Our second stop of our Peruvian adventure was Cusco, the historic capital city of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th century when the Spanish conquest occurred. Cusco is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and can be reached by plane from Lima in around 1 hour and 15 minutes. We flew with Peruvian Air on a stunning flight over the Andes Mountains.
You will not find the high rise buildings and modern shopping complexes of Lima in Cusco. The architecture is very traditional, and while Lima was located on Pacific coast, Cusco is nestled in the mountains. We definitely felt a different in altitude walking up and down the hilly streets of Cusco. Upon arrival at our lovely hotel, Rumi Punku, we were offered a cup of coca leaf tea (aka "mate de coca"). People drink this tea to minimize the effects of altitude sickness. It's actually made from the leaves of the coca plant which contain alkaloids, which are the source for cocaine base when extracted chemically. You won't be tripping out on this tea though - the amount of coca alkaloid in the raw leaves is very minimal. Despite this, coca leaf tea is still illegal in the USA (and probably Canada!). I'm not sure if it really helped us with the altitude, but we drank it regularly throughout our stay in Cusco and didn't have any major side effects. We also went straight for a long nap upon arrival in Cusco early in the morning, as we heard that being rested and well-hydrated helps to minimize the effects. The elevation of Cusco is 3399 metres above sea level.
I loved Cusco - with its winding narrow streets filled with colourful vendors and random goats and llamas, historic square, and scenic mountain views. The first place we explored in Cusco was the main square, Plaza de Armas, with two grand churches dominating the space. During our time here there was a huge Independence Day ceremony and parade on one of the days, which made walking around pretty claustrophobic. Beyond the square is the San Pedro market, where you can buy plenty of souvenirs such as alpaca wool scarves and sweaters, and eat all sorts of local foods at the vendor stalls.
On our second day in Cusco we climbed up the stairs of a winding street to the neighbourhood of San Blas. Upon reaching the Church of San Blas, we had an amazing view of Cusco and the mountains surrounding it. When walking around in Cusco I did feel myself getting out of breath quicker than I normally would when climbing uphill!
We had a half-day guided tour of Cusco and the surrounding Incan ruins, and the first stop was the Church of Santo Domingo which was built upon the site of Qurikancha, the Incan Temple of the Sun. This place was the most important temple in the Incan Empire, dedicated to the sun god Inti. Despite all the earthquakes over the years, many of the temple walls survived due to the fact that they were made out of huge, tightly-interlocking "Lego"-style bricks.
Our guide also took us to some ancient Incan sites, the most important being the citadel of Saqsaywaman which was used as a fortress. It was dismantled after the Spaniards gained control of the area and all that remains today are some high rock walls and random rocks strewn about on the hills overlooking Cusco. This was also our first "wild llama" sighting! Nearby we also spotted the large, white Cristo Blanco statue overlooking Cusco which we first noticed shining at us from atop the mountain while walking around the streets of Cusco at night.
One of the best things about Cusco besides its history are the amazing restaurants. I was very impressed with the food in Peru. The quality and the prices were great, and we often found restaurants with traditional local food with a modern twist. The best restaurant we ate at in Cusco was called Morena Peruvian Kitchen. We ate there several times and each time the food and service was excellent. The juices were so fresh and the food was delicious with so many interesting flavours. The best things we ate there were the Amazonian chicken wings, chicha morada - a sweet drink made from purple corn, and almond ice cream with brownies served in a cocoa bean. My mouth still waters thinking about all the amazing food there!
You will not find the high rise buildings and modern shopping complexes of Lima in Cusco. The architecture is very traditional, and while Lima was located on Pacific coast, Cusco is nestled in the mountains. We definitely felt a different in altitude walking up and down the hilly streets of Cusco. Upon arrival at our lovely hotel, Rumi Punku, we were offered a cup of coca leaf tea (aka "mate de coca"). People drink this tea to minimize the effects of altitude sickness. It's actually made from the leaves of the coca plant which contain alkaloids, which are the source for cocaine base when extracted chemically. You won't be tripping out on this tea though - the amount of coca alkaloid in the raw leaves is very minimal. Despite this, coca leaf tea is still illegal in the USA (and probably Canada!). I'm not sure if it really helped us with the altitude, but we drank it regularly throughout our stay in Cusco and didn't have any major side effects. We also went straight for a long nap upon arrival in Cusco early in the morning, as we heard that being rested and well-hydrated helps to minimize the effects. The elevation of Cusco is 3399 metres above sea level.
I loved Cusco - with its winding narrow streets filled with colourful vendors and random goats and llamas, historic square, and scenic mountain views. The first place we explored in Cusco was the main square, Plaza de Armas, with two grand churches dominating the space. During our time here there was a huge Independence Day ceremony and parade on one of the days, which made walking around pretty claustrophobic. Beyond the square is the San Pedro market, where you can buy plenty of souvenirs such as alpaca wool scarves and sweaters, and eat all sorts of local foods at the vendor stalls.
On our second day in Cusco we climbed up the stairs of a winding street to the neighbourhood of San Blas. Upon reaching the Church of San Blas, we had an amazing view of Cusco and the mountains surrounding it. When walking around in Cusco I did feel myself getting out of breath quicker than I normally would when climbing uphill!
Our guide also took us to some ancient Incan sites, the most important being the citadel of Saqsaywaman which was used as a fortress. It was dismantled after the Spaniards gained control of the area and all that remains today are some high rock walls and random rocks strewn about on the hills overlooking Cusco. This was also our first "wild llama" sighting! Nearby we also spotted the large, white Cristo Blanco statue overlooking Cusco which we first noticed shining at us from atop the mountain while walking around the streets of Cusco at night.
One of the best things about Cusco besides its history are the amazing restaurants. I was very impressed with the food in Peru. The quality and the prices were great, and we often found restaurants with traditional local food with a modern twist. The best restaurant we ate at in Cusco was called Morena Peruvian Kitchen. We ate there several times and each time the food and service was excellent. The juices were so fresh and the food was delicious with so many interesting flavours. The best things we ate there were the Amazonian chicken wings, chicha morada - a sweet drink made from purple corn, and almond ice cream with brownies served in a cocoa bean. My mouth still waters thinking about all the amazing food there!
What AMAZING pictures and information!!! Our world certainly is filled with beautiful landscapes, people and cultures! Such an incredible opportunity!
ReplyDeleteWhat AMAZING pictures and information!!! Our world certainly is filled with beautiful landscapes, people and cultures! Such an incredible opportunity!
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