First of three parts in our new tour Cusco City-Raqchi! It’s a typical Andean town, full of culture and archaeology. The gastronomic road to Raqchi includes places where you’ll truly delight with regional dishes, while enjoying a great highway ride!
Natural Wonders Along the Highway!
We pick our customers at the hotel in the morning and then they board our very comfortable touristic transportation, for a wonderful ride towards Raqchi, south of Cusco City, where the Incas built a mighty temple for Wiracocha, their god of creation, part of which still can be seen and it’s certainly amazing. By the way, you should take the chance and book the fantastic Cusco City tour!
After a little while, we’ll be out of town and going on the road, surrounded by the massive, spectacular Andean range, with its pyramid-like mountains, covered with vegetation and woods. It’s a quite delightful and relaxing view, which will be with us all the way! Of course, you can fully enjoy with Andean-Amazonian nature, doing the Classic 4-Day Inca Trail.
Also, there are two beautiful lagoons on the roadside: the Huacarpay and then the Urcos. Although not too large, they are peaceful spots, with their mirror-like waters and powerful flow of natural energy. Great places for amazing pictures and videos! We also have a wonderful 1-Day tour to the Humantay lagoon, if you like these kinds of natural settings.
The Wonderful Gastronomic Road to Raqchi!
The first village on this regional cuisine route is Saylla, center of the yummy chicharrón de cerdo (chunks of tender, tasty fried pork meat, with sweet potato, corn, a salad of onions and mint leaves). It’s very traditional here in Cusco.
Then we have Tipon town, with its typical dish, the cuy (guinea pig), a clean rodent which has been part of the Andean gastronomy for thousands of years. It can be eaten in many ways, mainly fried or baked, usually with potatoes and a salad on the side. The guinea pig’s meat is very healthy: low in fats and high in proteins, its flavor somewhat similar to chicken’s.
Next, for a wonderful change, we arrive at the village of Oropesa, with its many bakeries and the delicious, quite typical, big and sugary round bread. You can eat and enjoy it without any marmalade, butter, etc.
Further up on the road, we get to Urcos, home of the so Peruvian rocoto relleno (stuffed chili). The inner seeds are removed and the inside is filled with red meat, onion, carrot, beans and sealed with melted parmesan cheese.
Finally, it is also possible to take a short side road and quickly arrive at Lucre, a village quite reputed for its dishes based on duck meat. And for drinking, there are plenty of options on this route too! From our delicious Peruvian beer to the famous pisco sour, passing through our national soda (Inka Cola), the chicha de jora (corn beverage) and many fruit-based refreshments. Know more about Cusco’s gastronomy in our article 4 typical dishes you shouldn’t miss.
Additional Attractions on This Route
- Andahuaylillas: it’s an Andean village in the middle of a small valley, where you can find the San Pedro church, with a precious decoration inside and many amazing paintings from the Cusco School. It is called the “Sixtine Chapel of America”.
- Checacupe: another typical spot in a highlands’ valley, where you can visit and admire a colonial church with a spectacular golden altar, in a style called churrigueresco, a Spanish variation of the Baroque.
The gastronomic road to Raqchi is the first part of the new tour! The second part is amazing cultural tourism while the third is an unforgettable visit to the village’s archaeological complex! If you want a shorter visit to Raqchi, we have the perfect option, because it is included in our larger Cusco-Puno Route of the Sun-1 Day.
