A Better Way to Travel

Sustainable Tourism with Awamaki

Experience Andean Life

Come Travel With Us

Awamaki builds memorable travel experiences for independent and group travelers. Come experience traditional Andean life, connect with Quechua artisans, and participate in an immersive experience organized by the communities themselves.

Community-led Experiences


Awamaki creates authentic tourism experiences that connect visitors to the Sacred Valley and the artisans in its Quechua communities. We offer village visits to meet and learn from artisan partners through weaving lessons, language classes, and respectful, community-led educational cultural experiences. Each of our programs is designed to benefit Andean women entrepreneurs.

As a non-profit, we provide women in rural regions of Peru with economic opportunities and skills training so they can earn a sustainable source of income and support their families. The artisan partners we collaborate with produce contemporary home, gift and accessory items using traditional Andean techniques and organic plant dyes. They welcome visitors to see their communities, learn about their craft, and support their businesses.

Awamaki has been widely recognized for our leadership in sustainable cultural tourism. We have been awarded the World Travel and Tourism Council's Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Social Impact, and the TO DO Award for Sustainable Tourism. We were also a finalist in the National Geographic World Legacy Awards.

Travel to the Sacred Valley


Awamaki is based in Ollantaytambo, a spectacularly beautiful and historic Inca-colonial town in the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo is built on Incan foundations and surrounded by ruins sites, and verdant agricultural terraces, with breathtaking mountains towering over the town. Located in the heart of the Sacred Valley, about an hour from Cusco, Ollantaytambo is known well as the jumping off point to Machu Picchu. The train to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu departs from Ollantaytambo, and the town is also where Inca trail trekkers make their last stop before the trailhead. With its cobblestone pedestrian streets, picturesque canals, lush agricultural terraces and mountain views in every direction, Ollantaytambo is an amazing base for your exploration of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.




Learn about Andean Culture


Whether you are in Ollantaytambo for a week, staying nearby in the Sacred Valley, or passing through on your way from Cusco to Machu Picchu, Awamaki offers travel experiences designed to connect you with Andean culture in respectful ways that benefit indigenous community members, especially women.

Our organization has spent many years building relationships with women artisans in the Quechua communities in the mountains above Ollantaytambo. We have worked with our artisan partners to develop sustainable tourism experiences that help visitors to connect with artisans, learn from them, and experience Andean culture, while leaving a gentle footprint and a positive economic benefit in the community.

Sustainable Tourism Programs with Awamaki


Andean Village Visit: Rural Tourism Package


Travel to one of the rural Quechua villages in the high Andes mountains above Ollantaytambo and connect with artisan leaders there. The women will share their textile heritage, including spinning, dyeing and weaving on a backstrap loom. Try your hand at spinning on a drop spindle, and weave a bracelet with one of your artisan hosts. With our Rural Tourism Package, choose a typical lunch of soup and a main course in one of the artisan’s homes, or opt for a traditional earth oven lunch in which marinated chicken, sweet potato, potatoes, aba beans and other typical foods are baked in hot stones under the earth. Enjoy a private textile market before you leave. Can adjust for dietary restrictions. Departs 9 am, returns 3 pm, Monday through Saturday. Includes English-speaking facilitator.


  


Andean Overnight


Extend the rural tourism package and to stay the night with your community hosts. Stay in a homestay in the village, in rustic and comfortable accommodations, including private room. Hike to the alpaca herding grounds or glacial lakes above the villages, or for a gentler option, choose a walk through the village or more in-depth weaving lessons. Learn about community agriculture and native and medicinal herbs. Share in an alpaca shearing ceremony or sheep fertility ceremony. Enjoy a private textile market before you leave. Throughout, you will share typical meals with your host family. Can adjust for dietary restrictions. Departs 9 am, returns 3pm the next day. Monday-Saturday. Includes English-speaking facilitator.


Hear What Others Are Saying

Explore Our Programs on TripAdvisor

Questions?

email info@awamaki.com