We honestly were not prepared for the shear volume of things to see and do around the city of Cusco, Peru. Of course Machu Picchu is probably the best known, and for good reason. However the options certainly don’t stop there.
The historic centre is rife with great restaurants and bars. It is safe to walk around at night and the temperature is lovely.If you like dogs, you’ll get your fix here. They are everywhere and extremely well behaved. We loved how they are not bothered with any of the hype and will lay down to sleep anywhere.Because the city is a major tourist hub, the other thing you see everywhere is street vendors. if you don’t get approached 10-15 times a day it would be unusual, and they approach everyone, residents and tourist alike. However a polite ‘No gracias’ is all it takes if you are not in the market.If you are in the market there are hundreds of vendors and stalls spread around the city. Fun to check out.As Cusco sits at around 3400 metres in elevation there is a good chance you will notice the lower level of oxygen in the air. I loved the fact that most hotels and all the tour operators we dealt with had medical oxygen bottles available to help you if required. Fortunately we did not suffer that much, but there was no hurrying anywhere and every flight of steps left us a little out of breath.We were pleased with our decision to spend a few days in Cusco just taking it easy before doing any extensive sightseeing. As Cusco was the seat of the Inca Empire it was interesting to see and hear how the Incas were portrayed by the statues and tour guides. They are definitely cast in a very positive light. This is a bit different from what you hear about the Incas when you travel the areas that they conquered.I was thrilled when we stumbled across this little procession heading to one of the churches.They even had their own little band following along behind
We did three sightseeing ventures from Cusco. One was Machu Picchu, which I covered in a previous post. The other two were The Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain. You don’t get anywhere fast in the type of terrain you find in Peru, each of those two day trips were around 13 hours each. It is a lot of sitting in a small van.
The Sacred Valley tours mainly consist of visiting ancient Inca sites and learning a bit about their way of life. These ‘tambos’ were rest/resupply stops for the messengers who used the thousands of kilometres of Inca Trails to deliver news. They were located every 7-10 kilometres along the trail.Archeologists believe this was an embalming table where the bodies of high ranking Incans were mummified after they died.The stone work of the Incas was incredible. Whether in places of their worship or just in outside retaining walls it was intricate and impressive.It is believed this was a shallow artificial lake the Inca built for unknown purposes. The engineering is mind boggling.Our guide even demo’ed some natural slides that were discovered at one of the sights.The size and intricacies of the settlements built around Cusco are amazing. Though the actual uses are not known for sure, the quality of construction and orientation to the natural geologic features and the stars leave one humbled.
The third day trip we did was to Rainbow Mountain. The day we went was overcast so the ‘rainbow’ colours were not terribly impressive, however it is worth the trip just to see the landscape and the locals.
The views on the way up were impressive.The proper name for Rainbow Mountain is Vinicunca. As the main viewpoints are over 5,000 metres in elevation it can be a chilly place to visit.There are three ways to get from the parking lot up to the viewpoints. Hiking, horse back, or motorcycle. Not that we were in a hurry, but the motorcycle costs the same as the horse and was certainly very entertaining.Did I mention the elevation? It was chilly up there. Notice the styling souvenir, my baby Alpaca toque.The minerals in the mountains make for an interesting combination of colour. It may have been the cloudy day, but I suspect most photos of Rainbow Mountain are heavily influenced by post production enhancment of the colours.But the locals with their llamas more than make up for the colour. Karen was in her element checking out the llamas.These llamas were awesome. The area is owned by a nearby town so they do everything they can to make money off the mountain. To their credit though, they have bathroom facilities at the very top, the options for getting up the hill and well organized systems in place.Even wifi in the parking lot.We chose not to hike over to the Red Valley, but it did look enticing.The views from the top view points were beautiful.The walk down was very pleasant. The locals kept busy evacuating tourists who were overcome with altitude sickness or the occasional twisted ankle.The colourful outfits of the locals simply made the whole experience even more special.Despite the rugged environment don’t be intimidated. My old sandals were more than up to the task of checking out the mountain.Even the trip back to Cusco provided some lovely sights of local life.This random woman standing by the side of the road spinning llama wool into yarn just topped off the day for me.
We very much enjoyed our time in and around Cusco. The altitude is certainly something that has to be reckoned with. I consumed a lot of coca tea which is supposed to help, in addition to the Diamox (Acetazolamide) pills which we took during the entire time at altitude. Wait until you are in South America to buy them, super cheap down here.
It is an adventure that is worth the troubles to experience.
Wow what a beautiful spot.
Loved seeing your smiles you two, hahaha oh Peter you on that bike made me laugh. Good times !!
Awesome stone work.A work of art. The creativity and engineering to get things placed and fit so perfect.
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