For a rare and unique cultural experience, travelers can enjoy a homestay in Sibayo, an Andean village located in the Colca Canyon at 3880m.a.s.l, in the region of Arequipa. Sibayo is also known as ‘Rumillacta,’ stone village, due to its one-story buildings made of stones. At Sibayo, visitors enjoy learning about the local lifestyle, including sharing the locals’ daily chores. Most of the inhabitants’ occupation in Sibayo has been the breeding of alpacas, until the first visitors to the Colca Canyon began passing by the town en route to the canyon’s tourist attractions.
In 2006, the community of Sibayo decided to arrange lodges in some of their houses with the goal of encouraging visitors to stay one or more nights in their town. Currently, there are twelve rustic but homely houses, which offer lodging to visitors that usually stay for up to three nights. Presently, over 600 visitors travel to Sibayo every year in order to enjoy this deep cultural experience. This initiative has got the interest of international and national institutions, which since 2008 have supported the community in their cultural venture.
The Peruvian government has recently joined the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECID) in order to support this cultural venture, which has brought cultural and economic benefit to the community. The Ministry of Trade and Tourism support has helped in rebuilding Sibayo’s streets and the Main Square, as well as in the painting of private and public buildings. As for the Spanish agency, it has been supporting the Sibayo community since the early 2008 by renovating the old houses in Sibayo; recently, it has renovated the XVII century church of San Juan Bautista.
http://elcomercio.pe/peru/ arequipa/distrito-sibayo-modelo-turismo-vivencial-noticia-1747282
http://www.terra.com.pe/turismo/tur9799/impulsan-turismo-vivencial-valle-colca.html
