South America

Cusco is a beautiful city in south-eastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes mountain range (its altitude is around 3,300 m (10,800 ft). It is the former Inca capital city of Peru and was also the Colonial Spanish capital for many years. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and the Cusco Province. The city has a population of 348,935 which is triple the figure of 20 years ago. It has narrow cobbled streets and wonderful Spanish architecture and there is something of interest around every corner.

We flew into Cusco from Puerto Maldonado with LAN Air. We were met at the airport and taken to our hotel - The Libertador Palacio Del Inka While we were checking in we were offered a cup of coca tea to help with attitude sickness ( incidentally it does work and I became hooked on this all the time I was at altitude as it is quite bland and easy to drink when feeling a bit queasy). We settled into our room, well we received our luggage, changed from our smelly jungle clothes and had a shower. We then put all the clothes we had taken to the jungle into a laundry bag and met our tour guide in the lobby. He introduced us to a local lady near the hotel who washed, ironed and brought the clean clothes back to the hotel for less than half hotel laundry prices.

We then went for a wander down to the main Square, Plaza de Armas, which was only 5 minutes walk away. The Square has got to be one of the prettiest city squares in the world. There are two large cathedrals surrounded by many balconied restaurants and shops with the central area of green and flowers with benches to sit and enjoy watching the passers by. Because of the high altitude the air seems fresher and the sky bluer than places lower down. It was like seeing somewhere with your glasses on instead of off - clearer, brighter and so clean. In the background surrounding the city are mountains shrouded in mist or clear and sharp depending on the time of day and the weather.

The Avenida Sol, leading away from the main Plaza has the tourist information office and a small park in front of the Qorichinka museum, which is a monastery built on top of a partially demolished Inca sun temple. This was next to our hotel so very convenient and also provided a nice view for us from our room on the 2nd stay in the hotel.

If we went down a different street towards out hotel we passed lots of doorways to ‘shops’ with the most delicious smells coming out. They were cooking pork fat – crackling but with a bit of meat and LOTS of fat – it smelled wonderful but looked a little fatty for my taste. The local people were obviously very fond of this delicacy and chewed away happily.

We chose to eat at the Inka Grill on the Plaza Del Armas for our evening meal. The service was superb and the staff spoke excellent English. My husband decided to go for the local delicacy, cuy – roast guinea pig. The previous time he had tried it they presented it as a whole guinea pig, teeth and all, looking a bit like a science dissection! This time, however, it was presented cut up into four large pieces but it still had to be eaten with fingers as they are a bit fiddly, not too much meat on them. It tasted much like chicken to me. My choice was Alpaca tenderloin with quinoa. The alpaca was like a mild beef and very tender, the quinoa was presented in a round mould and was spicy with coriander – quite delicious.

The next day we had a tour of Cusco and started with the Inca ruins of Sachsayhuaman high on the hill on the outskirts of Cusco. The sheer enormity of the site is difficult to comprehend without actually seeing it; it also offers spectacular views over Cusco. The walls on huge carefully interlocked stones are a marvel. They certainly understood how to build to withstand earthquakes as these walls have withstood a number over the centuries. How they managed to carve these huge rocks with such incredible precision with only other harder stones as tools is beyond belief really, except the evidence is there to see.

The views from here over Cusco are spectacular and so clear. We were able to see our hotel with no problem at all. There were several local traders selling their souvenirs which you could buy if you were interested. We bought some wonderfully simple woven bottle carriers. You hang then round your neck with your plastic water bottle in and it saves holding in your hand or taking a bag when sight seeing. The traders hang around you offering their wares but certainly do not hassle you like those in Northern Africa or India. They smiled too which was a pleasant change from abuse we have received in other countries when we did not want to buy something.


Within the same park as Saqsaywaman ( the spelling varies - this version is on our ticket) is Puka Pukara which means red fort in Quechua probably because it is a reddish colour stone. This archaeological site is on a small rocky hill and we can see a series of rectangular formations. There are fortifications with warehouses, rooms, water springs, waterways and aqueducts. They were clever people these Incas and irrigation from the surrounding mountains meant they could farm all the areas round Cusco.

Tambomachay nearby is also called the Baños de la Ñusta (the baths of the princess). The main feature of this sight is the two water springs that flow through a gap of carved stones all year round. About 500 meters away from these springs is a cave which is where the name Tambomachay came from. It is thought that this site was a temple dedicated to the worship of water.

We returned to Cusco town to visit the huge Cathedral and attached churches in the main square. The cathedral was built on a former Inca ruin but the opulence inside the cathedral was quite something to behold. The altar was SOLID silver. Another was gold leaf the picture frames also gold leaf. Everywhere you looked was gold or silver in a baroque style of decoration. Apparently they open the Cathedral and churches for locals at different times than for tourists. When the local people go in then there are only candles to light as then the local people are not so aware of the riches in the Cathedral and churches. Being Catholic there were statues and idols in each alcove and side chapels also all gold or silver decorated wearing clothes of embroidered cloth. Personally I felt it was all rather ostentatious and showy, you had to admire the beauty but not the extravagance and I'm not surprised that the opulence is resented by local people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Finally we returned to our hotel area and visited the Inca temple of the sun or Koricancha which is now covered by glass roof and has been protected from the elements. There is a Spanish colonial monastery built sort of on and round these ruins so there are colonial Spanish parts and Inca parts. There are a number of parts of Inca temple areas which were built with astronomical accuracy so the sun’s rays came through windows in a perfect straight line which is an amazing fete when you consider how long ago this was and the tools they used to construct these temples. The architecture of the temple has to be admired. Originally it consisted of high walls that circled the temple. Inside, they say there were rectangular rooms with polished floors. Surrounding the courtyard there were walls decorated with precious metals. The stones used by the Incas to build the temple were brought from the quarries located 20 to 30 Km away from the temple which is a feat in itself.

The next day we ate at a small restaurant at lunch time called Pachahuata (again on the Plaza de Armas ) where were tried some other local delicacies, recoleta – stuffed peppers and a local soup. This was a lovely local restaurant with excellent food and freshly prepared fruit juices. Once again service was friendly and although we speak no Spanish we managed to communicate and were treated with lovely smiles and good service at a very reasonable price.


This is obviously not a fully comprehensive review of all that Cusco has to off and it is interesting for me to read other people’s experiences. There is so much more i could say but this is my experience and I hope you enjoy reading it.

© catsholiday

Review of the flight over the Nazca Lines with Air Condor.

We took a trip organised through Kuoni as an ‘add on’ to our South American panorama tour. We flew into Lima two days before the main tour and took this trip on the day after we arrived.

We were picked up from our hotel at 6am which was interesting after our flight from the UK the day before – but we did it. Our guide was delightful and showed us the sea front of Lima as well as geological information about the rocks we could see on the way out as well as commenting on the crops grown along the way and various other interesting points about Peru generally. The driver was excellent and drove safely and sensibly at all times.

We were supposed to fly from Lima to Nazca but in this economic climate of airlines in trouble this airline cancelled these flights so we had to drive to Ica then fly from there. On arrival in Ica there were three coaches of Japanese tourists. Apparently Japanese tourists provide the biggest number of customers for these flights over the Nazca lines. This meant that we were going to have a long wait – not sure what the problem was, if it was a mistake in the booking or if this was normal but we had to wait 3 hours before our flight which wasn’t great as there was not a lot to do at the little airport. However our guide offered to take us for a trip round Ica so we took him upon his offer.

At the Airport there are washrooms, a gift shop, a limited cafe And a video room where you can watch a documentary in your own language about the Nazca lines. Apparently the documentary is longer but the man in charge fast forwarded the dvd to the part about the lines which was very interesting and reminded you of the shapes you were going to see in reality when on your flight. There is a small hotel at Ica airport with a restaurant and pleasant garden area. A tame condor called Pepe lives in the garden in a large cage but he is let out every day for a fly. He was rescued as a baby

We went to a lovely little oasis just outside Ica called Huencachina’s Oasis. This is a popular place for younger people to stay as they off desert sport activities such as sand boarding and driving dune buggies. We just walked around the tiny town surrounding the natural lake and admired the dunes and colonial buildings.

We returned to the airport and waited around half an hour before boarding our tiny Cessna 12 seater. We were lucky enough to be behind the pilots and so had extra views from the windows. They only used the window seats so everyone had a window view – so 8 people per plane. The pilot gave the commentary and it was brief as his English was limited so there was no extra chat – just pointed out the particular shapes when we flew over. As we flew over each of the main shapes the pilot circled and gave those on the other side of the plane a chance to see from their windows. This was quite dramatic and I was glad I had taken my ‘Kwells’ before the trip. I’m not sure how anyone with a fear of flying or heights would cope but it was certainly an experience both in terms of the flight and seeing these amazing formations.

We flew over mountains and desert on the way and were clearly able to see the Trans American Highway which is the road from Chile all the way to Miami. We could also see the viewing platform alongside this Highway from which you are able to see clearly the tree and the hands but I’m not sure how much more.
The lines themselves are so vast that they can really only be seen from the air or the viewing platform ( the hands and the tree only). Shapes include a hummingbird, a condor, hands, a tree, a monkey and a spider, some are clearer than others. There are also random lines and a huge arrow. Archaeological studies have contributed a number of explanations one being alien intervention, the famous ‘Chariots of the Gods’ by Eric von Danniken supports this theory. Another theory is that they man made astronomical charts or maps of water courses, plans for farmers but no explanation can really being scientifically proved and the question remains as to why a civilisation with no means of flight should create designs that can only be seen from the air. It is something that will remain a source of discussion for many years to come I believe.

One of the most famous researchers of these lines was Maria Reiche who was a German mathematician and archaeologist believed the symbols were an astronomical calendar indicating the direction of the stars, planets and solar solstices. She was not a supporter of the alien visitor theory. She believed that the line creation was supervised by people in hot air balloons. She spent years of her life wandering the desert studying these lines and died in 1998 at the age of 95 and is buried in this area where she spent her life.

The Nazca lines are in the Nazca Desert which is an arid plateau between the towns of Nazca and Palpa which is a large flat area of Southern Peru. The area is about 250 miles south of Lima, 90 miles south of Ica .There are apparently about 300 figures and shapes in total which are preserved because of the arid conditions in the desert, they are made of stones which stand out from the surrounding sandy surface.

All in all I would certainly recommend the trip even though it is quite a long drive – 4 hours each way – from Lima. It was quite a pleasant drive and well worth it for the view of these amazing man-made wonders that still, people cannot agree how they got there and the reason for them being there. It really is one of life’s great mysteries.

© catsholiday