Local Culture and Customs in Peru

Peruvian culture and customs in Peru are a diverse mix of indigenous, Spanish, and African
influences. The country is home to a variety of indigenous peoples, each with its own unique
culture and traditions. The Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru in the 16th century and
brought their own language, religion, and customs with them. African slaves were also
brought to Peru, and their culture has also had a significant impact on Peruvian culture. One
of the most notable aspects of Peruvian culture is its music and dance. Peruvian music is a
fusion of indigenous, Spanish, and African influences. Some of the most popular genres of
Peruvian music include cumbia, salsa, and huayno.
Peruvian dance is also a popular form of cultural expression. Peruvian cuisine is another notable aspect of a Peruvian culture vacation. Peruvian cuisine is known for its use of fresh ingredients and its variety of dishes.
It is a culture that is full of life, color, and flavor and an integral part of the immersive experience
on your Peru culture trip!

Festivals and traditions
Peru has a vast cultural wealth that is expressed in the various celebrations, ranging from civic to patronal, with the aim of generating development in the different jurisdictions of the country, as well as strengthening our national identity, based on the recognition of our identity.
Peru’s festivals and traditions are the center of life in this vibrant South American country. Attending one of these popular Peruvian events during your trip will be an experience that will enhance your visit.

Below, we have listed the most important festivals in Peru so you can start planning your visit:

* Bajada de Reyes (Epiphany) – Cusco

* Virgen la Candelaria – Puno.

This Catholic festival was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014

Celebrated every February in the city of Puno, the festival of the Virgin of Candelaria includes religious, festive and cultural events that have their roots in Catholic traditions and in symbolic elements of Andean beliefs. The festivities begin with the celebration of an ancestral festival, followed by an ancestral purification ceremony. The next morning, after a liturgical act, an image of the Virgin of Candelaria is carried in procession through the streets of the city with traditional dances and music.
Now, the festivities continue with the celebration of competitions in which 170 groups from all over the region participate, with approximately 40,000 dancers and musicians. The main participants in these competitions are the Quechua and Aymara peoples from the rural and urban areas of the Puno region.
Very regional federations of practitioners of this element of cultural heritage collaborate in the organization of the festivities and in the preservation of traditional techniques and knowledge related to dance, music, and mask-making.
All this knowledge is transmitted to the younger generations through the organization of musical and choreographic rehearsals, as well as through the creation of mask-making stories.

Many people from different parts of the country visit Puno during this Candelaria festival. The festivities concluded with a ceremony in honor of the Virgin.

Carnival of Cajamarca.

Carnival in Cajamarca is a popular celebration that takes place in the town of the same name, in Peru, once a year. The last days of February or at the beginning of March. Specifically, the three days before Ash Wednesday.
The date of its realization is mobile and it is considered one of the biggest, happiest and most anticipated festivals in Peru.
Its purpose is to venerate the “King Momo”, known as Ño Carnavalón, who represents mockery and sarcasm.
Over time, the festival has become a meeting point between countrymen and visitors that encourages brotherhood.

Carnivals are already a cultural reference and an identity symbol of the city of Cajamarca and is characterized by its colorful dances, its festivals and the joy that accompanies the event

International women’s day.

Every year, Peruvian Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8, because this historic date commemorates the achievements and struggles of women for equal rights. Likewise, March 8 celebrates the movement of women around the world who fight for equal rights, recognition, and inclusion.

It is important to know the history of this date to have a better understanding of the importance of women’s rights. Likewise, of the work that still needs to be done to achieve equality and respect between men and women.
At Mapi Tour Peru, we want to highlight the importance of Peruvian Women’s Day so that our clients know the importance of this fight throughout the world.

Easter week ( Apr 17- Apr 20). – Cusco – 2025

The Holy Week festivities in Cusco begin on Palm Sunday, when the traditional blessing of palms, procession, and Eucharistic celebration take place in the Cathedral of Cusco. The following day, Holy Monday is the central day, with the procession of the Patron Saint of Cusco, the Lord of the Earthquakes, followed by a multitude of parishioners who accompany him with humble fervor and devotion, in addition to the presence of the Brotherhood of Musicians and Ch’ayñas, with music and sacred songs.

Likewise, on Good Friday, the encounter of the Holy Sepulchre and the Virgin of Sorrows takes place, in a processional route through the main streets of Cusco. Also on this day, 12 typical dishes are tasted in honor of the twelve apostles.

And finally, Holy Week culminates with the Eucharistic celebration on Easter Sunday.

Labor Day ( May 1st).Labor Day ( May 1st).

May 1st is celebrated the Labor Day in Peru, a date that is commemorated globally to pay tribute to the struggle of workers for their rights and decent working conditions.

This historic day, marked by labor demands since the end of the 19th century, has a special meaning in Peru, where the entrepreneurial spirit is strongly expressed.
In this context, Peru is positioned as the third country in the world with a greater inclination towards entrepreneurship, highlighting the initiative of approximately 5.5 million Peruvians who decide to start their own businesses.
This day, May 1st, continues to be an occasion to reflect on the challenges faced by workers around the world who, with their efforts, create better living conditions for themselves and their environment.

Qoyllur Rity festivity- Cusco.

This festival has been part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and has been inscribed by UNESCO since 2011.

The pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllurit’i (Lord of the Snow Star) combines elements from Catholicism and the worship of pre-Hispanic gods. This pilgrimage begins fifty-eight days after the celebration of Easter Sunday, when some 90,000 people from around Cusco set out for the sanctuary, located in the Sinakara valley. The crowd of pilgrims is divided into eight “nations”, corresponding to their towns of origin: Paucartambo, Quispicanchi, Canchis, Acomayo, Paruro, Tawantinsuyo, Anta and Urubamba. The pilgrimage includes processions with crosses that ascend to the snowy summit of the mountain and then descend, and also a twenty-four-hour procession in which the Paucartambo nation and the Quispicanchi nation bring the images of the Virgin Dolorosa and the Lord of Tayancani to the town of Tayancani, in order to celebrate the appearance of the first rays of the sun. Dance plays a fundamental role in the pilgrimage and up to one hundred different dances are performed, representative of the different nations.

The Council of Pilgrim Nations and the Brotherhood of the Lord of Qoyllurit’i organize the activities of the pilgrimage, establish its rules and codes of conduct, and provide the necessary food. Order is maintained by the pablitos or pabluchas, characters dressed in alpaca garments and wearing animal masks woven from wool. The pilgrimage encompasses a wide variety of cultural expressions and offers a meeting place for communities settled at different heights of the Andes mountain range that are dedicated to different economic activities.

Corpus Christi Celebration – Cusco.

The celebration of Corpus Christi in the city of Cusco is a religious and cultural event that takes place in the city of Cusco. This religious festival has a variable date and usually takes place in the month of June. Due to the cultural expressions that make it up, this expression is part of Cusco and religious folklore. Although the “corpus cusqueño” is always celebrated on Thursday – which is the central day of the religious festival -, the celebrations begin a day earlier with the typical “entradas”. The festival was declared “Cultural Heritage of Peru” on August 6, 2004 .
The festival began to be celebrated with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Over the years, the ways and customs of celebrating it in Cusco took on peculiar characteristics that differentiate them from other celebrations in the country.

This procession has, in addition to its religious character, a competitive character between neighborhoods or parishes that are accompanied by bands and comparsas of neighborhood musicians, who play for their respective dances in counterpoint to the others, living their traditional festival. In the Plaza San Francisco and the adjacent streets, typical dishes of the area are sold, such as chiriuchu (a typical dish of the region containing guinea pig, chicken, among others).

From the day before the festival, the Cusco parishioners carry out the “Subida de Corpus” (Corpus Climb) which consists of carrying in procession, from their own parishes, images of their patron saints to the Temple of Santa Clara, in whose side aisles they are located until the next day when, also in procession, they continue along the processional axis until reaching the main Square of the city, where they join in procession with the monstrance of the Cathedral: a piece of gold and silver in which the consecrated host is displayed. After mass, around noon, the Corpus Christi procession begins in a silver carriage. Behind it, in an orderly line, the other religious images accompany it in its slow walk throughout the square. In the afternoon, the blessing is given before the images return to the cathedral where they will rest for a week until the “Corpus Octave” when the images begin their return to their respective parishes.

Inti Raymi -Sun festival – Cusco.

Since time immemorial, traces of the presence of man date back to the site of the current city, where the Great Inca Civilization arose, expanded and flourished magnificently; the capital was conceived in the form of a puma, a feline considered one of its tutelary deities. For this reason, Cusco is also known as the Puma City.
In a privileged place in the sacred capital, the Inca Pachakuteq ordered the construction of the Qorikancha, a sumptuous temple dedicated to reverencing the Sun, a god whom the Incas called Apu P`unchao or Apu Inti, in whose honor the imposing INTI RAYMI festival was consecrated, which reaches levels of solemnity and splendor, as described by the most important chroniclers.
THE EVENT – Inti Raymi
On June 24, the festival in honor of the Sun God takes place in the three historical and natural settings that are usually used for the staging:

1. The Qorikancha (Golden Fence): In the Inca era it was the main temple consecrated to the sun.
2. The Plaza de Armas (the old Auqaypata or Plaza del Guerrero): During the Inca era, the ceremony took place entirely in this immense plaza in the middle of the great ushnu or ceremonial platform.
3. Saqsaywaman (a word that derives from the Quechua terms «saqsay» and «waman» which translated into Spanish means «satiate yourself falcon»). This impressive archaeological center is located at 3,555 meters above sea level, one kilometer from the Inca neighborhood of Qolqanpata.

San Juan Festival – Peruvian Jungle.
Peruvian Independence

Virgin of Carmen festival- Cusco

The Traditional Christmas fair Santuranticuy -Cusco

New Year’s Eve – Cusco

asd