The Yachaqs
Deep in the Peruvian Andes coexist a group of communities that will give you a full glimpse of the cultural richness of this marvelous territory.
As a group of Andean communities that calls themselves The Yachaqs, groups like the Amaru, the Chumpe, the Huayllafara, the Janac Chuquibamba, the Patabamba, the Chichubamba, the Cachiccata, and the Socma, live long across the Sacred Valley of the Incas, just a few hours away from the ruins of Machu Picchu.
These Andean Villages, with the cultural richness of their costumes and the fact of being a couple of hundreds of miles away from the magnificent ruins of Machu Picchu, turns this indigenous/native territory into a fantastic place for tourism.
The Amaru community
Located at the east of the Pisac district, with a population of around 1000 inhabitants, this little but fuzzy community relies upon textile manufacturing as their main economic activity, offering the visitor a chance to see how the locals use ancient manufacturing techniques to make hats, ponchos and a variety of clothing items.
The Chumpe community
Chumpe is the next little town following Amaru. With approximately 25 families as inhabitants, they rely on breeding livestock and agriculture, their main economic activities. They also work heavily on textile manufacturing, making all kinds of clothing apparel with natural silk and yarn and leaving their mark in each item with their unique iconography.
The Huayllafara community
Right after Chumpe, we have Huayllafara, a little community of around 200 inhabitants famous for their unique agricultural techniques, ones that have been used generation through generation until nowadays, transforming this little town in one of the most traditional and productive places of the valley.
The Janac Chuquibamba community
The next village in our journey will be Janac Chuquibamba, a little community formed by 200 inhabitants, famous for its singular social structure that recalls ancient costumes. In this particular village, you will be able to enjoy beautiful trails in the mountains in which you will get to know more about its great biodiversity.
The Patabamba community
Right after Janac Chuquibamba, we have the Patabamba community. It has approximately 200 families living in it, families that have breeding livestock, especially llamas, alpacas, and sheep as one of their main economic activities, leaving them with a great deal of raw material ready to use in textile manufacturing.
The Chichubamba community
This little community of approximately 500 inhabitants is located right outside the city of Urubamba. Among the various economic activities defined by their ancient culture, they are especially famous for their colorful craftmanship work filled with native iconography.
The Cachiccata community
This little village of around 300 inhabitants, is just 10 miles away from Ollaytaytambo town, right at the entrance of Machu Picchu. Its series of quarries give this village its attractive, having along the way numerous archeological sites, such as funerary towers named Chullpas.
The Socma community
This community of around 180 inhabitants has on the Perolniyoc waterfalls its main attraction. On the way to these fantastic waterfalls, you will find various archeological sites as well as a chance to see part of the Royal road of the Incas.
Written by: Agnys Orellana
