Paucartambo Festival Fun - By Steve

Last week here in the Cusco region was the festival at Paucartambo about four hours from Cusco, with the principal day on July 16th. A couple of us managed to make it out of the office to join in with some of the festivities. Paucartambo is a picturesque but quiet place situated in a valley above the eastern jungles 115km from Cusco.

The annual Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen is a colorful mix of Andean pre-Columbian ceremonies and Catholic religion in which masked, costumed dancers relive ancient gods and rites. The festivities include a procession of the Virgin carried through the streets of the town while dancers advance and retreat in the never ending battle between the forces of good and evil.

The drama and costumes make for a fantastic festival with general good humor all round. Lack of accommodation however means that any space on the floor of a house or building crammed in with other revelers is most welcome. With such basic facilities we felt one night was enough.
The Virgen del Carmen is the patron saint of Paucartambo, where streets of white colonial buildings topped with red roofs are the setting for the dancing and merriment. Regional dance groups, each with their own musical accompaniment, perform during the procession, re-enacting historical events and folktales.

One of the traditional activities of the Paucartambo festival is a pre-dawn visit to the heights of Tres Cruces, some 3 hours by car from the town. At this unique spot we looked down from the final peaks of the Andes onto the vast expanse of the Amazon basin. The view is unforgettable.

The Incas held this place sacred for the uncanny optical effects that appear during sunrise at certain times of the year (notably May, June & July). Owing to atmospheric distortion observers can sometimes see multiple suns, haloes, or a brilliant rosy glow covering land and sky. Unfortunately this year cloud cover made the sunrise less than impressive!