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written by
Kiki Deere
updated 29.05.2019
Rough Guides writer and photographer Kiki Deere shares with us some pictures of Peru from her latest research trip across the country.
“My research for the new edition of the Rough Guide to Perutook me to remote corners of the country, from the little explored Cotahuasi Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world, to isolated llama-herding communities in the Andes.
In small mountainous villages life hasn’t changed in centuries and pre-Spanish traditions remain very much alive. I learned about the ancient Andean tradition of making pachamanca (Quechua for “earth oven” or “earth pot”). An oven is built of stones heated with wood fire; vegetables and meat are placed underground with banana leaves and grass, covered in a mound of soil and cooked for about an hour or so.
In the Andes, night temperatures hover around 0°C, while during the day the scorching sun beats down relentlessly. Life here is hard, based on subsistence agriculture and pastoralism. Yet, it was here I met some of the country’s most hospitable people, who greeted me with open arms.
With a rich heritage of elaborate textile designs and intricate weaving techniques, the peoples of the Andes don beautiful traditional dress that explode with colours, enthusiastically celebrate local fiestas and follow traditions that can be traced back centuries.”
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written by
Kiki Deere
updated 29.05.2019
Raised bilingually in London and Turin, Kiki Deere is a travel writer specialising in Italy. She has seen her work published in a number of magazines and UK broadsheets, including The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and Lonely Planet online. She has completed numerous guidebook writing assignments for Rough Guides that have taken her to far-flung corners of the globe, from the Brazilian Amazon to the remotest province of the Philippines. Follow her @kikideere on Instagram and Twitter.
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