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Head Office Cusco - Perú : |
QOYLLUR RIT'I PILGRIMAGE TREK 4 days/ 3 nights
DAY 1 - SUNDAY:
TRINITY SUNDAY DRIVE FROM CUZCO TO MAHUAYANI AND TREK TO QOYLLUR RITI.
After an early breakfast you set off at 06:00 for the stunning drive to the trailhead. The journey is broken up with some photo stops of views of the impressive Ausangate mountain range. On arrival at Tinqui (3,800m) there is a short drive bringing you to Mahuayani (4000m). Arrival before noon, there is a light but nourishing snack, you meet your muleteers and start your trek to Qoyllurit'i Camp at 4600m, about 4 -5 hours ascent along a broad good track, along with many other pilgrims, all you need to carry is your daypack. - you arrive at the heart of the festival, along with thousands of Andean pilgrims who have trekked here from all over the Andes – a fabulous sight. Camp on the grounds of a quiet farm about 20 minutes before arriving to the Sanctuary area. Your support team of traditional porters or muleteers carries all camping equipment and perform all camp chores. All food is prepared by the cook. Dinner in camp.
As Hugh Thomson has written in his book on Qoyllurit’I, Cochineal Red (published as A Sacred Landscape in the US): "High up on one hill I saw a long line of pilgrims being piped along, like some vision from the Scottish highlands. The tiny black figures were silhouetted against the thin ridge light. Many of the surrounding communities had already walked for days to reach here, and their paths slipped down off the hills to meet ours".
DAY 2 - MONDAY :
TREK FROM MAYHUANAI TO QOYLLURIT'I CAMP
Breakfast in camp. After a short walk you will be at the heart of the festival, along with thousands of dancing and singing Andean pilgrims who have trekked here from all over the Andes – a fabulous sight. You can stroll along the several "streets" of this enormous camp, watch the colorful dances of different group which move around to finally arrive in front of the Sanctuary and perform worshiping rituals. At noon there will be lunch in the campsite.
A very good option for the afternoon is to follow the pilgrims walking up on the glacier and performing also there several dances and rituals. Dinner in camp. Dancing and rituals continue all the night long. Tonight many of the ukukus, the bearmen who police the festival, go higher up to the glaciers at 4900 meters carrying a cross to perform a very sacred ritual up in the glacier, and return down during the sunrise next day. Nowadays it is strictly forbidden for everybody to collect ice to take back to their local communities due to stop as far as possible deglaciation.
"Down from a great bowl of mountains came the long tongues of four glaciers, each with its prescribed place in the rites that would take place later that night. At the bottom of this natural amphitheatre was the Sanctuary, a long low building erected around the main shrine to El Señor (Taytacha) de Qoyllurit'i, "the Lord of Qoyllurit'i" Hugh Thomson, op. cit.
DAY 3 - TUESDAY:
TREK FROM QOYLLURIT’I TO TAYANKANI AND OCONGATE (overnight trek)
Carefully staged by the traditional pilgrims, this is still the most arduous section, but by now you will be well prepared with acclimatisation.
[Note – for those who at this stage in the festival may not want an overnight trek, it is easy to join the support staff who will be heading back down to Mahuayani the way that you arrived, a descent of 2-3 hours only, from where they can return to Cuzco.]
The day begins with a visit to the famous Juego de las Casitas, the "game of little houses", perhaps the strangest part of the whole Qoyllurit’i festival: an area of the site completely covered with miniature buildings a few inches high, in which Quechua Indians build their dreams.
The participants believe that you will actually acquire whatever you build in miniature, with the aid of the Lord of Qoyllurit'i, so that you must meticulously consider what you ask for.
After a mass staged in the valley bowl, the over-night trek to Ocongate begins. Although long, this is done in carefully staged sections. Leaving at approximately 1.00 pm, the pilgrims and ukukus walk along an undulating path contouring around the skirts of the Ausangate massif, stopping at 4.00 pm to eat and then sleep for few hours before leaving at about 9.00 pm to walk through the night until about 4.00 am, with rest-stops, at an altitude of about 13,124ft/4000m The path is well defined, with many pilgrims travelling along it and the night is lit by the groups of torches and candles they are carrying, as well as stars if clear:
"Slowly some stars start to appear above us – at one point we turn and seem to be heading straight for the Southern Cross. Below it, on the hills, are small clusters of ukukus’ torches marking the way ahead, pin-pricking the black" Hugh Thomson, op. cit.
At 4.00 am, tents are put up to have a brief rest at Intipukyana (13,780ft/4200m), ready for the dawn dance that will commence when massed groups of pilgrims enact a spectacular ritual dance down the hill to Tayankani (11,811ft/3600m), a hamlet with a small church, where more ceremonies are held.
"At one point the line of dancers across the landscape stretches so far it looks like a Chinese wall rippling across the valleys. It is performance theatre on the biggest stage I have ever seen, an entire landscape danced into life" Hugh Thomson, op. cit.
From Tayankani, it is a further two hour walk over a hill (656ft/200m ascent) to Ocongate (3400 meters, on the main road back to Cuzco, the end of one of the most unforgettable 24-hour journeys in the world.
DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY: OCONGATE TO CUSCO (6 hours)
From Tayankani, it is a further two hour walk over a hill (656ft/200m ascent) to Ocongate (3400 meters, on the main road back to Cuzco, the end of one of the most unforgettable 24-hour journeys in the world. Driven back to Cuzco in time for seeing the start of Corpus Christi.
The festival of Corpus Christi has been celebrated all over Peru since colonial times, but reaches a high point in Cusco. Fifteen saints and virgins from various districts are borne in a procession to the Cathedral where they "greet" the body of Christ embodied in the Sacred Host, kept in a fabulous gold goblet weighing 26 kilos and standing 1.2 meters high.
DAY 5 - THURSDAY:
FREE DAY IN CUSCO, CORPUS CHRISTI
Corpus Christi is a big celebration in Cuzco and ties in with the Qoyllurit'i festival in the mountains beforehand – you can view it from a prime balcony in the main square.
The festival of Corpus Christi has been celebrated all over Peru since colonial times, but reaches a high point in Cusco. Fifteen saints and virgins from various districts are borne in a procession to the Cathedral where they "greet" the body of Christ embodied in the Sacred Host, kept in a fabulous gold goblet weighing 26 kilos and standing 1.2 meters high.
The procession on Thursday, the main day, takes places at around 11:00am. The Plaza de Armas will be crowded with people that came to see the saints. After the procession, normally in the early evening the saints go back to the cathedral and the representatives of the local communities come together and discuss local problems.