Cusco is a magnificent place. As the capital of the Inca Empire, it was so central to their people’s existence it became known as “the navel of the world.” When Francisco Pizzaro and his motley cohort of conquistadores came upon the city in 1533, they marveled at its order,…
San Jerónimo is located along the main highway that connects Cusco, the region’s capital, to Puno, the port city at the edge of Lake Titicaca which forms the southeastern boundary of Peru. At 3,245 meters (10,646 feet) above sea level, the sun shines brightly most mornings and rain clouds…
Huacarpay is home to perhaps five hundred people — it’s hard to tell. This one-street town at the edge of Huacarpay Lake was inundated by flood waters in January 2010 and life has still not returned to normal. Frightened residents moved to higher ground on a ridge that overlooks…
Lucre, a mountain hamlet of 4,000 people, is nestled between steep slopes and framed by blue skies. The first Mennonite Church in Peru was founded here in the 1980s and each Sunday a group of Spanish- and Quechua-speakers worships here. On the other days of the week the members…
Ayacucho, the “stately city,” is the political and economic capital of the departamento (state) of the same name. Locals call the city Huamanga. Thirty-three catholic churches dominate the skyline, one for each year of Jesus’ life. At 2,761 meters (about 9,000 feet) above sea level, the skies are clear…
Huanta, the “Emerald of the Andes,” is situated at 2,627 meters (over 8,600 feet) above sea level. Despite the high elevation, the sun shines almost every day in this protected valley and the daytime temperatures are warm. Home to over 80,000 people, this small city feels more like a…
San Ramon, gateway to Peru’s central rain forest, is home to 30,000 people. Life at 770 meters (about 2500 feet) above sea level is calm and relaxed; the weather is hot and sunny most of the time, with rain showers every few days to cool down the temperature and…
Oxapampa is a charming city of 10,000 inhabitants located in the lush green foothills of the Andes, some 1,800 meters (5,905 feet) above sea level. Settled in 1891 by a group of colonists who originated in Austria’s Tirolean Alps, the city features a distinct culture that brings together European,…
Students are serving in schools, churches, clinics, farms and non-governmental organizations in three regions: the southern Andes (Cusco, San Jeronimo, Huacarpay and Lucre), the Ayacucho area (Huamanga and Huanta) and the central rain forest (Oxapampa and San Ramon). After our ten-day journey together in the Andes and our visit to…
What is this amazing place, perched high above the Urubamba River on a granite mountain? Who built it? And why? Hiram Bingham, often credited with discovering Machu Picchu, thought it was Vilcabamba, the famed “lost city of the Incas”. It turns out that Vilcabamba, where Manco Inca hid from…
