Ayacucho

After 12h in the night bus we arrived in Ayacucho in the morning! Ayacucho is a medium sized town in the mountains of Peru that is still not very touristy although it is so beautiful and has a lot to offer! In town you can watch the traditional Peruvian Andean life and buy food at low prices at the central market. The centre is very lively and since carnival starts in February and Ayacucho is highly famous in Peru for its carnival, we could already watch some groups practicing on the streets!
One day we went to a nearby town called Quinua where you can watch (and buy) traditional handicrafts made out of clay or ceramics, discover the monument memorizing one of the most important battles in the history of independence of Peru and visit the archaeological site of Wari where you learn about pre-Inka life in the area. During that day trip, people were so open and happy to talk to us everywhere we went and in the end a family from Ayacucho even gave us a ride back to town!
Probably one of the reasons why Ayacucho is not too touristy is that the years of terrorism that took place in the 80s in Peru, started in Ayacucho with the creation of the terror group “Sendero Luminoso” or in English “Shining Path”. Back then many civilians, especially people from indigenous communities, were killed not only by the terror group but also by the Peruvian military. In the museum “ Casa de la Memoria” you can inform about the brutal times and since the museum is not supported by the government but instead created by a group of activists called “Anfasep”, the information you receive is quite differentiated. Until now, we needed to realize that receiving nuanced information about these times is not always very easy in Peru since the government still covers up or blurs parts of the history.
Although learning about the past of Ayacucho was pretty hard, I think it was one of my favourite places on the trip so far since people were so nice, the city is still untouched by many tourists but the surroundings are beautiful and the culture and knowledge is so rich!Read more