accents, and unconventional religious forms of The Cusco School’s body of work. This artistic relic of Peru’s Spanish Colonial past still hangs and coats the walls of Cusco’s oldest cathedrals and churches. But what was their purpose and who painted this famous religious art? That we’ll share in this blog post.

What is the Cusco School?

The Cusco School came about alongside the Spanish conquest of Peru in the 1530’s and lasted through the 18^th century. As a means of converting the newly subdued Incas to Catholicism, the Spanish came to rely on religious artwork that intertwined Catholic themes with indigenous iconography. During your tour of Cusco, visit the Cusco Cathedral for a look at Marcos Zapata’s mural featuring guinea pig at Christ’s Last Supper to see exactly what we’re talking about. Though this type of painting was what the Spanish had in mind when they taught the indigenous artists how to paint with oils, the natives took their skills in new directions. In the process, they came to be referred to as The Cusco School for their unique, distinctly Cusqueña, style and choice of subject matter.

The Cusco School Style

Influenced by their European teachers, this group of trained indigenous and mestizo artists tended to paint exclusively religious figures, but in rich and dramatic colors, flat on the page, and often with the native flora and fauna somewhere in the backdrop. Gold leaf overlays and tooling were common as were floral borders, while the Virgin Mary, archangels, and saints were usually the stars of their paintings.

Where to Spot Some of The Cusco School’s Work While Visiting Cusco

Walk into any Cusco area church or cathedral built during the Spanish Colonial era and you’ll likely spot a mural or painting from The Cusco School adorning its columns, altar, and arcades. The largest collection, however, can be found within the Cusco Cathedral that towers over the Plaza de Armas. The Inca Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art also house quite a few original Cusco School pieces, both a must-see during any trip to Cusco might we add.

The Cusco School of painting is one of the most uniquely South American styles of painting to come out of the Spanish colonies and one that you can see firsthand during your visit to Cusco and the rest of Peru. Keep your eyes peeled for this distinctive and revolutionary artwork as you explore the city’s sites and scenes.

Sailing down the upper Peruvian Amazon aboard a top-of-the-line luxury cruise is one of those travel experiences you dream about. The sounds and sightings of exotic wildlife follow you with every bend in the river, while sunrise and sunset take on new meaning against the backdrop of the lush rainforest and the muddy waters of the Amazon’s waterways. If you’re hoping to see as much of the Peruvian Amazon as possible in three or four days, then an Amazon river cruise may be the right jungle adventure for your personalized Peru tour.

But, what can expect aboard a luxury Amazon cruise liner? We’ll walk you through a typical day aboard an Amazon riverboat and what it’s like to sail, not simply lodge, in the lungs of the world.

The Essential Details

Many Amazon river cruises start in the jungle town of Iquitos, but set sail in the port city of Nauta, roughly a two-hour journey by private vehicle from Iquitos. The length of your Amazon cruise will determine how much of the wildlife-rich Pacaya Samiria Reserve you explore, as well as which waterways your floating Amazon lodge will meander down and which jungle excursions you’ll be experiencing (all included, of course!) For a good sampling of possible itineraries, check out the three or four-day itineraries Delfin regularly delivers to their passengers.

A Day in the Life of an Amazon Cruiser

06:00 Sunrise

You will want to tear yourself out of the deep sleep the smooth Amazon riverways lulled you into for a peek at an Amazon sunrise. The best part is that you don’t even have to leave your cabin. Just draw back the curtains and take it all in from the comfort of your cozy bed as the sky explodes into color just beyond your floor-to-ceiling windows.

08:00 Breakfast

Mealtime aboard a luxury Amazon cruise is something you won’t ever want to skip. The ingredients are sourced from the Amazon Rainforest that surrounds you, meaning your meals are always fresh and usually a bit exotic. Breakfast is no exception. Load up your plate at the buffet with fried green plantains, yucca, and local sausages while you wait for your poached eggs or pancakes to finish cooking. Wash it all down with an exotic fruit juice.

10:00 AM Activity

After breakfast, it’s time for an adventure on land or by skiff, following jungle trails and narrow waterways your floating home just can’t reach. How does swimming with pink dolphins sound? Or a canopy walk along 25-meter-tall platforms high up in the wildlife-rich treetops? No, maybe it’s piranha fishing that’s on your Amazon Jungle itinerary today. However you venture off ship with your private naturalist guide is sure to be an epic experience full of exotic wildlife encounters.

12:00 Lunch

Back aboard the riverboat for lunch, the chalkboard in the dining room reads what appetizers, mains, and desserts are being dished up today. You go with the heart of palm soufflé to start, followed by an elegantly presented plate of grilled chicken alongside a bed of creamed purple potatoes, and a white cacao mousse for dessert.

15:00 PM Activity

With lunch behind you, it’s time to ready yourself for your afternoon jungle activity. On the agenda today is kayaking the Amazon’s tributaries in a native 16” river kayak. Excited though you are, you just can’t wrap your mind around how anything can beat yesterday’s adventure: your visit to a native Amazonian village where you met some of the Ribereno community and participated in some of their day-to-day activities.

18:00 Sunset

Grab a seat on the ship’s sundeck for what’s sure to be an unforgettable sunset over the river with a pre-dinner cocktail in hand. The bartender recommended the pisco sour so you went for it. As you sip the tangy sweet Peruvian concoction, the live music begins and a reel of your day’s rainforest adventures plays through your head.

19:00 Dinner

Come dinnertime, you’re hungry for the three-course menu du jour.  You go with the spicy ceviche entrée, the paiche and grilled vegetables main (a dish the maître’s pointed you to for a taste of local fish), and rice pudding with purple corn compote for dessert. What a day it’s been and what a meal to close it out with.

Live the Amazon River Cruise Experience For Yourself

Not mentioned in your fictitious day-in-life were the early morning and after-dark jungle excursions you can take when the jungle’s at its most alive. Or the specific breadth of wildlife you’ll spot by ship, on foot, and while paddling the tributaries and jungle lagoons by kayak. That we’ll leave for you to experience firsthand. We can’t give it all away after all!

In Part 1 of this series, we pointed you towards the most unique Peruvian souvenirs you could buy in Lima, Puerto Maldonado, Ica, and Arequipa. Where were Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Puno? Answer: They’re on this list. Unless you’re straying from the heavily traveled tourist route through Peru, chances are your custom Peru tour will take you to Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Puno. Here are some Peruvian souvenirs distinct to each spot.

Cusco – Cusco School Painting, Retablos, & Alpaca Clothing

Cusco is the beating heart of Peruvian handicrafts. Its artisanal markets, art galleries, and boutique shops are treasure troves for hand-made goods often steeped in tradition and history. If you only buy one souvenir during your visit to Cusco, let it be a Cusco School painting reproduction, a colorful retablo (a wooden diorama of sorts depicting religious, historical, and everyday events), or an alpaca wool scarf, sweater, or blanket. Escuela Cusqueña reproductions and retablos can be found in some of the exclusive shops in Plaza de Armas or San Blas – the bohemian quarter of Cusco. While shops selling quality alpaca goods, they are scattered throughout town. Kuna and Sol Alpaca are two great options.

The Sacred Valley – Textiles, Chullos, & Maras Salt

When your tour of Peru makes its way to the Sacred Valley, prepare to fill a second suitcase with handwoven textiles, those funny hats with ear flaps called chullos, and some Peruvian pink salt mined from the Maras salt pans. The textiles, especially those by the artisans of Chinchero and Umasbamba, are absolutely exquisite. Attend a weaving workshop to watch how it’s done and then buy one or a few directly from the weaver for a truly special Peruvian souvenir. Chullos can be found at markets throughout the Sacred Valley but for the most authentic version, wait until you visit the Pisac Market. As for the salt, the picturesque Maras Salt Mines are located just 45 minutes from Cusco at the mouth of the Sacred Valley. Sample your way to the perfect salty souvenir while there.

Puno – Coffee, Pucará Bulls, & Taquile Handicrafts

During your visit to Puno and Lake Titicaca, keep your eyes peeled for bags of some of Peru’s best coffee (called Quechua), a twin pair of ceramic Pucará bulls, and if you make it out on the lake to Taquile Island, throw in some proper Taquile textile art as well. These are the quintessential Puno souvenirs. The coffee grown in Puno’s Sandia Valley is award-winning on an international stage, Puno’s Pucará bulls are the go-to wedding gift throughout the Andes, as they’re believed to bring prosperity, fertility, and happiness to those who keep them on the roof of their home, and the Taquile woven handicrafts are on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Saving space in your suitcase already?

Consider this and our last post a taster for all of the Peruvian souvenirs you’ll come across on your Peru vacation. There will be far more options before you, of course, but if it’s regionally distinct souvenirs that you’re after, then our list is something to keep in your back pocket for sure!