|
Trekker Bradley Cooper visits the remote areas of
the High Andes to learn more about the descendents
of the Inca.
From Cusco, Bradley heads out on his mountain bike
into a remote village. He stays with Raoul and his Andean
family, helping them to shear a llama and sharing a
meal of fresh guinea pig. From here, Bradley heads
to Ollyantaytambo, in the sacred valley of the Inca,
where he meets writer and historian Peter Frost who tells
him more about the last great battle of the Inca which happened
here in these ruins.
From here, Bradley heads to the area around Ausangate
Mountain which is home to Peru’s most colourful Indian
peoples. Every year the mountain is the site of the ‘Star
of the Snow’ or Qollyur’riti Pilgrimage. |
|
Andean child on the road to the Abra de Lares (Lares Pass)
|
|
The Qollyur’riti Festival, despite being supported by
the Catholic Church, is very pagan in spirit and atmosphere.
Along with a local family, Bradley joins more than 10,000
people, mostly Indians and campesinos as they make their way
to the Sinkari valley, at the top of the mountain.
The entire journey takes three to four days and is not for
the weak of body or spirit.
Along the way, Bradley meets dancers in feathered costumes
who are part of the procession, and the musicians play throughout
the trek. At night the dancing continues, with the smoke of
hundreds of cookfires. The food of the event is important,
with each family carrying enough for themselves and for others
to share. Finally, they reach the top of the mountain, the
ancient pilgrimage site where invocations to the gods are
pronounced and the ice from Ausangate’s glacier
is collected and taken back to the villages where it is used
as holy water for the next year. |
|
Looking across the Sacred Valley to the snow capped peaks
of the Urumbamba Range
|
