Cuzco & the Sacred Valley - Peru - page 558

hike in the region. It takes five to six days and crosses four high passes (two over 5000m).
The route begins in the rolling brown puna (grasslands of the Andean plateau) and fea-
tures stunningly varied scenery, including fluted icy peaks, tumbling glaciers, turquoise
lakes and green marshy valleys. Along the way you'll stumble across huge herds of
alpacas and tiny hamlets unchanged in centuries. The walk starts and finishes at Tinqui,
where there are warm mineral springs and a basic hotel, and mules and arrieros (horse-
men) are available for about S30 per day each. Average price is US$500 for an organized,
tent-based trek with operators such as Apus Peru ( 23-2691; www.apus-peru.com ) or
specialist guides.
For a luxurious, lodge-based experience of Ausangate, check out Andean Lodges (
22-4613; www.andeanlodges.com ; from US$610) . Ecofriendly technologies are used in
bathrooms and restaurants.
THE Q'OYORITI PILGRIMAGE
Important geographical features such as rivers and mountains are apus (sacred deities) for the Andean people, and
are possessed of kamaq (vital force). At 6384m, Ausangate is the Cuzco department's highest mountain and the
most important apu in the area - the subject of countless legends. It is considered the pakarina (mythical place of
sacred origin) of llamas and alpacas, and controls the health and fertility of these animals. Its freezing heights are
also where condemned souls are doomed to wander as punishment for their sins.
Ausangate is the site of the traditional festival of Q'oyoriti (Star of the Snow), held in late May or early June
between the Christian feasts of the Ascension and Corpus Christi. Despite its overtly Catholic aspect - it's offi-
cially all about the icy image of Christ that appeared here in 1783 - the festival remains primarily and obviously a
celebration and appeasement of the apu, consisting of four or more days of literally nonstop music and dance. In-
credibly elaborate costumes and dances - featuring, at the more extreme end, llama fetuses and mutual whipping
- repetitive brass-band music, fireworks, and much throwing of holy water all contribute to a dizzy, delirious
spectacle. Highly unusual: no alcohol is allowed. Offenders are whipped by anonymous men dressed as ukukus
(mountain spirits) with white masks that hide their features, who maintain law and order.
It's a belief fervently held by many cuzqueños (inhabitants of Cuzco) that if you attend Q'oyoriti three times,
you'll get your heart's desire. The traditional way to go about this is to buy an alacita (miniature scale model) of
your desire. Houses, cars, trucks, petrol stations, university degrees, driver's licenses, money: the usual human de-
sires are on offer for a few soles at stalls lining the pilgrimage pathway. You then line up in the church to have it
blessed by a priest. Repeat three years in a row and see what happens.
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. The majority of attendees are tradi-
tionally dressed campesinos for whom seeing a foreigner may be a novelty (they may even point you out).
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