There’s something deeply humbling about holding a fresh cocoa pod in your hands. Its textured, sun-warmed skin carries generations of wisdom, like the memory of rain, soil, and human touch. In the lower valleys of Cusco, cocoa is more than a mere crop- it’s a living plant that connects us to the ancestral wisdom of the Andes and the lush pulse of the Amazon jungle beyond the Andes.
Domingo, the founder of Kallpa Travel, visited Costa Rica for a PROMPERÚ workshop into sustainable tourism. He returned with a new vision about what this small native seed could mean for responsible travel in Peru. According to Domingo “in Costa Rica, they have shown the world that sustainability isn’t just an add-on, it’s an important way of life. It encompasses community, local education, and the pride of our people.” This idea resonates deeply with us, as Cusco’s cocoa growing regions, from the Quillabamba Valley, have the same possibility. A way to honor ancestral wisdom in the local communities, protect Cusco´s incredible biodiversity, and create a sustainable income through tourism that gives back.
From Seed to Soul
“Cacao” arrived in the Andes thousands of years ago, introduced by early Peruvian civilizations who recognized its spiritual and medicinal power. The Incas valued cocoa for its delicious flavour, of course, and also used as an offering to their deities. A true symbol of abundance and gratitude to the “Pachamama” or Mother Earth. Today, the cocoa farmers of the Cusco region continue this tradition though in today’s world, their challenges are quite different. Many communities still manage small family plots in remote cloud forests, using organic farming methods that have been passed down through generations. What they need now however, is not to produce more, but for their cocoa to be valued more. A way to connect their hard work and traditional way of life, with travelers who want to understand the story behind each delicious bar of chocolate.
Responsible travel in Cusco helps to create this kind of marvellous connection. A visit to a cacao farm in Quillabamba or the Convención Valley is so much more than just a tasting session, however! It is also a lifestyle exchange when that wonderful moment offers travelers immersive experiences about fermentation, drying, toasting and roasting, while also seeing how sustainable practices like agroforestry protect both the forest canopies and the livelihoods that thrive beneath it.
What we Learned in Costa Rica
During Domingo’s trip to Costa Rica, one main principle became evident, and that was conservation through participation. Local communities weren’t waiting for change to arrive to their lands, they were actually leading this idea. Local farmers, guides, agencies and families had a voice in shaping eco-tourism, making sure that the income from cocoa and decision-making stayed in the local community. This cooperative model of tourism could also flourish in the cacao regions of Cusco. Imagine this, trails and routes where each visit funds cloud forest preservation, women’s cooperatives, native communities or youth training programmes in sustainable agriculture. Imagine Peru tours where every traveller leaves a positive environmental footprint, one that supports reforestation, organic certification, eco-tourism or local chocolate workshops. Costa Rica has shown that this is so much more than idealism it’s actually excellent for good business. Sustainable business models attract mindful, conscious travellers who want to connect deeply to the places where they are visiting. not simply consume quickly. That’s exactly the kind of traveler we are delighted to invite to Peru here at Kallpa Travel.
A Delicious Connection
In Quillabamba, for example the air is thick with the aromas of fruit trees and cocoa fermenting in wooden boxes. Local farmers like Don Manuel invite visitors to taste warm cacao pulp direct from the pod! This burst of tropical sweetness tells you you’re far away from the Andes mountains of Cusco! Cacao in this region is so much more than a mere product to farm and sell…..it’s actually a life philosophy. Many farmers are now working with conservation organizations to replant original native trees and restore the regions water sources. Women’s groups are creating artisanal chocolate and natural cosmetics from cocoa butter, which helps share the income throughout the community of the unique product. When travellers join these types of authentic experiences, they too become part of this cycle of regeneration. They can then take wonderful memories back home with them and also leave positive growth behind in the community.
Responsible Travel in Practice
Responsible travel in Peru shouldn’t be about limiting experiences or not visiting certain regions, it should be about enriching them and leaving a positive impact. By certain activities such as choosing local guides who know the forest’s natural rhythms, staying in local family eco-lodges powered by solar energy, and purchasing local chocolate directly from farmer cooperatives are all way to help, sustainably. At Kallpa Travel, we see every tour and trip as a collaboration between the traveller and the community that receives them. The cacao routes of Cusco invite us to explore the region more completely and more consciously.
Visitors can then appreciate how something as small as a cocoa bean can reflect entire systems of sustainability, mutual cooperation, and local pride.
As Domingo realized after his time in Costa Rica, “What we saw wasn’t just an ecological tourism model, it was a living example of what happens when people believe in real balance. This what we want for the remote communities of Cusco. A positive balance between growth and preservation, as well as the visitor and the local community.”
Cocoa as a Symbol of Rebirth
There is actual poetry in cacao’s life cycle! Ranging from a delicate flower pollinated by tiny jungle insects to the delicious aroma of roasting cocoa beans ready to be shared. This reminds us that transformation should always take time, patience, respect and care. In today´s world of fast travel and instant gratification, cacao invites us to slow right down. To listen. To understand that every different flavour has an ancient story behind it and that story deserves our respect. When discerning travelers choose real experiences like Kallpa Travel’s cocoa tours, they are helping build the next chapter in that story — one that is rooted in authenticity, unique experiences, sustainability, dignity, and most importantly, joy.
A Peru Visit That Gives Back To The Community
Responsible travel is so much more than where we want to go, but how we go there. When we visit the cocoa farms of Cusco, we are actually participating in something much bigger. We are travelling to experience a network of Peruvian people work in harmony with their natural environment. Un the same way that Costa Rica inspired Domingo to look more deeply at sustainability as a living, breathing system, Peru’s cacao regions tells us that every seed of worthwhile change begins small, and grows through community collaboration.
Come to Cusco with us and taste the heart of Cusco’s cocoa and most importantly, meet the people who nurture it. Discover how your personal travel choices can help preserve both delectable flavours and the future generations of rural Peru.
Come to Cusco with Kallpa Travel and visit so much more than Machu Picchu! Explore our Cocoa and Coffee Routes in Cusco and be part of a sustainable movement that connects travellers, local communities, and vitally, conservation of the cloud forests, one meaningful trip at a time!