Giant Sombrero of Celendin

Known for its handcrafted straw hats, the town of Celendín advertises their local craftsmanship with a massive public chapeau for people to congregate under.  

The town of Celendín, Peru, is home to roughly 25,000 people in the verdant and mountainous Cordillera Central. Despite the surrounding natural beauty, the town is best known for its tightly-woven straw hats. High-topped and wide-brimmed, Celendín’s famous hats can take anywhere from weeks to months to be created, as the individual toquilla-straw (the same used in the iconic “Panama hat”) strands are woven and tightened by the local workers. As you enter town, you’re greeted by a giant hat-shaped gazebo that lets you know you’re in the home of the Sombrero Celendino. Visitors can take in some shade under the giant hat and watch some of the daily Celendín life pass by. Other notable pastimes in the town include cock-fighting and festivals, but be sure to wear a hat because during Carnaval revelers have been known to get rotten eggs and even motor oil thrown on them.