Partake of a Pachamanca

Enjoy lunch with a difference at our Laguna Huaypo waterfront base. The Pachamanca is a traditional Peruvian method of cooking food in a hole in the ground with the help of hot rocks.

Pachamanca is a Quechua word for “earth oven”. Similar to a New Zealand hangi, the food is cooked in the ground. Here in Peru, the method has seen a revival, although it dates back to the Inca or before.

How do you make a Pachamanca?

First, a fire is lit in the hole in the ground. Rocks are heated by the fire. Then the fire is extinguished, and the food is placed onto the hot rocks, with some of the hot rocks being placed on top. The rocks are covered by sacking, to trap in the heat and humidity, effectively making a sauna in which the food cooks. Then when it is time, your cook will lift out the hot rocks to reveal your succulent meal.

The food cooked in a Pachamanca can vary, but usually includes various meats, such as chicken, lamb, pork or beef, local potatoes, sweet potatoes, and broad beans. Fruit such as pineapple or bananas is also delicious when cooked in the Pachamanca.

Your meal is served with salad and local drinks such as Chicha Morada or maracuya juice

What other activities combine well with the Pachamanca?

After enjoying your Pachamance, our Laguna Huaypo base shorefront base it the perfect place to relax, or you can carry on to explore some more of the area with local highlights such as the Maras saltpans or Moray Inca site.

Our base is perfectly situated to do some light activity before your Pachamanca and work up an appetite. Choose from stand up paddleboarding, sit on top kayaking, biking or Ebiking. Or include as part of your Sacred Valley tour.