Month: February 2020

You will wonder what bringing with you back from Peru to please your loved ones. In this amazing country, you will find markets filled with beautifully colored merchandise that will captivate your view. You will find below the 16 best gifts and souvenirs of Peru.

If you are going to Peru, you will want to take in your suitcase the best gifts and souvenirs from Peru.

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Gifts and Souvenirs from Peru

The chullo or Peruvian Hat

The chullo or Peruvian hat is characterized by its earmuffs that you can attach under your chin. These vicuña, alpaca or sheep wool hats are a practical accessory when you cross the heights of Cusco, Puno or Colca Canyon in the Peru Andes.

Alpaca clothes

Ponchos, scarves and blankets are the best souvenirs that you will find in the markets and shops.
The products made in alpaca are light, hypoallergenic and above all, they do not itch.
The “baby alpaca” clothes are made from the first cut of its wool which is extremely soft. Be careful though, many products are marketed as being 100% baby alpaca wool, but most often it is mixtures of alpaca wool and acrylic or synthetic fibers.
If you want the real product, leave out the markets and visit shops like Kuna where prices reflect quality. Arequipa is where a lot of products are made and if you go there, it will be the best place to buy one.

Musical instruments

Peruvian music is beautiful to listen to and has Andean, Spanish and African influences. If you are inclined to music, you may want to bring a new instrument back home. Choose from a wooden flute, a zampoña made of 11 wooden tubes, a drum or play the 10-string charango. To please a child, a small flute will be welcome.

Backpacks

If you need space to store all the small goods of your trip to Peru, a new backpack is the solution.
You can find many traditional textile backpacks that are on sale in trekking shops. Canvas bags are also available in traditional models and we have seen a few people at the airport make good use of the backpacks.

Textiles

Peruvian traditional clothing and products, from handbags to sweaters, are made from the brightest and most colorful textiles.
There are many beautiful Peruvian fabrics for sale in local markets that you can buy as tablecloths, placemats and pillowcases.
Paintings
The best way to remember your trip to Peru is to take a picture at home to admire it every day and so decorate your home. Women dressed in their native clothes look like a good image as well as the unique landscape of Machu Picchu.
Visit one of the many galleries or approach one of the street vendors selling engravings around the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Puno, Lima or Cusco.

The Retablos Altarpieces

The altarpieces are shiny wooden boxes that represent important religious, historical or daily events for Peruvians.
The delicate figures inside the boxes sometimes appear on two levels: the upper level symbolizes the sky and the sacred animals of the Andes, while the lower level symbolizes life on earth. The sizes and prices are varied and the scenes they contain.

The Peruvian Pisco

Pisco, this alcohol at 38% -48% is the basic ingredient of the Peruvian national drink, Pisco Sour. Many tours and hikes in Peru end with a demonstration of the preparation of Pisco Sour and you will not want to leave the country without tasting this drink.

A Chakana or necklace with an Inca cross

These necklaces may only look like geometric figures, but after your trip to Peru, you’ll know it’s the Inca Cross or Chakana and it has deep meaning and importance to the Quechua people.
You will see the sculpture in several archaeological sites. In short, the hole in the center represents the city of Cusco, capital of the Inca Empire, and the Cruz del Sur constellation.
The cross is divided into four quadrants of 3 corners each. The first quadrant represents the levels of the world: the lower world of death, the intermediate world of human life, and the higher world of gods and celestial beings.
The second represents the venerated animals of each world: the snake, the andean puma and the condor.
The third symbolizes the three commandments of the Incas: do not steal, do not lie and do not be lazy and the fourth represents the human principles: love and doing good, wisdom and work.

The Pucara Bulls

The bulls of Pucara are offered as a wedding gift to Peruvian couples. If you look closely at the roofs of Peru in Cusco or Puno, you may see some of these bulls that are supposed to bring fertility, prosperity, joy and protection to the house. If you want to wish the same luck to someone, then you will want to give him a Pucara bull.

Ekeko, the god of prosperity

Ekeko is the god of abundance, prosperity and good fortune. Instead of buying one for yourself, you should give it to someone you want to succeed. Small offerings to the god are what the person hopes to receive or realize.
Andean dolls
These Andean dolls are an excellent gift for little girls who will learn about the lifestyle, clothing and culture of traditional Peruvian women.

Peru’s several climates and contrasting surface features have produced a rich diversity of Peru flora and fauna.

Peru Flora

Perennial shrubs, candelabra cacti, and intermontane pepper trees account for much of the western slope vegetation in the higher altitudes and forests of eucalyptus have been planted. High-altitude vegetation varies from region to region, depending on the direction and intensity of sunlight.
Tola grows at 3,400 meters in the southern volcanic regions; bunch puna grasses may be found at 3,700 meters. On the brow (ceja) of the eastern slopes, mountain tall grass and sparse sierra cactus and low shrub give way at 900 meters to rain forests and subtropical vegetation.
As the eastern slopes descend, glaciers are remarkably close to tropical vegetation.
The native plants as sarsaparilla, barbasco, cinchona, coca, ipecac, vanilla, leche caspi, and curare have become commercially important, as well as the wild rubber tree, mahogany, and other tropical woods.
Discover the Colca Canyon by horse ride

Fauna in Peru

Andean Condor

For centuries, vast colonies of pelicans, gannets, and cormorants have fed on the schools of anchovies that graze the rich sea pastures of the Humboldt Current and have deposited their excrement on the islands to accumulate, undisturbed by weather, in great quantities of guano.
This natural fertilizer was used by the pre-Inca peoples. Forgotten during the days of colonial gold greed, guano attracted the attention of scientists in 1849, when its rich nitrogen content was analyzed as 14–17%.
The rich marine plant life off the Peruvian coast attracts a wealth of marine fauna, the most important of which are anchoveta, tuna, whale, swordfish, and marlin.
Characteristic of the Andes are the great condor, ducks, and other wild fowl. The vizcacha, a mountain rodent, and the chinchilla are well known, as is the puma, or mountain lion. Peru is famous for its American members of the camel family—the llama, alpaca, huarizo, and guanaco—all typical grazing animals of the highlands.
The humid forests and savannas of eastern Peru contain almost half the country’s species of fauna, including parrots, monkeys, sloths, alligators, paiche fish, piranhas, and boa constrictors, all common to the Amazon Basin.

The Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) has an important ecological role as a scavenger.
By quickening the decomposition rate of dead animals, thus diminishing the risk of disease associated with the slow rotting of cadavers.
It also has evolutionarily importance due to its sense of smell, unique in its genus and unusual in the bird kingdom. It has a long lifespan, comparable to humans, with up to 50 years in the wild, and up to 80 years in captivity.
It is around 142 cm tall and its wingspan can reach 330 cm. Its distribution range spreads through the Andean countries of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, from the north of Colombia to the extreme south of the Chilean and Argentine Patagonia.
Since ancient times, the Andean condor has been an important part of the Andean mythology and traditions.
One of the most important places for watching the condor’s fligh is the Mirador de la Cruz del Condor in Arequipa region.

10 facts about the Andean Condor:

Its name in quechua is kuntur and the Incas believed it was immortal.
The distance between the points of its spread wings (3.3 meters) represents the largest wingspan of any terrestrial bird.
The Andean condor is part of four national shields, where it represents different values: Bolivia (boundaryless pursuit), Chile (strength), Colombia (liberty and order), and Ecuador (power, grandeur, and valeur.
This bird is monogamous and both parents incubate the egg. Its chicks stay with its parents up to 2 years before facing the world.
In certain seasons of the year (October in Peru), the Andean condor flies from the peaks of the Andes to the Pacific coast to eat sea lion carcasses and discarded placentas.
It’s one of the only predators that can break the hard guanaco skin.
Andean condors mature sexually late in life (a minimum of 5 years, with reports of the first chick at 11 years), and they only have one chick every 2-3 years.
They form part of the family Cathartidae, which comes from the Greek word kathartes meaning “he who cleans.”
Andean condors are thermal soarers, which means that they rise with the air current, helping them spot carcasses from great heights and descend upon them without wasting much energy.
The Andean condor displays sexual dimorphism– this is when animals of the same species have different body forms based on biological sex.
The male Andean condor has a white collar and a crest, while the female Andean condor does not.

Arequipa has a different plan for each type of traveler. For lovers of quiet walks, the Yanahuara viewpoint is a fixed route; while for the more adventurous, a more demanding plan is the Colca Canyon.

But if you want to visit an attraction that combines history, beautiful environments, and close to the city center, the Monastery of Santa Catalina has everything you need to make your trip a memorable experience.

Cloisters, squares, tile roofs and cobbled floors are part of the Monastery of Santa Catalina, which was inaugurated in 1580 as an absolute cloister center for nuns. Its preserved and colorful environments will catch you from the start.

Located in the Historic Center of Arequipa, the Santa Catalina Monastery is a magical place that will transport you through the history of the White City.

– It is one step away from the city center

It won’t take you long to get to the monastery. Being located on Santa Catalina Street 301, in the historic center of Arequipa, gives you the opportunity to continue visiting other charms of the city.

– There are promotions for university students

Although the general entrance to the Monastery of Santa Catalina has a cost of S / 40, this tourist attraction offers promotions for children under 7 years (free admission), national schoolchildren (S / 6) and peruvian university students with a valid card (S / 12). In addition, peruvian adults, on the 10th and last Sunday of each month, can pay S / 10.

– About the guides

Visitors can do the tour on their own, but it is much better to do it with a specialized guide.If you want to hire this service, keep in mind that the rates are from 1 to 4 people (S / 20).

– You can do night tours

Organize your travel itinerary in the White City with time. Keep in mind that the opening hours at the Monastery of Santa Catalina are from Thursday to Monday from 8:00 a.m. at 5:00 p.m. Also, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you can take the tour from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.