Your Peru Guide

The bustling town of Chincha, just a few hours drive south of Lima, is the perfect embodiment of one of Peru’s most attractive traits: a vibrant and (increasingly) harmonious multiculturalism that would challenge even the most diverse of Britain’s towns.

Centuries ago, this stretch of coastal desert was home to the small Chincha Empire, which eventually gave way to the ascendant Incas, mixing the indigenous civilizations of the coast with those of the Andes. The next arrival into the gene pool was a large dose of Spanish blood, followed finally by the conquistadors’ slaves: descendants of Africans brought to the New World to support the European conquest.

The many faces of Chincha. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2010

And it was in Chincha that this black community became most established, creating a vibrant Afro-Peruvian community that remains strong to this day, with both Peruvians and foreigners eager to visit the town and experience its unique culture.

It is during the country’s numerous national festivals that Chincha really shines. Carnival, which is celebrated throughout the continent, receives its own Afro-Peruvian twist – El Verano Negro, as it is known is possibly the most flamboyant Carnival event outside of Rio, with a fortnight-long orgy of drinking, eating and dancing much of which is filmed and broadcast live on national television.

Equally riotous are the town’s Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day) celebrations and, especially important to the local people, the fiesta of the Virgin of Chincha.

The many faces of Chincha. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2010

Locals and visitors during these festivals tend to split their time between the town itself and the nearby Carmen district, the country’s beating Afro-Peruvian heart. Carmen is a short bus or taxi ride away from Chincha, set around a large and attractive main plaza which sets the scene for the most enthusiastic partying.

Around the plaza’s edge you’ll find lines of people drinking and eating (the town is famous for carapulcra, a rich, thick stew of dried potatoes, chillies and pork), while in the centre and in front of a large temporary stage will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of people of all ages and colour, dancing with a speed and agility that is physically impossible for an inebriated Englishman.

Reaching Chincha from Lima is an easy task. Visitors can either make their way to one of the city’s Soyuz bus terminals and pay around 20 soles for a comfortable bus ride, or head to the Pan American highway and flag down a bus heading south for a cheaper, but possibly less convenient or comfortable, journey.

Once in Chincha there are numerous hostals and cheap hotels, although they’re certain to fill up during fiestas. A tried and tested option is Hotel Oasis, on Santo Domingo, just a few blocks away from the main Plaza de Armas. Tel: +5134 262709.