Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [237]
Q’oyoriti is a pilgrimage – the only way in is by trekking three or more hours up a mountain, traditionally in the wee small hours to arrive around dawn. The sight of a solid, endless line of people quietly wending their way up or down the track and disappearing around a bend in the mountain is unforgettable, as is Q’oyoriti’s eerie, other-worldly feel. The fact that everyone’s sober at a party gives it an unusual vibe. Then there’s the near-total absence of gringos. The author saw a total of perhaps 10 other white faces among a reported 40,000 people in 2009. The majority of attendees are traditionally dressed campesinos who feel no compunction about loudly pointing out the unusual sight of a gringo.
Discomfort is another aspect of the pilgrimage. Q’oyoriti takes place at an altitude of 4750m, where glaciers flow down into the Sinakara valley. It’s brutally cold, and there’s no infrastructure, no town here, just one big elaborate church (complete with flashing lights around the altar) built to house the image of El Señor de Q’oyoriti (The Christ of Q’oyoriti). The temporary toilets are a major ordeal. The blue plastic sea of restaurants, stalls and tents is all carried in, on foot or donkey. The whole thing is monumentally striking: a temporary tent city at the foot of a glacier, created and dismantled yearly to honor two mutually contradictory yet coexisting religions in a festival with dance and costumes whose origins no one can remember. Welcome to Peru – this is the pointy end.
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Sights & Activities
During the dry season (late May to September), hikers and climbers may want to take advantage of the best weather to head for the sometimes snowcapped peak of Ampay (5228m), about 10km north-northwest of town. The mountain is also the center of the 3635-`hectare Santuario Nacional Ampay, where camping and birding are good.
Festivals & Events
Abancay has a particularly colorful Carnaval held in the week before Lent, which is a chance to see festival celebrations unaffected by tourism. It includes a nationally acclaimed folk-dancing competition. Book ahead or arrive before the festivities start. Abancay Day happens on November 3, the anniversary of the town’s founding.
Sleeping
Hostal Victoria (32-3188; victoriahostal@hotmail.com; Arequipa 305; s/d/tr S28/40/48, s/d without bathroom S15/26) This is an excellent little hostel not far from the BCP. Rooms with private bathrooms come with cable TV.
Saywa Hotel (32-4876; Arenas 302; www.saywa-hotel.com; s/d/t/q with breakfast S50/85/105/120) What it lacks in personality, Hotel Saywa makes up for in value – comfy beds, excellent showers, and kindly, professional service. Recommended.
HOTURS Hotel Turistas (32-1017; www.turismoapurimac.com; Díaz Bárcenas 500; s S50-100, d S65-130, ste from S150) Located opposite the Hostal Imperial, the best hotel in town is housed in an imposing, old-fashioned country mansion. An attraction in itself, it provides tasteful, ever so slightly quirky luxury at remarkably low prices.
Eating & Drinking
There are plenty of restaurants and cafes in Arenas. Araujos Rocker Kitchen is a local favorite.
Villa Venecia (50-4662; Av Bella Abanquina; gigantic mains from S13) Worth the short taxi ride to get to (it’s behind the stadium), Villa Venecia is Abancay’s most noteworthy restaurant. Serving up every local food imaginable, it’s the living embodiment of the Peruvian foodie mantra ‘bueno, barato y bastante’ – ‘good, cheap and plentiful’. Try tallarines (spaghetti), it’s an Abancay specialty.
Abancay offers a surprisingly large array of nightlife, centered on Arenas and Pasaje Valdivia just off it. Garabato’s Video Pub in Arenas is one spot recommended by locals.
Getting There & Away
Colectivos to Corahuasi via Saihuite (S10, 1½ hours) leave from Jirón Huancavelica, two blocks uphill from Arenas. Vehicles to Cachora leave from one block further uphill. Buses towards Cuzco, Andahuaylas and Lima leave from the terminal terrestre.
At least seven companies run buses to Cuzco (S15, five hours), clustered around 6am, 11am and 11pm.