The flight between Lima and Cusco was short but interesting. It's just over an hour long, so you never really reach a high altitude as you fly into the Andes. When you're coming in to land you're flying below the tops of many of the surrounding mountains.
We got a bus to hotel we were staying out and dropped things off and going out to explore a little. Cusco is culturally very important as it was the capital of the Inca Empire, but its also a convenient place for hikers to acclimate to the elevation before moving on to more strenuous things. It's around 3400m (11,150 ft) above sea level and considerably cooler than Lima.
The tourist influence is pretty evident in Cusco as the central plaza (Plaza de Armas) accommodates a KFC and a McDonalds, and the central area is full of little touristy shops selling Peruvian souvenirs and hiking equipment. Despite these the city still has a very old-world feel and remnants of both Inca and Spanish periods are everywhere. We were there over Easter, which they celebrated in part by marching crosses and a Jesus replica from church to church around town.
Near the city center are the old Inca walls, including the strangely famous 12-sided stone. Like the pyramids in Egypt the stonework is impressive for the tight precision of each stone fitting into the next, and without the aid of modern machinery to carve them. The 12-sided stone is just the most noted because it shows off how each stone is so perfectly set.
A few other buildings of note are the Convent of St. Dominic which doubles as the Cusco Museum and the Church of la Compañía de Jesus which houses some colonial art.
To help everybody get used to the altitude we did a hike up into the hills at the fringe of the city, climbing past the old Inca ruins of Saksaywaman and finally up to Cristo Blanco, which is a smaller Christ the Redeemer that stands above the city. I always like this sort of small climb outside of cities, and this one gave a really nice view of the city below and the surrounding landscape. Also, this short venture let me see the first of many llamas and alpacas in Peru.
We also stopped by the cental market, Mercado Central de San Pedro, which was... an experience. I'm always fascinated by all the bustling markets of the world, but indoors I found this one similar to many of the others, and outdoors, where most of the action was happening, things were too chaotic/crowded for me to really enjoy.
The only other location of note is Jack's Cafe, an Australian/Peruvian restaurant that was quickly established as everybody's favourite place to eat. So maybe it didn't have the most traditional Peruvian menu, but everything we ate there was amazing. (For the record, the Jack's Cafe burger is definitely in my top 5 of the world, maybe even top 3).
Now that we were used to the elevation and had gotten to know each other it was time to travel deeper into the Inca heartland...
We got a bus to hotel we were staying out and dropped things off and going out to explore a little. Cusco is culturally very important as it was the capital of the Inca Empire, but its also a convenient place for hikers to acclimate to the elevation before moving on to more strenuous things. It's around 3400m (11,150 ft) above sea level and considerably cooler than Lima.
The tourist influence is pretty evident in Cusco as the central plaza (Plaza de Armas) accommodates a KFC and a McDonalds, and the central area is full of little touristy shops selling Peruvian souvenirs and hiking equipment. Despite these the city still has a very old-world feel and remnants of both Inca and Spanish periods are everywhere. We were there over Easter, which they celebrated in part by marching crosses and a Jesus replica from church to church around town.
Near the city center are the old Inca walls, including the strangely famous 12-sided stone. Like the pyramids in Egypt the stonework is impressive for the tight precision of each stone fitting into the next, and without the aid of modern machinery to carve them. The 12-sided stone is just the most noted because it shows off how each stone is so perfectly set.
A few other buildings of note are the Convent of St. Dominic which doubles as the Cusco Museum and the Church of la Compañía de Jesus which houses some colonial art.
We also stopped by the cental market, Mercado Central de San Pedro, which was... an experience. I'm always fascinated by all the bustling markets of the world, but indoors I found this one similar to many of the others, and outdoors, where most of the action was happening, things were too chaotic/crowded for me to really enjoy.
The only other location of note is Jack's Cafe, an Australian/Peruvian restaurant that was quickly established as everybody's favourite place to eat. So maybe it didn't have the most traditional Peruvian menu, but everything we ate there was amazing. (For the record, the Jack's Cafe burger is definitely in my top 5 of the world, maybe even top 3).
Now that we were used to the elevation and had gotten to know each other it was time to travel deeper into the Inca heartland...
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