Vicuña Chaccu

The chaccu is documented in colonial accounts as an Inca institution: communities formed a line kilometres long, closed it gradually, and drove wild vicuña into a funnel of stone walls or cloth where the animals were caught, shorn and released, with the fibre reserved for the state. The practice was revived in the twentieth century as the mechanism for using vicuña fibre legally after the species recovered from near-extinction, and it is held each June at Pampas Galeras and at other communal reserves. Hundreds of people take part, joined by a rope line with cloth flags, and the day includes ceremony and offerings before the drive. The fleece - the finest natural fibre there is, and worth a great deal - is sold under certification with income returning to the communities that hold the herds, which is the argument for conservation through use.

What you actually see

• The human chain - hundreds of people with a rope and flags closing on the herd.
• The shearing - animals caught, shorn alive and released the same day.
• The ceremony - offerings and ritual before the drive begins.
• The economics - certified fibre sold with income returning to the communities.

When to go

June, around the 24th at Pampas Galeras, with other communities holding chaccus on their own dates. A day, arriving early.

Honest expectations

At 4,000 metres with a rapid climb from Nazca - altitude sickness is common. Cold, windy and unshaded. The animals are stressed during capture and this is not a gentle spectacle. Facilities are minimal outside the event infrastructure.

Nearby

Pampas Galeras reserve surrounds the site; Puquio is east and Nazca west.