by catsholiday on June 16, 2009
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
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