BACK TO THEIR ROOTS

From high in the Andes to the restaurant tables of the capital Lima, Emma Henderson uncovers how the humble potato has grown into an object of reverence for the people of Peru

- Emma Henderson was a guest of G Adventures

When Jhon Edison Ccoyo Ccana looks up into the overarching inky-dark Andean night sky pierced with distant twinkly stars, he's searching for a sign: the constellation known in Peru as the Inca Cross. In the native Quechua language, it's called Chacana, and when it's seen leaning on its side, he knows it's time to start harvesting the vast indigenous potato crop.

Knowledge of this pivotal celestial indicator has been passed down through generations and is rooted in ancestral agricultural techniques. Here, the connection to Panchamama - Mother Earth is the backbone of all life; farming is inseparable from identity.

I'm 3,250m above sea level in the Andean mountains at Parque de la Papa (Quechua for "Potato Park") in the village of Chahuaytire, 30 miles northeast of the historic city of Cusco, to meet the indigenous custodians who are conserving the humble potato for climate resilience.

At this altitude, the air is thin but incredibly fresh. Green peaks ripple across the landscape, with distant snow-capped mountains beyond. The rugged terrain is streaked with dark, richly fertile soil, helped by the output of the shaggy-looking alpacas nearby. To get here, you have to take a single rough, stony, winding mountain road. It's remote and serene.

Created in 2002, Parque de la Papa is an indigenous-led project that protects both biodiversity and cultural heritage, including farming practices, language and customs.

Around 7,200 people across five communities call this 9,000hectare biocultural reserve home. They're descendants of the Incas who thrived in Peru until the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. Together, they're meticulously preserving more than 1,500 varieties of Peru's 3,500 native potatoes, crops cultivated here for some 8,000 years.