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It is a quiet, misty December morning in Urubumba, an unembellished town at the rustic foothills of Sacred Valley, Peru.

 

Dark clouds obscure the snow- capped peak of the majestic Ch'iqun mountain and cast a shadow over the usually busy town centre. Rain pelts the cobbled streets, which are draining of pedestrians rushing to seek shelter.

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My husband and I are in the Peruvian Andes to visit mountain towns and ruins, notably the renowned Machu Picchu or "lost city of the Incas".

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An unexpected throng of children crowds an unsheltered pavement. Holding empty plastic mugs, they stand resolute by the decrepit grey stone walls, as though in cheerful defiance of the bleak weather. Our guide Jose, who is walking ahead, spins around.

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"A chocolatada," he gestures delightedly.

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I have read about the tradition but never witnessed one. Chocolatadas are a defining Peruvian feature in the lead-up to Christmas, when organisations and businesses prepare hot chocolate (locally known as chocolate caliente), sweet breads and toys for less privileged children in their community.

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Throughout December, children from mountainous communities descend in droves for a slice of the action in the Sacred Valley and Cusco - the ancient capital of the Inca empire - where numerous chocolatadas are known to occur.

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"In Peru, it is not Christmas without hot chocolate," Jose says. "And when you see chocolatadas all around, you know that Christmas is coming."

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Chocolatadas, coupled with the bustling festive market in Cusco on Christmas Eve, as we will soon discover, are distinct highlights of Christmas in Andean Peru. Intrigued, we don our rain ponchos. Jose speaks to the lean, tanned shopkeeper in a blend of Spanish and Quecha, the indigenous language of the Andes.

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The children are swiftly shown into the shop, where racks of provisions have been judiciously shoved aside. A rosy-cheeked baby, worn on her mother's back with a manta, a Peruvian wrap with a hardy weave, flashes me a toothless grin. The storekeeper's wife, whose raven hair hangs down her crimson cardigan in taut double braids, is conscientiously stirring an enormous vat of piping-hot chocolate caliente.

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In Andean Peru, the brew is made from scratch by melting pure cacao paste - largely sourced from Quillabamba, six hours from Cusco - in water with spices and heaps of sugar. We are told that chocolate was known only as a drink for a long time in Peru, and hot chocolate is an ancient tradition here.

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The inviting aroma of cocoa, cloves and cinnamon wafts through the air. The scent is especially comforting in this cool December season fraught with spotty thunderstorms, and it is not difficult to see why hot chocolate is enshrined as a Christmas custom.

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A small but sprightly silver- haired lady, whose face creases deeply as she smiles, speaks kindly in Quecha to the children, whom I estimate to total around 90.

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"She is trying to lift their spirits while they wait. They will sing a song," Jose translates.

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A chorus of guileless voices, high-pitched and lilting, eclipses the beating of rain at the window. The children sing neither in harmony nor at the same tempo, but the moment is emotive.

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