An article by Kelly Hearn, appeared today in National Geographic News, reports about the descovery of a 2,000-year-old mine in the Peruvian Andes. This, according to archaeologists, offers proof that pre-Inca cultures mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire. Hearn points out:
The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled “Nazca”) culture. The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find. The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600. The culture is known for etching giant drawings in the Nasca desert [the Nazca Lines, ndr], as well as making textiles, designing irrigation systems, and creating colorful pottery adorned with images of plants, animals, and complex religious symbols. “Our hypothesis is that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints,” Vaughn said.
Timesonline’s Jeremy Lazell travels the World in search for remote hotels and finds one of the farthest in Lake Titicaca. Managed by Casa Andina, Suasi Island hotel is a beautiful adobe-and-reed hotel located in the small 106-acre island of Suasi, one of the most charming within the whole Lake Titicaca. Here’s what Lazell says:
More than 12,500ft above sea level, surrounded by Lake Titicaca, in the Altiplano of Peru, Suasi Island hotel doesn’t make much noise about being on what must be the highest island in the world, but then shouting’s not really its style. The country’s only entirely solar-powered hotel, Suasi Island is all about the peace: so remote, it is reached only after a 3½hour crossing from Puno town (or a bone-rearranging drive around the lake’s northern shores), this is a seriously mind-clearing refuge. Especially if you book yourself the hotel’s Andean Cottage, a two-bedroom stone and adobe lakeside shack with mighty views across the lake. I say shack, but this is no Scottish bothy: instead, it has its own pier, a butler, a wood-burning stove and enough colonial touches to thrill a conquistador.
According to El Comercio, a demostration in Cusco that draw some 25.000 protesters ended without consequences. The protest was called after knowledge of a draft Law that would make it easier for private investors to build near famous ancient sites in Cusco.
Roads were blocked and the train service from Cusco to Machu Picchu was suspended, as had been previously announced by Peru Rail, the company managing the railway. Flights in and out of Cusco, though, continued to operate normally.
The proposed law, number 20167, will make it easier for private investors to be awarded concessions for building hotels near Cusco’s historic centre and in areas adjacent to archaeological sites. But Cusqueños –including the regional authority– fear that the law would just make it easier for foreign investors to grow rich from the old Inca Capital’s cultural heritage.
The controversy, though, is far from coming to an end. One of the leaders of the protest announced they will call for a new demonstration if the central government in Lima didn’t revoke the law.
According to Mexican newspaper El Universal, filming for next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, will include scenes in Machu Picchu. Allegedly, filming will occur during the first half of March, while the film is expected for November 2008.
The report says that the production crew will consist of approximately 250 people, though it is not yet known if Daniel Craig will be present for filming.
The film poster, that illustrates this post, is available for download as a desktop wallpaper at the James Bond official site.
PromPeru, Peru’s Tourism Promotion Agency, has launched a nice advertising campaign in London. More than 300 taxis on the British capital will carry distinctive images of Peru, promoting the country as a choice vacation destination.
According to PromPerú, the UK is Peru’s second largest incoming tourist market in Europe. In 2006, more than 65,000 British visitors arrived to Peru (photo: PromoPerú).
Though images of the Andes come readily to mind when thinking about Peru, as much as 2/3 of its territory is taken by the Amazon Rainforest. The Selva (jungle, in Spanish) covers every corner east of the Andes, from the Equator to the southern borders with Brazil and Bolivia. Scarcely populated, Peru’s Amazon rainforest probably sustains the World’s richest biodiversity. More so within its many parks and reserves –Manu, Pacaya Samiria, Tambopata–, both wildlife paradises and natural sanctuaries.
Fresh content on the main natural parks and reserves, plus Iquitos and facts regarding th Amazon river and the rainforest.
Although little known to foreigners, Peru has beautiful beaches in the northern departments of Tumbes and Piura.
One of the most well-know beaches is Punta Sal (80km from Tumbes), a long white-sand beach considered one of the finest in Peru. Its warm waters boast a rich marine biodiversity and, diversely from most other beaches in the area, accommodate quite gentle waves. The Punta Sal beach resort, surrounded by sand dunes and carob trees, is extremely popular among families. It faces the relatively isolated half-moon section of the beach.
Equally popular, though more among surfers and party-goers, is Máncora (Piura, close to the border with Tumbes). This town and beach resort features more than 30 different accommodation spots that receive both resident and foreigner tourists almost year-round. The resort town flaunts a large number of exclusive restaurants, nightclubs and unpretentious bars.
The winners of the New 7 Wonders competition were announced in Lisbon, Saturday 7 July, and Machu Picchu was elected as one of the modern wonders of the world. The other winners were the Great Wall of China, Brazil’s Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum in Rome, Jordan’s Petra, the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza in Mexico and India’s Taj Mahal.
The Peru Guide has added the beautiful city of Arequipa to its online guide, toghether with the Colca Canyon. Known as the "white city" for the volcanic stone largely used in its buildings, Arequipa is an elegant and charming city at the foot of the Misti, a dormant volcano. Moreover, it’s the main gate to the Colca Canyon, famous for its condors and white river rafting, and one of Peru’s most extraordinary destinations.
Nice article in The Washington Post by Jonathan Yardley, titled Lima Cuisine: You Don’t Know What You’re Missing. Besides writing about gastronomy, the author goes over Miraflores, Lima’s nicest restaurant quarter.
A brief taste: Not merely is old Lima rich in history, but new Lima is so rich gastronomically as to put just about all the world’s other cities to shame. Today it is not merely advisable but mandatory to come to Lima para la cocina: for the food.
This year 2007, Cusco’s famous Inti Raymi celebration will take place on Sunday, June 24. The procession departs at 9am from Koricancha (Plazoleta Santo Domingo) and arrives the Sacsayhuaman fortress at around noon.
Held during the winter solstice, the Inti Raymi or Fiesta del Sol (Sun Celebration) was the most important festivity of the ancient Peru. If there is an event you can’t miss during your visit to Peru, this for sure is it. Spectacular and millenary, the celebration of the God Sun -the highest god of the Incas-, aimed at stopping it from further moving away from the Earth, but also for sunlight to keep supporting life in the planet.
During the Inca Empire, the festival was attended by the main Cusco authorities and the highest representatives from the four nations of the Tahuantinsuyo (the Inca land). All attendants were impeccably dressed, the military carrying their finest weapons. Soon after the Spanish had conquered the empire, the Catholic Church forbid what they considered a pagan-ritual. And it was not until the XX century that the festivity was recovered by a group of artists and intellectuals from Cusco. They started to represent it as a play, which evolved year after year thanks to continuous historical research.
Nowadays the ritual is very similar to the original. It takes place in the esplanade of Sacsayhuaman, and is recited in Quechua with an almost simultaneous Spanish translation. The extensive research has also allowed a faithful recreation of the original clothing and accessories (though obviously gold isn’t used anymore). The rehearsals for the event take up to several weeks. The Inti Raymi is organized by Emufec, the municipality company responsible for the traditional Cusco festivities.
Tickets can be found at the EMUFEC offices (Calle Santa Catalina Ancha 333, Phone 084-244504) or in any travel agency. Prices for an outstanding viewpoint range from $50 to $70. Many locals, though, watch the celebration from the hills that surround the esplanade.
