Cusco
Before we went to Cusco, we had spent three days in the Urubamba district with a Couchsurfing host and his girlfriend. We loved being in the nature again, cooking, eating, relaxing and talking with them about the alternative life style. The house is in a remote area, close to a river. One night when we were having dinner Andrea asked if there are any snakes around, as she is very scared of them.
Petra told me, that there are snakes, but she haven't seen many. The spiders though are another story. She pointed out the black widow, a poisonous insect. Then we changed the topic and we started to talk about old Inca ruins in the neighborhood. They build their houses in the area. Petra told us that many of her visitors had weird dreams in the first night. Perhaps the spirits of the Incas are still present :) We don't believe in such things. We finished our drink and went to bed.
I remember that I had one of the weirdest dreams ever and it felt very real. The dream was about my country, Czech Republic. A voice was telling me that if I come back I will be in a trouble. I haven't lived there almost for three years and I am not planning to come back in the near future. I was rolling in bed from one side to another like someone would be chasing me. Then I felt something on my leg. I thought that it is my pajama so I turned again. But what if it is not the pajama! I opened my eyes, stopped breathing and jumped out of the bed. There was a huge spider, big like my hand palm under the blanket.
I heard once, the big spiders are less poisonous then the smaller ones. But who knows. What the Inca gods tried to tell me remains a mystery.
About
Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire. Most of the tourists coming to Peru visit Cusco and the nearby Inca ruins. Many of the colonial houses are built from the ancient Inca ruins stones. They say that in Cusco one will not find one colonial house which wouldn't be built out of that stones. The city center is very beautiful, we enjoyed it even more at night because there was less traffic.
Unfortunately, like almost every city in South America, the air is very polluted by car emissions and smog. You have to fight the high altitude as the city is 3400m above the sea level. We were out of breath almost all the time and we didn't get much used to it. Even after one week we had still problems. Coca tea helps a bit with headaches or stomach problems. When you will see the city in the night, the illuminated old monuments and cobblestone streets and hear the horn of the train heading to ancient Machu Pichcu, you get that feeling of an amazing spiritual atmosphere. You will forget about all your health issues and the smog as well.
Attractions
We recommend to spend at least five days. We stayed one week. Relax on your first day and try to eat good and drink a lot of water if you are not used to the altitude yet. Buy the combined Cusco tourist ticket "Boleto turistico del Cusco", that gives you access to 16 sights & attractions. It is valid for ten days and costs 130 PEN (39 USD). We have to warn you that most of the museums aren't worth much, though the Inca ruins are worth every penny. By the way, the entrance prices went up and the admission to most of the sights is 70 PEN, so if you visit 2 sights the ticket already pays off. The description of two of the Inca sights Moray and Ollantaytambo are in the next article.
We advise you to find informations about the sight on internet and download it as offline documents to your smart phone. Or buy a good book guide. Unfortunately there are almost no informations on the sighs, not even in Spanish. We ordered the list of the sights by the significance and of its appeal.
Saksaywaman
You can find this ancient complex in the north skirts of Cusco. The area was occupied from 9th century by Killke culture. We were amazed by the huge stones perfectly fitting to the construction. Some of the stones were transported for over a year to its final position. Saksaywaman is very high in an elevation of 3700 m. One has to ask himself: how were they able to transport the stones that high without any machines?. They needed at least one hundred men to pull one stone up there. The whole complex was covered in gold. Unfortunately all the gold was stolen by the Spaniards. The citadel must have been enormous, judging by the square and the remaining stones. If it had been preserved, it would be even greater then Machu Picchu. Not to be missed while in Cusco.
Pisaq
Go to the street Puputi and catch one of the busetas. They leave when they are full. You might wait up to 40 minutes until they fill the car. It costs about 6 PEN p.p. When in Pisaq, visit the handcrafts market. They have amazing stuff. We could not buy anything as we already bought a hammock and a blanket at Otavalo market in Ecuador. Buy only what you can take with you. The post fees are very expensive in South America.
You have to take a taxi if you don't want to walk up hill for 8 kilometers. You can ask other tourists to share the taxi which is 50 PEN. We tried to bargain, but it did not work. The ruins are spread in a large area, plan at least four hours to explore it. And if you don't want to pay another 50 PEN you can easily walk back to Pisaq. We took the Inca path, it was fun and it allowed us to explore more of the ruins. Took us around 1.5 hours to get back.
Tipon
These ruins are located 30 km south of Cusco. We didn't go from Cusco, but we found on internet that you can go with micro bus from Av. De La Cultura 1320, the direction to Urcos. Please verify this information. Again you have to take a taxi to get up the hill to these ruins, we paid 10 PEN and on the way back 6 PEN after bargaining. We highly recommend to connect the visit with the ruins of the ancient city of the Killke culture, Piquillacta. The precise purpose of the ruins is unknown. We were amazed by the structure and shape of the agriculture terraces. When you climb a bit up it looks like a boat. Located aside are temples and other buildings and also very long water canal that stretches for few kilometers. Two hours are enough for this sight.
Pikillaqta
It is not easy to get here from Tipon. You have to take few busetas. These ruins of Wari empire are large and very old (550-1100 A.D.) therefore they are not well preserved. It was a city and we heard they drunk lot of beer and chicha. So we took a stroll through their city and we were imagining drunk Wari people on the square and in the streets.
Quenqo
First visit Tambomachay and then walk to Quenqo. Both sights are included in the Boleto turistico. Hire a guide in Quenqo because there are very interesting things to see, but you wouldn't discover them yourself. The local guides are waiting at the entrance. It was a sacred place for the Incas.
Tambomachay
This was one of the least interesting Inca sights what we've seen on our trip, it's very small. They probably used it as a recreational place.
Monumento Pachacuteq
Located on Av. Sol, you can not miss this huge bronze statue of the Inca ruler. As you are ascending the eight floors of the monument, you get a lot of information about him and the times when he used to rule. The Inca empire was very developed and rich in that times. He managed to put the empire together. We also enjoyed the view from the top after dawn.
Museo Historico Regional
As we mentioned, visiting most of the museums of the "Boleto Turistico" is a waste of time. This one is an exception. It is located near Plaza Francisco, in Calle Heladeros. It won't inform you only about the Inca culture but also about the prehistoric times when the Cusco area was a giant lake. In the second floor we enjoyed a projection about Tupac Amaru II. a very brave warrior who wanted to liberate Peru from Spaniards. And he really managed to liberate Cusco, at least for a while. His death was more then tragic, they tied his legs and arms to four horses that were then driven at once toward the four corners of the square.
Food
We were eating mainly in vegetarian restaurants in Cusco as they are plenty of them with good quality food and for cheap prices.
Green Point
This was our favorite restaurant in Cusco. We came almost every day for Menu del Dia. For 12 PEN you get free salad bar, soup, main course, desert and juice. We were amazed by the quality and how the veggies used for their meals were fresh and delicious. It wasn't just about the regular rice with beans that you can find in many vegetarian restaurants. They are very creative. This restaurant in the district San Blas, Carmen Bajo 235. They are opened every day, except Sundays, from 8:00 till 22:00.
Choco Museum
The entrance is free and it is worth the visit. The design is very nice and modern and you get really good idea about how the chocolate is made. Definitely visit the cafeteria, we recommend Aztec Chocolate (with chili powder and honey) and the brownie. We paid for two hot chocolates and two cakes 38 PEN. You can find these Chocolate Museums also in Lima or Ollantaytambo.
- Choco Museum, Calle Garcillaso 210, Cusco
Qucharitas
They specialize in ice cream and they prepare it on an ice pan. Maybe you saw this style of making ice cream in Thailand. Milk is poured on the pan and then they add your selected fruits. Then the mixture is chopped until the consistence is creamy. They have also quinoa or maca flavor.
- Qucharitas, Procuradores 385, Cusco
Where to stay
Kurumi hostel
Big advantage of this hostel is that it is located in a quiet area but very close to the city center. However you have to walk up hill every time. The rooms are spacious and for a double room with a private bathroom we paid 66 PEN per night. There is also free coca tea and breakfast included. The breakfast is pretty basic with bread, marmalade, fruit and coffee or tea. We were pretty happy with this hostel, except for one thing. From the second day on we had problems with smell, coming probably from the toilet. But what I've heard it is pretty common in Cusco. The stuff was very nice and stored our backpacks for few days when we were doing Machu Picchu free of charge. Address: Calle Arco Iris 488.
06 January 2016