Christmas Eve Dinner & Holiday Traditions in Cusco

Learn about the Christmas Eve traditions and events of Cusco, and check out our set menu for this year's traditional Christmas Eve Dinner!

The Main Square, or Plaza de Armas, of Cusco comes alive during the holiday season. Colorful garlands are hung from the colonial balconies, Christmas lights shaped into animals are planted throughout the lawn, and a large nativity is erected, with pieces specially commissioned by the Mendivil family, famed for their long-necked saints.

On Christmas Eve, from early in the morning until evening, the Santurantikuy Fair attracts large crowds who come to admire and purchase artisan handicrafts. The fair, whose Quechua name means buying of the saints, has been a tradition since Colonial times. Since the years following Spanish conquest, artisans from all over the Cusco region gathered here to sell nativity figures. One of the most popular pieces each year is the iconic Niño Manuelito, an image of a seated boy Christ with a thorn in his foot. However, the goods on sale are no longer all Christmas-themed or religiously inspired as they once were. Rather, all sorts of goods are sold, from woven and leather goods to jewelry and wood carvings.

For Cusco restaurants, Christmas Eve is the most popular night of the year. Pirwa Restaurant, in addition to its normal menu, offers a set menu for Christmas. That way, travelers can enjoy a traditional dinner as well. The set Christmas menus we’re offering this year are either a turkey or a pork dinner:

Appetizer: Christmas Salad (a pasta salad with red pepper and bacon)

Main Dish: Stuffed Turkey in Passionfruit Sauce served with cinnamon-wine apple sauce and Noel rice, or Grilled Pork in Pineapple Sauce served with tropical rice and dried fruits

Drinks: Pisco Sour or Wine, white or red

Dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake or Christmas Trunk Cake

You can simply stop by on Christmas Eve, but if you want to ensure availability at a certain time, or access to the tables in the balcony, you can also make a reservation through our website.

As midnight approaches, hundreds of fireworks begin to explode throughout the city and its countryside in an improvised but impressive display. Thanks to our location in the Plaza de Armas, we have a privileged view of this from Pirwa Restaurant.

Fecha de Publicación: 21/12/2015