Cusco Journals

The Christians Won the War, but the Worl

A July 1985 trip to Cusco by Wasatch

Quote: A fine old Spanish colonial city near a wealth of Inca ruins, but be ready for high altitude.

The Christians Won the War, but the Worl

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Overview

Quote:
A visit to Cuzco reminds of the evil done in the name of religion. The pious Spaniards who conquered the capital of the great Inca Empire proceeded to methodologically destroy Cuzco because it was a pagan city. The Spaniards tore down the Inca city and used its great stones as building blocks for a new Spanish Cuzco. Signs of Cuzco’s glorious past abound, but mostly in bits and pieces. The first thing to do in visiting Cuzco is to get out of town and go see Sacsayhuaman (pronounced: socks-eh-woe-man), the vast Inca temple just outside Cuzco, for a lesson in Inca costruction using stones so finely quarried that no cement was needed to hold them together. Now you can return to Cuzco and easi...Read More

Machu Picchu Inca Archaeological Site

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Attraction | "Machu Picchu"

Quote:
3,000 feet lower than Cuzco, Machu Picchu has a warmer, more humid climate. The Conquistadors never found the city, sparing it the destruction the Spanish inflicted on Cuzco and other Inca towns. When Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911, it had only suffered the ravages of sitting empty for centuries, bad enough to be sure, but cleared of the jungle overgrowth, is now one of the wonders of the world. The 140 structures making up Macchu Picchu are the most extensive and best preserved Inca remains.We took the early morning train from Cuzco(3½ hours), down the Urubamba River Valley, whose slopes are littered with various Inca ruins, to Macchu Picchu station—the station for MachuPi...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 22, 2007

Machu Picchu Inca Archaeological Site
Above The Urubamba Valley
Cusco Region, Peru

Altitude Sickness

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Story/Tip

Quote:
Altitude sickness comes in several forms, the most dangerous of which is life threatening pulmonary edema - your lungs fill up with fluid, effectively drowning you while on dry land. This is to be avoided. If you start wheezing and coughing and gasping for breath and feel totally exhausted, even at rest, you are in big trouble. Seek medical help right away. The most effective treatment is to go downhill as fast as possible until you can breath again. There is no way to predict who will suffer this. Even experienced climbers can succumb on Mt Everest. Fortunately, life threatening altitude sickness is rare, but milder forms of altitude sickness are not.The most common form of attitude s...Read More