Pachacamac Ruins and Peruvian Paso Horse Show Tour

Main Highlights: Full-day Pachacamac Ruins and Peruvian Paso Horse Show Tour  to learn about pre-Inca history combined with beautiful local traditions and flavors of Peru. 
Description: Our Pachacamac Ruins and Peruvian Paso Horse Show Tour begins south of Lima in the Citadel of Pachacamac, which was built by different leaders throughout the centuries and between the years 200 and 1450 AD. This religious compound is made entirely out of clay and houses the giant pyramids of the sun and moon. Our comprehensive guided tour will give you an insight on the culture, history and architecture of both, the Inca and pre-Inca people. Excavations in the area continue to reveal further insights into the Moche and Huari cultures that spanned the period from 200 to 800 AD.
Then we’ll visit the private Casa Hacienda Los Ficus located in the valley of Lurin. In its beautiful gardens, an Amazon (chalan, as they are called locally) will invite us to experience the world of the Peruvian Paso Horse. Enjoy a welcome cocktail as we start the exhibition. We end our The Pachacamac Ruins and Peruvian Paso Horse Show Tour with a Peruvian lunch with the best of the local cuisine.

The Pachacamac Ruins and Peruvian Paso Horse Show Tour is a great option for travelers interested in customizing their vacations to Peru. For a custom-designed one-of-a-kind vacation program call us toll free: 888.601.8411, send us an Email, or fill the blanks in our Peru Vacation Planner.


Peru Holiday Adventures | Pachacamac Archaeological SiteThe complex and extensive site (an estimated 5 km2 including a ca. 2.5 km2 core area) of Pachacamac on the central coast of Peru has long been regarded as the preeminent religious and/or pilgrimage center of pre-Hispanic Peru. The fame and power of its oracle and ancient temples, together with myths pertaining to its dualistic, telurian, patron deity, Pachacamac, have been described by both Spanish Colonial writers and modern scholars.

This deity is said to have had the power, on the one hand, to create and sustain humans, nurture crops, and cure disease, and, on the other hand, to cause earthquakes, storms in the Pacific, and disease. In his 1534 report, Miguel Estete, for example, noted that many pilgrims from far and wide came there to pay respects, consult, and/or make offerings to the oracle at the Pachacamac (aka Painted) Temple in the innermost (westernmost) sacred precinct. Pedro Cieza de León (1553) and Pedro de la Gasca (1553) described how this sanctuary was surrounded by shelters for pilgrims and the tombs of noblemen and priests, who wished to be buried close to the deity they had worshipped.

What underwrote the longevity and resilience of Pachacamac in the face of the political, religious, and environmental upheavals that beset much of the Andes during the last 1500 years of prehistory, including the influence or intrusion of powerful polities such as the Wari, Sicán, Ychsma and Inca? Ethnohistorical documents and iconographic studies have shed light on the nature of Pachacamac religious ideology; however, the human dimension of Pachacamac, particularly of the pre-Inka era, has not received attention it deserves. Who lived at and maintained the site? What roles did they play? Were residents members of the dominant local political group? Was the site always a largely vacant pilgrimage center? Did the ebb and flow of the site and its extra-local significance relate to environmental conditions?

Peru Holiday Adventures | Peruvian Paso HorseOver 450 years of selective breeding have gone into producing the ultimate pleasure horse — the Peruvian. With its four-beat lateral gait, the Peruvian horse gives its rider the smoothest ride in the world.  The average height of the Peruvian horse is between 14.1 and 15.2, providing a horse that is easily mounted and dismounted. His temperament is excellent. His willing nature and desire to please make him easily trained. The breed is carefully watched to maintain the desirable characteristics inbred in the horse, i.e. smoothness, excellent temperament, strength and gait. The gait of the horse is passed 100% to its offspring.

In the Show Ring! One of the things that draws many riders to the breed is the naturalness in our show rings. Peruvians are shown without shoes and with very little decoration. The gait of the Peruvian, as with all horses, is easily affected by shoes. To make certain that no artificial means are used to enhance the gait, shoes are not permitted in the show ring. Many horse enthusiasts who have been appalled at the atrocities committed on horses in other breeds for a “win” in the show ring, have found the Peruvian Paso Horse shows refreshing and enjoyable.