Holy week in Peru, and especially in Cusco is the main traditional religious festival that symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus. The weeklong celebration, starting Friday and ending on Palm Sunday. Easter is a memorial center in the Catholic world as it recalls the death and resurrection of Christ. Cusco is a very popular destination for domestic and international travelers alike, as the Imperial City of the Incas celebrates the event in its own style, with feasting, folkloric music and dance, and processions of the Lord of Tremors also known as the Black Christ Lord of Earthquakes.
Palm Sunday
The syncretism of pre-Columbian Andean beliefs and Catholicism makes Cusco’s Holy Week unlike any other you’ll see. The day starts very early in the morning, normally at 5am with mass in Cusco’s ornate Basilica the Lord of Tremors, or Black Christ, during Holy Week in Cusco, Peru.
In the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, the city’s main square, religious renovations are followed by folkloric dances whilst vendors circle with their wares which promise good fortune.
You will get to try very traditional local dishes like guinea pig and other dishes at the Festival de Sabor Andino (Festival of Andean Flavor) in the main square of the district of San Jeronimo. Includes Holy Week’s most traditional eats: roast suckling pig with Peruvian potatoes, tamales, and large rounds of ch’uta bread.
Holy Monday
Monday of each Holy Week, the Lord of Tremors is taken out from the Cathedral of Cusco in procession with musicians and devotees, while the faithful strew purple ñucchu petals, which in ancient times were used as an offering to Inca gods but now are said to symbolize the blood of Christ.
The Holy Monday is the day, when the Lord of Tremors (Black Christ) is taken out from the Cathedral for public to adore and thank the protector of the earthquake. Because of the Christ statue forgotten and left in a church with the time it got dark of the candles and fumes. For this reason the Lord of Tremors called Black Christ.
In Cusco the processions continue to this day each Holy Monday. Some of the faithful believes that the color of their indigenous Christ darkens as he realizes miracles, and that the weight of the litter which the most devoted bear is the weight of the sins one carries.
Good Friday
The famous Hampirantikuy Market is open on Good Friday, this market is famous with it medicinal plants which are on sale for good fortune or of religious significance. Devotees walk the Stations of the Cross from Plaza San Francisco to the Lord´s Cross in Sacsayhuaman Archeological Complex. Apart famous market we organize other City Tours in Cusco, contact us for more information.
Unlike other places, Cusco does not celebrate this day with fasting, but with feasting. The tradition is to prepare 12 dishes.
Cusco offers many more attractions inside or outside the city. If you are planning visit Cusco, do the Inca Trail, visit Machu Picchu and need more information or support book any of your journeys, feel free to contact us!
