ANA CAROLINE DE LIMA

At 4,191 meters above sea level, in the Andean valleys north of Lake Titicaca, the Quechua community of  gathers each year for the Chaccu—an ancient ritual passed down from Inca ancestors. Against a stark, wind-swept terrain where clouds move as quickly as the light, this communal rounding-up of wild vicuñas is both ceremony and survival.​

 

The vicuña, a graceful camelid prized for its ultra-fine golden fleece, once roamed these lands in great numbers before being hunted nearly to extinction. Today, thanks to the recovery of ancestral practices like the Chaccu—and the collective efforts of communities like Picotani—the species has made a remarkable return.

Here, life unfolds in close rhythm with the animals, the mountains, and the traditions that sustain both. ​​

 

or Ernestina Quispe, a shepherd, weaver, and mother, this life is deeply personal. Born and raised there, she walks the open puna with her adopted daughter Gabriela, watching over alpacas and vicuñas, often carrying a handmade loom. Weaving in the fields as her ancestors did, Ernestina keeps the community’s cultural memory alive—one thread, one ritual, one season at a time.