Travel Beyond Sightseeing
Spend time with Quechua communities through tours and experiences developed in partnership with the Indigenous women who live here.
A Community-Based Approach to Tourism
Awamaki’s tours are developed as part of long-term partnerships with women artisans and communities in the Sacred Valley area.
Experiences take place in Quechua communities, not staged environments, and are intentionally kept small in scale to allow for conversation, participation, and context.
Today, Awamaki partners with roughly 180 women across 9 cooperatives located within 2 hours of Ollantaytambo.
Visitors can spend time learning directly from artisans through experiences like our traditional weaving experience in the Sacred Valley.
Why Most Tourism Misses the Mark
Many Sacred Valley experiences are built around brief visits and observation, giving travelers only a limited view of daily life beyond the main travel route. Interactions can remain surface-level, and economic benefits often stay concentrated around a few destinations.
Awamaki’s approach is different: not opposed to tourism, but shaped around the idea that travel can create more meaningful exchange when communities play a direct role in the experience.
How Tourism Supports Women Artisans
Tourism creates an additional source of income connected to skills and traditions that women already practice in their communities. For many women, that income can support household stability, children’s education, greater financial independence, and shared resources within their communities.
Rather than separating tourism from daily life, Awamaki’s model supports work that already holds cultural and economic value.
Preserving Traditional Andean Weaving
Weaving in the Andes is more than a craft. It is a form of knowledge passed across generations through practice, observation, and community life.
As economic pressures and migration patterns change throughout the region, many traditional practices face an increasing risk of disappearing over time.
Together with women artisans, Awamaki creates opportunities for weaving traditions to remain economically sustainable while continuing to be practiced within the communities where they originated.
What You Experience on an Awamaki Tour
Awamaki’s tours are designed around participation rather than observation. Depending on the experience, visitors may spend time with women artisans in rural communities, learn about spinning, dyeing, and weaving techniques, take part in hands-on activities, and share meals or conversation with host families.
The focus is not on performance or presentation, but on creating space for direct connection, learning, and exchange.
Experience It Yourself
Awamaki offers cultural tours and weaving experiences throughout Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley that connect travelers with communities, traditions, and daily life beyond the standard travel itinerary.