COMMUNITY
EXPERIENCES
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES
@LaBaseLamay is deeply passionate about nature, outdoor activities, and Andean culture. Their mission is to promote conservation and sustainable development in Lamay through responsible tourism. Nestled in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Cusco, Lamay is a small village where @LaBaseLamay calls home.
They offer a variety of activities, from mountain hikes and community experiences to fly fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, farming, culinary activities, and interactive village experiences, including visits to sustainable projects.
Quechua Treks also calls Lamay home, with their office located just a few blocks from the main plaza and Mayra and Zach's house situated a few kilometers up in the mountains. Lamay holds a special place in their hearts, and they love sharing its wonders with travelers, which is why they are proud to work with @LaBaseLamay.
Together, we believe that responsible tourism can enhance traditional agriculture and native products, while also inspiring cultural and environmental conservation.
community day
IN LAMAY
This day we will visit one of the mountain communities of our project ¨La Base Lamay¨, learn about their life, traditions and contribute with the sustainable development of the community. We will meet at La Base and coordinate the activity with the group. The community will welcome us and teach us their traditions and customs.
We will participate in an spontaneous faena agricola and recognize the different varieties of local crops and plants, learning also about their farming traditional tools and techniques. After the activity, we will have a typical lunch, based on the food produced by the community.
In the afternoon, the women will share with us the art and process of weaving, very important in their family dynamics, and we will have the opportunity to talk with them about their customs and their role in the field. after this interactive day, we will return to Lamay and to your hotel, or your next destination.
LAMAY VILLAGE
EXPERIENCE
Fascinating experience that will allow us to learn about traditional activities in the village of Lamay, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
We will go for a walk through this small traditional village. Starting with the visit of the Lamay Church, built in the 17th century, plenty of artwork that belongs to many different important cities in the world. We will be able to visit the mezzanine of the choir and the bell tower, and learn how the bell ring for each different occasion, a language that has been lost among the years. Then we will learn about guinea pig breeding and how a traditional activity has transformed into a business opportunity for the locals. Afterwords, we will visit a traditional corn beer brewery (chichería), where we will learn about the process of making “chicha de jora” (corn beer), the benefits and importance of this drink for the farmers and local people in the village.
We will enjoy this moment with chicha and a traditional and healthy snack, called “picante”. If there is time enough, we will visit the Lamay bread oven, an important meeting place of the Lameños every morning. We will learn about bread-making and other traditional uses that they give to such important tool.
It is the same local people and owners of these initiatives, who will explain what their life is like around their daily activity. With our visit we will be contributing to raise value to each of these important activities that each of them carries out.
FARM AND FOOd
WITH HUALLAFARA COMMUNITY
This is a special day to learn about Cusco and the Sacred Valley gastronomy, discovering the amazing variety of local agricultural resources and biodiversity, to later put into practice the cooking lessons at La Base Lamay.
We will drive you first to Lamay to then continue towards the community of Huayllafara. The locals will take us to visit their farms with traditional crops (like potatoes, oca, anu, tarwi, quinoa, beans among others) and will teach us about their traditional farming techniques, while we taste their local produce.
Then we will visit a garden with veggies, lately incorporated into the local gastronomic offer. We will learn about the local culture and their daily activities, according to the time of year and the agricultural calendar. The tour and interpretation will be focused on the agricultural and food processing techniques, such as the preparation of chuño and moraya, the washing and uses of quinoa, elaboration of Chicha de Jora, and other interesting Andean activities. Finally, we will return to La Base Lamay for the cooking lessons.
The idea is to prepare Peruvian classic recipes and use the native products in the cooking process. To encourage the spirit, we will prepare pisco sour or enjoy a Pisco tasting session. End of the activity and return to your hotel or to your next destination.
hike & connect
EXPERIENCE IN LAMAY
Enjoy walking the trails of Lamay and meeting with the community of Huayllafara.
We will walk uphill from Lamay along a single track that follows the Carmen river and take a detour through a forested and biodiverse creek, with a nice stream, native trees and plenty of birds, that will take us to the community of Huayllafara.
In the community we will be able to appreciate the traditional crops and the local style buildings. We will see women and men doing their traditional farming, animal breeding, traditional crafts and family life, which women wisely combine.
We will share a typical lunch with the locals and then return to Lamay on an easy trail, with nice views of the village and sorroundings.
A fresh and short trek will make us feel the scent of Lamay and the Sacred Valley of the Inkas.
