Cuzco...

Capital of the Inca Empire
Cusco is one of the great cities. It has been classified as being an essential part of the world's heritage. Once the capital of the Inca empire, it represents all that is both good and bad of the fusion of European and pre-Colombian cultures. It's many things...Spanish architecture built on Inca foundations...Indians trying to continue to live much as their ancestors did....Peruvians trying to embody both their past and present...great churches that on one hand were built literally with the blood of the conquered Indians and yet represent in many ways how they view God...and yes...tourists who often see it as a party town and jumping off point for the Inca trail. No one who visits Cusco is indifferent to it. To come to Peru without a trip here is to truly miss something.

Getting There

To get to Cusco from Lima you have 3 choices. Lots of people fly. See my tips in the Lima section on camping in the airport if that is the case. If your time is short or you just want to get to Cusco then that's the way to go. Fortunately, flights are cheap...but be careful about booking outside Peru as ridiculously high fares can be quoted. Fare should be well under $100US. Note that all flights to Cusco are morning flights. It gets windy in the afternoon and its not safe for planes to land. Flight time is 1 hr. Compare this to 20-40 hrs. by bus (depending on route) and you can understand the popularity of flights. Bus fares are cheaper but when you figure in cost of food and that you will arrive totally exhausted then flying is a deal. Personally, I prefer to travel overland but then I stop along the way. There are lots of nice places to visit. A Lima to Cusco trip could easily be stretched out for 10 days to 2 weeks. Some of the spots to visit enroute are Pisco/Paracas, Ica, Nazca and Arequipa. I'll put in info about these spots as I develop this site. Another...more adventuresome route is Lima to Huancayo to Ayacucho to Cusco. Getting as far as Ayacucho is no problem but that last leg to Cusco during the rainy season is subject to delays. One thing though..this is a far less traveled route by gringos. About now if you are looking at a map you might be confused. Travel in all directions varies greatly by time. You can hop from Lima to Ecuador or Chile in about 22hrs. on a bus. But once you turn off the coast route things tend to slow down. Mountain travel is slowly improving as major routes are paved...but still plan on delays.

Where to Stay-Map

Where are you gonna stay? There are hotels of every price range in Cusco. I won't be dealing with the real flash places anywhere on this site. For now I'll just give a couple suggestions. Later I'll add more. First location: you want to be close to the Plaza de Armas. Hotels right on the Plaza tend to be high for what they offer. Plus there is a noise problem. Two areas I don't recommend. First is the area around the market and the Machu Picchu train station. That area is reached by leaving the Plaza de Armas and heading toward Iglesia San Francisco. The market area begins once you pass the church. What is the other area? The area of steep streets to the north of the Plaza de Armas has cheap hotels and if you are really desperate is passable. BUT...going back at night is dodgy. A cab is recommended. That will negate any savings on the room. Plus its a steep hill to walk keeping in mind the altitude. The one up hill area I'd say is OK is the streets leading up to San Blas. There are a couple of nice places there...but not too cheap. My two favorite cheap hotels are Suecia I + II. #1 is on Calle Suecia. This street runs off the Plaza de Armas. The hotel is only about 150 ft. from the Plaza. Probably the best deal for the money in Cusco considering location. Since I tend to arrive back at my room between 3 and 4am...depending if I stay to close the bar..I like something easy to get to. The rooms are fine. Your basic bed and table type. There is also a dormitory of 4 or 5 beds that is really cheap. Suecia II is on Tecsecocha. This is a couple blocks further from the Plaza. It's up around the corner from the far end of Procuradores. More on that street below. #2 is a bit nicer. It's glassed in and serves breakfast. Both hotels are very security concious. They have a deposito to lock up excess gear while you go away. Most hotels have this feature since so many hike the trail. Another place that needs to be mentioned is Hostal de los Ninos. The site at this writing is very slow at loading. This is a Dutch run place that provides care for street kids. It's a good cause, the rooms I've seen all look nice and it has a small restaurant. My only negative is that it is a bit far from the Plaza. That and you pass a bit close to the market area when walking back at night. Plateros is also a good street to find cheap hotels. They will probably be a bit noisy but you will be in the heart of everything. There are several unpublicized places off Ave. del Sol. Not too far from the Plaza but it can be a bit deserted at night when walking back to your hotel. Something about almost all Cusco hotels. Because of flight schedules and people going to get the train to MP it tends to get busy in most hotels between the hrs. of 4am and 6am. Also...quite a few of us coming back from late closing bars and clubs. Rule: The cheaper the hotel the louder and less considerate the guests. So when getting a room try to get something in the back or away from the front door or the main entrance. Unless of course you like to follow the morally unsound practice of getting up early. You won't need an alarm clock. Cusco and Antigua, Guatemala are two towns on the gringo trail famous for this problem. Look for a hotel in a building with the really thick Inca walls to muffle the sound.

Why Come Here

Many travelers through either ignorance or lack of time miss far too much of Cusco. They come with the goal of hiking the Inca Trail and care little about the city. I guess at this point it's a good idea to put the trail in perspective. So many think it is going to be some great mystical experience...no doubt fostered by so much of the New Ager speculation about Machu Picchu being some kind of mystical center of the Earth. The Inca Trail is really just a short stretch of road. It is estimated that the Incas possessed over 20,000 miles of roads in their empire. Much of this system was built by earlier civilizations that came before them. There were definite trade routes at least 2000 years before the Incas. Although much of the system has disappeared, you can still find trekking spots throughout the Andes that were used by the Incas and their predecessors. As it is though, 90% of trekkers come and hike the Inca Trail...following the hordes and stepping over each other's trash and toilet paper. If you want to hike, then seriously consider looking into some of the other areas. I once hiked up near Huaraz where for 3 days I only saw one young kid tending a flock. OK...go ahead and do the Trail, but only if you still have time to see Cusco and the surrounding area. Personally, I'd allow 10 days for that...you wouldn't get bored in a month.

What to Do

So now you are here what do you do? Cultural stuff first. Most...but not all museums and ruins in the immediate area are best seen by buying a Cusco Visitor Ticket in the Tourist Office. This is the cheapest way to see the sights. The office can give you info on the area. They seem to move every couple of years so ask around where they are located. Chez Maggie...the one on Plateros is one of my favorite restaurants. The San Blas area is nice to wander around in the day. Some of the best handicrafts in Cusco...not cheap ones...can be found there. Sacsayhuaman should be seen....take taxi up and walk back. Fact is there is a string of ruins in the area..last trip we took a cab to the farthest and walked back to see them all..culminating at Sac. Market day at Pisac...though not too many bargains there...I usually just by cheap jewelery for the girls at home. Ruins at Ollytaytambo. Market day at Chincheros...small. Forget the tours...take local buses. Bars....Mama Africas, Cross Keys..they can be snobby, The Irish pub at the corner of the Plaza de Armas...around the corner from Mama's. Restaurants and clubs tend to come and go. They either burn down, go out of business due to lousy management, or don't pay their taxes and get shut down.

A couple things to keep in mind about Cusco as you look around. Lots of streets are on steep inclines. Coupled with the altitude someone just in from the coast is going to find themselves gasping. Biggest climbs are to Sacsayhuaman and San Blas. It's a good idea to take a cab up and then walk down. Another issue is the weather. From the hours of 10am-2pm the temperature is usually balmy. Shorts and T-shirts will do. By mid-afternoon the temperature starts to drop. If its going to rain it usually does so in the late afternoon. That's time for lunch and siesta. By 5 or 6pm you will want one of those Alpaca sweaters. By nightfall, the down jackets come out.

Cusco for years suffered water shortages. Afternoons the water just vanished. I was told it had something to do with backflushing the system. For what ever reason you should get up early to shower. This seems to be improving a little. In fact, this is a problem in many Peruvian cities. Hence the numerous tanks on roofs. Even higher end hotels have the problem.