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PERU TRAVEL PLANNER
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FIESTAS, FESTIVALS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Peruvians love any excuse for a celebration and the country
enjoys a huge number of religious ceremonies, festivals and local events. Cusco,
in particular, is a great place for both Christian celebrations and for Inca
festivals like Inti Raymi in June. In October, Lima, and especially its suburb
of La Victoria, takes centre stage, with processions dedicated to Our Lord of
Miracles, in memory of the ever-present earthquake danger. Carnival time
(generally late Feb) is lively almost everywhere in the country, with fiestas
held every Sunday - a wholesale licence to throw water at everyone and generally
go crazy. It's worth noting that most hotel prices go up significantly at fiesta
times and bus and air transport can be fully booked days in advance.
In addition to the major regional and national celebrations, nearly every
community has its own saint or patron figure to worship at town or village
fiestas . These celebrations often mean a great deal to local people, and can be
much more fun to visit than the larger countrywide activities. Processions,
music, dancing in costumes, and eating and drinking form a natural part of these
parties. In some cases the villagers will enact symbolic dramas with Indians
dressed up as Spanish colonists, wearing hideous blue-eyed masks with long hairy
beards. In the hills around towns like Huaraz and Cusco, especially, it's quite
common to stumble into a village fiesta, with its explosion of human energy and
noise, bright colours, and a mixture of pagan and Catholic symbolism.
However, such celebrations are very much local affairs, and while the occasional
traveller will almost certainly be welcomed with great warmth, none of these
remote communities would want to be invaded by tourists waving cameras and
expecting to be feasted for free. The dates given on these pages are therefore
only for established events which are already on the tourist map, and for those
that take place all over the country.
In many coastal and mountain haciendas (estates), bullfights are often held at
fiesta times. In a less organized way they happen at many of the village
fiestas, too - often with the bull being left to run through the village until
it's eventually caught and mutilated by one of the men. This is not just a sad
sight, it can also be dangerous for you, as an unsuspecting tourist, if you
happen to wander into an apparently evacuated village. The Lima bullfights in
October, in contrast, are a very serious business; even Hemingway was impressed.
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Published articles and reviews about us
2010
Testimonials
Norman Pedersen
Date:
Sun,18 Jul 2010
Machu Picchu and my entire visit to Peru were
wonderful. A dream come true.
I could not have been happier with everyone I met through your
arrangements.
The tours were very informative and showed me more than I knew
existed in this beautiful place.
All of the accommodations were very comfortable.
The luncheon buffet at the Alhambra was top rate. And the Ferré
Hotel in Lima was also a very good choice.Your personal assistance
throughout was exceptional!
Thank you for everything!
Melinda Hughes
Date:
Tues, 13 Jul 2010
I was one of
the “Joel Williams” party of four who was recently on a Peru Gateway
Travel tour of northern and southern Peru. I had to write so you
would know how satisfied we were with the hotel accommodations, the
tour guides, the restaurants they choose for our lunches and just
everything about the trip.
The hotels we stayed in were well located, clean and convenient in
every way. We have absolutely no complaints!
Our tour covered Peru from the north to the south. It had four
internal flights, so there were many connections, pick ups and
deliveries involved. Peru Gateway Travel made sure we were always
delivered on time to the airports and promptly met and picked up
when we landed. We never had a moments worry.
Since we had many different day tours, we had several different
guides. All were professional and spoke our language well. All were
very knowledgeable and eager to impart that knowledge to us. They
chose great places for our lunches and the cuisine was
unforgettable. We have traveled to many countries but found the food
in Peru to be absolutely wonderful.
I also wanted to mention the drivers who picked us up at all times
of the day and night, drove us to our next destination and the
delivered us safely to our hotels. We never had a driver who was
less than prompt, courteous and most importantly, a skilled and
careful driver.
The sites we saw were the places we chose to see. And they did not
disappoint us. From the desert to the Andes to the Jungle, we
enjoyed it all.
Please feel free to use this email on your website or as a
testimonial. All four of our group would recommend Peru Gateway
Travel to anyone planning a trip to Peru. We were well taken care
of, enjoyed delicious food, saw awesome sights and had a wonderful
time.
Sincerely.
Ajay Chopra
Date:
Fri, 02 Jul 2010
We are back in
Lima. Our trip to Machu Picchu was wonderful, thank you and your
team and the ground staff in Cuzco for all their help and care. A
special thanks to Angella for her help.
We hope to do business with you in the near future.
Best Regards
Saikat.
Date:
Fri, 02 Jul 2010
I just wanted to let you know that we had an amazing
and wonderful trip to your country.
I must state that the people of Peru impressed me very much - they
are so nice!
While I have already filled-up the feedback form, this is just a
personal note to say Thank you.
Do visit India sometime - we have a lot in common.
Regards,
Irina Pascu
Date:
Fri, 25 Jun 2010
I am now back
home but still not believed that the holiday is over. I just
write you to tell you that I had a wonderful time in Peru and to
thanks for
your support. The circuit was very well designed and I had the
opportunity
to visit all the important sites I envisaged and also the Sacred
Valley and
the Altiplano.
I was really impressed by the organization and your people, always
in time
for pick up and interested to offer the necessary information.
Finally I showed to my friends that Peru is not so far and a visit
there
could be a wonderful experience. For me was a dream come true.
Many thanks to you and to your team.
Melissa Polier
Date:
Tues, 22 Jun 2010
My 2 adult children and I recently returned from our
hike to Machu Picchu and I wanted to thank you for all your
assistance. Our trip was great. We very much enjoyed visiting your
beautiful country. I especially want to praise our guide, cook and
porters. They did a terrific job. The food was marvelous and after a
long hike it was definitely something to look forward to. The
porters were very kind and when I needed some assistance at the end
of the 3rd day one of the porters helped me a lot. Our guide was
great. He was very knowledgeable and fun to hike with and he seemed
to really love his job. Again, thanks so much for everything
Read More testimonials »
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