A South American nation wants to make sure its brand survives and that’s today’s last word in business – battle of the dresses. At the center of the battle is a woman named Karen Schwarz. She became a contestant for Miss Universe, representing Peru. And she wore a dress in the national costume competition.

Her elaborate outfit was inspired by a ritual called the devil’s dance, which comes from the Andes Mountains. But then one of Peru’s neighbors, Bolivia, said that is not a national Peruvian costume. Bolivians say the dance originated in their country. And this dispute has gone from cosmetic to political with both governments weighing in now.

MONTAGNE: Finally, a Peruvian newspaper looked into the history of the dress. It discovered that this wasn’t the first time the dress has been worn in the competition. The first candidate to wear the outfit over 25 years ago was from Chile.

Copyright ©2009 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.

Days after Peru’s top chef Gastón Acurio was robbed by six armed bandits aboard Aqua Expeditions’ luxury river ship, the culinary celebrity described the raid as “an isolated incident,” and said that he and his family would definitely visit the Amazon region again.

“I thank everyone for their support and their love,” posted Acurio on his facebook page. “It was just a fright, an isolated incident. The Amazon is a magical, emotion- and adventure-filled place that no one should miss out on. Visit the Amazon, you won’t regret it. My family and I say only one thing: we will be back.”

On July 25, 2009, Acurio and his family, as well as photographer Walter Wust and the remaining passengers aboard the 400-ton, 24-passenger “Aqua,” were robbed by six armed bandits. No injuries were reported.

Acurio is a Peruvian chef, businessman, TV host, author, and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. As one of Latin America’s most acclaimed chefs and a true culinary visionary, Acurio contributed to the development of “novoandina,” cuisine, a redesigned Peruvian cuisine fusing traditional recipes with innovative new ingredients and presentations. From his first Astrid y Gaston restaurant, founded with his German pastry-chef wife, Astrid Gutche, they have developed the T’anta cafeterias, the La Mar fish restaurant and its franchises in several cities worldwide, Pasquale Hnos sandwich retaurants, and Panchita.

As a result of the global financial crisis and in an attempt to stimulate demand throughout months that are usually considered Peru’s “peak tourist season,” the price of numerous luxury hotel rooms and flights has been sharply reduced in the Andean country.

“This is an indication that the crisis is affecting tourists here and abroad,” said José Koechlin, President of Peru’s Hotel Society, or SHP. “Fewer foreigners and fewer Peruvians can now afford to stay in 5-star hotels.”

Peru’s high tourist season is from June to August, which coincides with the dry season in the highlands and Amazonean jungle, as well as the summer holidays in North America and Europe.

Though prices usually rise – or even double – during these months, 5-star and other luxury hotels across Peru are now offering discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent.

Lima’s La Catolica University scientists, led by Jesuit ethnobotanist Fernando Roca, discovered the century-old palms in the Tabaconas River Valley, located in Peru’s northern department of Cajamarca. They are most likely Latin America’s only wild Quito palm population.

“The small village of Tabaconas was built between these palms and some of (the palms) are located outside the village,” said Roca. “They are beautiful palm trees, with a great ornamental potential. They could adorn our country’s parks and city plazas. Some species can be cultivated at altitudes as high as 3,800 meters.”

Normally found only in cultivation, the Coco Cumbe or Quito palm, known scientifically as “Parajubaea cocoides,” is a flowering highland palm tree with graceful arching fronds and a smooth trunk. These plants experience sub-zero temperatures in their native range and edible oil can be obtained from their sweet-tasting seeds.

The most interesting remains of this ancient civilization – including clay figurines and giant shicras, or bags able to support up to 2 tons of stones and earth– will be exhibited in Végueta’s Community Museum. The figurines were made from non-glazed clay, painted different tones of white, black and red, and made to represent various individuals, including children wrapped in blankets and high-ranking officials.

The Vichama finds are part of the Caral Archaeological Project directed by Dr. Ruth Shady of the University of San Marcos.

The town of Vichama will also unveil an architectural monument called “The Cornices.” Made of circular plazas, cornices and vaulted niches, the monument is designed to replicate architectural elements present in Caral, and later used by the Inca civilization.

Caral was discovered by Paul Kosok in 1948, but received little attention until recently because it appeared to lack many typical artifacts usually found at archaeological sites throughout the Andes.

The city of Caral was a dense, diverse and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous people and a center of religious, political and administrative power. It formed part of a hierarchical group of settlements that had a well-defined design denoting planning, zoning, and organized management of space for differentiated use by its occupants, with physical or symbolic connotations, and diverse architectural expressions relating to a complex division of labor and the presence of specialists in a variety of production and trade activities.

The urban complex is spread out over 150 acres, or 607,000 square meters, and includes the Pirámide Mayor – which covers the size of four football fields – and 19 other pyramid complexes scattered across the 35 square mile, or 80 square kilometer, area of the Supe Valley.

The 21 finalist dishes chosen by internet users at the Seven Gastronomic Wonders of Peru Contest, will be announced today, reported Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).

According to Ricardo Raez, representative of Acido Ungusto Comunicaciones, organizing company of the event, the usual favourite dishes such as Cebiche, Aji de Gallina and Lomo Saltado are still in first positions, but the list also includes a great presence of regional dishes like Juane, Arroz con Pato and Carapulcra.

Over 35,000 people have participated in this online voting campaign, and the announcement of the 21 finalist dishes, to be selected among 130 candidates, will take place at 12:00 hrs (17:00 GMT) in the Sheraton Hotel.

Have other topics you’d like to see in our news section? If you or someone you know would like to contribute a news article to Living in Peru, whether it’s translated or based on a personal investigation, send it to editor@livinginperu.com

7 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS

First Day: Lima – Cusco – City Tour

09:05 Arrival to Cusco and transfer to the hotel *** , after the lunch we start the tour and know El Museo de Sitio de Qorikancha, Temple of the Sun, Saqsayhuaman Archeological Complex, in the upper part of the city, Q´enqo, wich is considered a holy place where ceremonies honoring the sun, Puka Pukara which contains several rooms,inner plazas, arqueducts, vantage points and pathways, Tambomachay, that might have fulfilled an important religious function linked to water and the regeneration of the land El Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, where you might enjoy of the music and dances of Cusco.

Second Day: Machu Picchu

Breakfast. We will take you to the train station to go to Aguas Calientes (4 Hrs. Aprox) where our guide is waiting on a touristic bus for going to carry you to Machu Picchu historic Sanctuary, an impressive Inca citadel placed on the side of a mountain. Its quechua name means “Old Mountain”, but it is also known as “The Lost City of The Incas”. For the afternoon we will back by backpacker train to Cusco city and to our hotel.

Third Day: Cusco – Lima

Arrival to Lima and transfer to the hotel ***, after the lunch we start the tour and know:

Ancestral, Colonial & Contemporary Lima

Our first point will be the Huaca Pucllana, then the Promenade of Republic, San Martin Square and the Main Square, with their different buildings: Government Palace, Archibishop´s Palace, the Cathedral Basílica and the Municipal Palace also we will enter to the Museum of the Banco Central de Reserva, Convent of Saint Francis and its Catacombs. We will continue visiting The Olive Grove of San Isidro, Miraflores and Larco Mar, distinctive tourist centre of contemporary Lima. Finally to our hotel.

Fourth Day: Paracas + Nasca Lines

6:00 we go to Ballestas Islands, they are located outside the reserve area. They constitute the habitad of a great variety of birds and sea lions. The reserve´s 335.000 hectares is a refuge for seals, Humboldt penguins, flamingos, and many other birds. You can visit many different natural and archaeological attractions in the reserve. One of them is the El Candelabro (The Candelabra), a geoglyph of more tan 120 meters, better appreciated from the ocean that shelters marine otters or chingungos, a species on the verge of extinction, and other marine birds.

14:00 the group will be taken to the Nasca Airport to fly over the area in our small airplane, it is a vast network of lines and drawings of animals and plants credited to the Nasca culture covering an area approximately 350 Km^2.

Finally we will back to Lima to our hotel.

Fifth Day: Lima – Pucallpa

05:05 we will take you to the Airport to fly to Pucallpa city. Arrival to Cusco and transfer to the hotel ***

08:00 tour for Yarinacocha’s Lagoon, we will sail in the typical Peke Peke we`ll see Dolphins pink, Gulls, sparrow-hawks and shihuango. In addition we will visit: The Following places of interest:

Native community of San Francisco an ethnic Group Shipibo – Conibo known for keep their customs.

Cc. Mestiza 11 de Agosto, in the Zoo we will apreciate birds and wild animals, Session of some photos with the famous “Anaconda” and later we will go to Pacacocha Canyon. Return to our hotel

Sixth Day: Cataratas Misteriosas (Full Day)

07:00 we start the tour visiting Aguaytia’s city, during the tour we will apreciate impressive people villages also we will see the majestic Jungle where the beauty of the landscape and La Cordillera Azul. Places of Visit: Puente del Aguaytia the biggest of Peru, the famous Valley of Sacramento with its mysterious histories, then we will know El Boquerón del Padre Abad, Tunnel that we will cross to get  Cave paintings. Finally, we will back to Aguaytia and we will do a city tour, lunch and then back to Pucallpa city.

Seventh Day: Pucallpa – Lima

09:00 our transportation will take you to the Airport to fly to Lima city.

End of the Tour

THE TOUR INCLUDE:

-    All the trannsfers: airports – hotels – airports – hotels – bus stations in Lima, Pisco, Nazca, Cusco and Pucallpa cities.

-    Lodging:

. 2 nights in Cusco City

. 2 nights in Lima City

. 2 nights in Pucallpa City

-          Continental breakfasts

-          Tours: (Cusco) City Tour and Machu Picchu, (Lima) City Tour: Ancestral, Colonial & Contemporary Lima, (Ica) Ballestas Islands, fly over  Nasca Lines, (Pucallpa) Yarinacocha’s Lagoon & Cataratas Misteriosas (Full Day)

-          Tickets to all the touristic atractions

-          Turístic guides (Ingles – Español)

-          Backpacker Ticket train Cusco – Aguas Calientes-Cusco

-          Touristic transportation (Pull Service)

-          First Aid Kit 

THE TOUR NOT INCLUDE:

   Domestic Flights

-       First Day Lima – Cusco  - – - – - – - – -  – 143.52 USD

-       Third Day Cusco – Lima  - – - – - – - – - -  143.52 USD

-       Fifth Day Lima – Pucallpa  - – - – - – - — – 65.44 USD

-       Seventh Day Pucallpa – Lima  - – - – - - - 65.44 USD

  Optional Services:

-       Transfer Jorge Chavez Airport-Hotel, by person  -13.00 USD

-       Transfer Hotel-Jorge Chavez Airport, by person  -13.00 USD

All our packages are regulations Dollars, these prices not include IGV. These prices vary and are   modified according to the exchange currently rate at Peru.

* Your Reserve will be processed within soon we will communicate with you. to be able to give more details of the mode of payment, prices are not for high season (Semana Santa, Christmas Days, New Year Days, 20-31 July) 

Day 1st:

Arraival to the Airport, and we will take you to the hotel***

Day 2nd: Ancestral, Colonial & Contemporary Lima

Breakfast, our first point will be the Huaca Pucllana, then the Promenade of Republic, San Martin Square and the Main Square, with their different buildings: Government Palace, Archibishop´s Palace, the Cathedral Basílica and the Municipal Palace also we will enter to the Museum of the Banco Central de Reserva, Convent of Saint Francis and its Catacombs. We will continue visiting The Olive Grove of San Isidro, Miraflores and Larco Mar, distinctive tourist centre of contemporary Lima. Finally to our hotel.

Day 3rd: Lima – Pisco

8:00 Breakfast. 15:15 We will take the group to the bus station to travel to Pisco (3 hrs. Aprox.). then recepción and transfer to the hotel in Paracas.

Day 4 rt: Ballestas Islands

6:00 Breakfast 7:00 we go to Ballestas Islands, they are located outside the reserve area. They constitute the habitad of a great variety of birds and sea lions. The reserve´s 335.000 hectares is a refuge for seals, Humboldt penguins, flamingos, and many other birds. You can visit many different natural and archaeological attractions in the reserve. One of them is the El Candelabro (The Candelabra), a geoglyph of more tan 120 meters, better appreciated from the ocean that shelters marine otters or chingungos, a species on the verge of extinction, and other marine birds.

14:00 Our turistic transportation will take the group to Nasca city (3 hrs aprox), arrival to the hotel.

Day 5th: Nasca Lines & Chauchilla

Breakfast. 08:00 The group will be taken to the Nasca Airport to fly over the area in our small airplane, it is a vast network of lines and drawings of animals and plants credited to the Nasca cultur coveringan area approximately 350 Km^2. then by the Pan-American South about 23 km., we will see Chauchilla  tombs with mummies into, a small museum then we will go to visit the workshops of gold and ceramic..

 15:00 Then our group will go to the bus station to travel to Arequipa city. (12 Hrs. Aprox.)

Day 6th: City Tour – Santa Catalina

Arraival to Arequipa and transfer to the hotel ***. After the lunch we start the city tour (3 hours): and know Santa Catalina Monastery, Arequipa’s Main Square, we wil also visit  La iglesia jesuita de la Compañía, Religious Complex of San Francisco, La Casona Tristan del Pozo, traditional town of San Lázaro, Yanahuara Town and churo, finally a beautiful view of the city from Carmen Alto y Yanahuara disctricts. Return to our hotel.

Day 7th: Colca Canyon & Chivay

7:30 to 08:00 We go to Chivay, we will see there the Misti, Chachani and Pichupichu volcanoes, by National Reserve Salinas and Aguada Blanca, located in an extensive flatness at 4,000 meters above sea level (13,123 feet) where we apreciate its flora and fauna, beautiful landscapes, geologic formations of the area and highland species. Pampa Cañahuas 13:00 pm. arraival to Chivay (at 3500 m above sea level), lunch and then go to a small and easy walk through the terraces around the village, (two hours aproximatly), later a thermal bath in hot-spring pools  of  La Calera. Dinner with a folk show.

Day 8th: Mirador Cruz del Condor

06:00 breakfast, 06:30 we will go to Mirador de la Cruz del Cóndor, located among Maca and Cabanaconde’s town (place of privileged view), is very common to see condors in majestic flight. Then to Chivay for lunch 13:00, alter we start the return and get Arequipa city at 18:00 to spend the night.

Day 9th: Arequipa – Uros & Takile Islands

6:00 Our transportation takes you to the Juliaca´s airport for flying to Puno city (1 hr aprox.) arrival to the hotel. 7:00 transport by motor boat stopping at the Uros Islands for 30 minute where you can see  how the familys used the totora (Plant that grows in the lake) and they used this for built treir houses  and other mores. before departing to the island of Amantani. There are no hotels on Amantani Islands but on arrival the group is split into smaller groups for overnight stays with local families. It is very beautiful and peaceful, and in many ways less spoiled than Taquile. There are six villages and ruins on both of the island’s peaks, Pacha Tata and Pacha Mama

Day 10th: Puno – Amantani – Takile

After breakfast we go of Amantani island to Taquile Island  (1 hr aprox.)  when we arrived we visited the tow of Taquile are numerous pre-Inca and Inca ruins and Inca terracing. The island is narrow, only about 1 km wide, and 6-7 km long. There is a cooperative shop on the island that sells exceptional woollen goods which are not cheap but of very fine quality.  you will have the opportunity to buy beautiful handmade weavings and collages depicting the life on the islands. The inhabitants on some islands have built small ‘museums’ with stuffed birds inside, or lookout towers to get a better view.

Day 11th: Puno – Cusco – City Tour

8:30 Breakfast and later our group will go to the Juliaca´s airport to fly to Cusco city

10:05 Arraival to Cusco and transfer to the hotel *** , after the lunch we start the tour and know El Museo de Sitio de Qorikancha, Temple of the Sun, Saqsayhuaman Archeological Complex, in the upper part of the city, Q´enqo, wich is considered a holy place where ceremonies honoring the sun, Puka Pukara which contains several rooms,inner plazas, arqueducts, vantage points and pathways, Tambomachay, that might have fulfilled an important religious function linked to water and the regeneration of the land El Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, where you might enjoy of the music and dances of Cusco.

Day 12th: Sacred Valley

After the breakfast our tour tour starts by El Valle Sagrado de los Incas, to know Pisac, well know for its craft market, but there are also inca archeological remants: El Intihuatana, a solar clock calendar, an astronomical observatory, and Los andenes de los Incas, agricultural terraces. We will pass by Calca Town. We will have the lunch in a touristic restaurant of Urubamba. Then our next point will be Ollantaytambo, where the incas built a fort that included a temple, agricultural terraces and an urban area, we also will apreciate Las piedras cansadas, el Tunupa, Then we will go to Ollantaytambo´s train station to get Aguas Calientes Town.(2 hrs. aprox.), arrival to the hotel.

Day 13th: Machu Picchu

Breakfast. We will take you to the bus station where our guide is waiting on a touristic bus for going to carry you to Machu Picchu historic Sanctuary, an impressive Inca citadel placed on the side of a mountain. Its quechua name means “Old Mountain”, but it is also known as “The Lost City of The Incas”. For the afternoon we will back  by backpacker  train to Cusco city and to our hotel.

Day 14 th: Cusco – Lima

Breakfast. Free morning (depends of the exact time of your fly) where you can know El Convento de Santa Catalina, El Aqllawasi o casa de las escogidas; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, El Museo Histórico Regional, Museo de Arte Popular, then we will take you to the airport of Cusco city to fly to Lima City.

 END OF THE TOUR

 Price by person on: Double room 

Tren  Backpacker  $ 1208.70

THE TOUR INCLUDE:

-    All the trannsfers: airports – hotels – airports, bus stations – hotels – bus stations in Lima, Pisco, Nazca,  Arequipa, Juliaca, Puno and  Cusco cities.

-    Lodging nights:

. 2 Lima City Faraona hotel ***

. 1 Pisco (Ica) H. del Monasterio Hotel ***

. 1 Nazca (Ica) Casa Andina C. Hotel ***

. 2 Arequipa M. de Mercaderes Hotel ***

. 1 Chivay (Arequipa)

. 2  Puno Royal Inn Hotel ***

. 2 Cusco Puma Hotel ***

. 1 Aguas Cal. (Cusco) H. Inn Hotell ***

-          Continental breakfasts

-          Tours: (Lima) City Tour, (Ica) Ballestas Islands, fly over Nasca Lines & Chauchilla (Arequipa) City Tour, Santa Catalina, Colca Canyon, (Puno) Amantani, Uros & Taquile Islands, (Cusco) City Tour, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu

-          Tickets to all the touristic atractions

-          Turístic guides (Ingles – Español)

-          Backpacker Ticket train Ollantaytambo- Aguas Calientes-Cusco

-          First Aid Kit 

THE TOUR NOT INCLUDE:

  Tickets Overland:

-      Day 3rd 2009 Lima – Pisco  - 30.00 USD

-      Day 5 th 2009 Nazca – Arequipa     – 31.00 USD

  Domestic Flights

-        Day 9th 2009 Arequipa – Juliaca - 155.52 USD

-        Day 11th 2009 Puno – Cusco   - 229.44 USD

-        Day 14th 2009 Cusco – Lima – 157.00 USD

  Optional Services:

-       Day 14th 2009:

Transfer J. Chavez Airport-Hotel, by person  -  13.00 USD

-       Day 14th 2009:

Faraona Hotel (Miraflores) by person on Double room – 36.00 USD

-         Day 15th 2009:

-       Transfer Hotel-J. Chavez Airport, by person - 13.00 USD

All our packages are regulations Dollars, these prices not include IGV. These prices vary and are   modified according to the exchange currently rate at Peru.

* Your Reserve will be processed within soon we will communicate with you. to be able to give more details of the mode of payment, prices are not for high season (Semana Santa, Christmas Days, New Year Days, 20-31 July) 

“Peru is the best country,” said German filmmaker Herzog, in a statement released by the sustainable tourism agency handling the logistics of Herzog’s venture, Inkaterra.

Herzog and Shannon are working on a dramatized documentary about real-life events that occurred in the Machu Picchu sanctuary in the 1970s, on the shores of the Vilcanota River.

The Vilcanota River, also known as Wilcamayu, Huilcamayo or Urubamba, is a fast-flowing, extremely dangerous, and only partially navigable river that flows through Cusco’s Sacred Valley. Many people, including British geologist John Walter Gregory, have drowned in the river while trying to cross or navigate it.

Herzog, a unique voice in cinema known for his eccentricity – he dragged a steamship over a mountain in Peru for his film “Fitzcarraldo” – has been nominated this year for an Oscar for his most recent documentary, “Encounters at the End of the World”, on the extreme conditions that define existence in Antarctica.  In 1982, he won the Cannes film festival award for Fitzcarraldo, a production which faced a number of difficulties, including angry protests from Aguaruna communities in Peru’s Amazon basin and changes in several of the leading roles, first casting Mick Jagger and later Klaus Kinski.

Shannon, also a first-time nominee, stands to win an Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for his portrayal of John Givings, a young man confined to a mental institution in the feature film “Revolutionary Road.”