With over 20 years’ experience offering intrepid travellers tailor-made trips across Peru, specialist tour operator Aracari, with its founder Marisol Mosquera, has built up an extraordinarily impressive little black book of treasured contacts. This year, Aracari has called on that exclusive network of esteemed friends, colleagues and companions to launch its Private Homes of Peru Collection, offering culturally-curious guests unrivalled access into the homes of some of Peru’s most revered artists, long-standing families and private architectural gems.
Feeling nosy? Read on…
In Lima, culture vultures will be in their element, introduced to Augusta Barreda, a Peruvian artist and collector known for transforming bronze and wood into ethereal works, who will take guests on a tour around her home, introducing her private art collection alongside her own works. Elsewhere in the city, you’ll be able to nose around Casa de Aliaga — reportedly the oldest home on the continent, dating back to 1527 and home to the same family for 17 generations. Exemplifying life in the period of Viceroyalty and home to a chapel with a dome said to be the oldest in Peru, a private tour of the house will offer unrivalled insight into Lima’s rich history.
Casa Aliaga
Animal lovers can rejoice at Hacienda Santa Rosa, where guests of Aracari will be granted exclusive access to the home of the Navarro Reategui family who have been schooling the illustrious Paso breed of dressage horses for decades. Evocative of a Peru long gone-by, the Paso horse holds enormous significance in Peruvian heritage, brought to the country during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Here, you’ll be hosted by the family for an indulgent three-course lunch, followed by folkloric dancing and dressage demonstrations by the horses.
Hacienda Santa Rossa
If you fancy yourself as an oenophilist — or just enjoy a good glass of vino — head to Tacama, South America’s oldest and most iconic winery. After a day of roaming Peru’s largest vineyard, you’ll be able to rest your (hopefully not too sore) head in the traditional family hacienda.
Image Credit: Tacama Hacienda
Over in Cusco, the historic capital of the Incan Empire, Aracari guests can pay a visit to family-run Hacienda Sarapampa, a traditional working farm located in the Sacred Valley. Belonging to the Sumar family for over 80 years, the farm produces and cultivates giant Cusco corn, and offers guests a window into how corn has formed an integral part of the Peruvian diet and local economy since the Incas.
Hacienda Sarapampa
Just north of the city, Aracari guests can saddle up and explore the grounds of Hacienda Huayoccari, a living museum of Peruvian artefacts dating back to the 17th century that houses an extensive collection of pre-Incan, Viceragal and Republican art.
Hacienda Huayoccari
Culturally curious traveller or just a bit nosy? Either way, Aracari can make your beautiful home-snooping dreams come true.
To book: Aracari (020 7097 1750, www.aracari.com) offers an 8-day Private Homes of Peru package from £5, 256 per person based on two sharing including visits to Casa García Alvarado, Hacienda Sarapampa, Hacienda Huayoccari, Machu Picchu, Hacienda Tacama and Hacienda Santa Rosa, luxury accommodation, domestic flights and tours mentioned. International flights not included.
