In a valley about 40 minutes south of Cusco, travelers with an interest in local gastronomy will find 3 small towns that are worth a visit. Oropesa, Pikillacta, and Tipon are respectively renowned for their preparation of pan (bread), cuy (guinea pig), and chancho (pork).
Oropesa
Although Oropesa was inhabited from pre-Inca times, the town's history and current form is closely tied to its settlement by Spanish colonists. Travelers can appreciate centuries-old haciendas and churches that are still standing. Spanish settlers found the valley's temperate climate ideal for planting wheat and over the course of the years, bread making evolved to become the town's principal economic activity. Currently, 90% of the population is involved in some aspect of bread making. The Festival del Pan (Bread Festival) is celebrated every October. Pan chuta is the bread to try. If you can't make it to the town itself, oropesanas (women from Oropesa) rise before dawn to travel to Cusco to sell their bread at markets and along side streets.
Tipon
Above the town of Tipon are an amazing set of ruins that grandly display the hydraulic engineering genius of the Inca. Fountains spring from nowhere, multiplying, converging, and diverging in a construction that is almost poetic. Tipon was also a site of agricultural experimentation and terraces at varying altitudes served to test which crops could grow at which elevations.
The town of Tipon below specializes in preparing cuy, or guinea pig. Cuyerias (or cuy restaurants) abound along the main road. There are 2 preparations to choose from: cuy al horno or cuy chactado. The first is baked; the cuy is stuffed with herbs and rubbed with spices and then baked in a clay oven. The second is fried; the cuy is pressed flat, breaded, and deep fried. Both preparations are served with tallarines (spaghetti noodles), rocoto relleno (stuffed pepper), and potatoes. You can also enjoy cuy whole or ask to have it chopped into 4 pieces.
Pikillacta
About 4km down the road from Oropesa, most travelers stop in Pikillacta to visit the pre-Inca ruins from the Huari culture. After the exotic meal of cuy, chancho (pork) may seem a bit boring, but there a multiple chancherias (pork restaurants) that might tempt you. Some of the dishes you might find on the menu are: chicharron, deep fried chunks of pork served with typical Peruvian sides; adobo de cancho, which is a hearty pork stew; or grasa de chancho.
This article was written by a travel expert at Peru For Less who specializes in helping you organize best value Peru travel packages for your Peru vacation.
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