Ancient Cuzco

Cuzco is without a doubt a touristy city and for obvious reasons considering that it's the most populated ancient city in the world. It's also the former capital of the Inca empire with many of the ruins still standing around Cuzco today - it's declared World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. Not to mention, it's the stopover city if one is heading to Machu Picchu, one of the wonders of the world. Cuzco is scenicly beautiful, located on the valleys with view of houses stretching all the way up. I haven't seen any city like it yet. On a clear blue sky day, the city looks gorgeous and outstanding with its narrow cobbled paths.

Open larger

La Compania de Jesus Church @ Cusco, Peru

Having said that, I haven't had any meaningful encounters yet. Perhaps I'm still adapting to the high altitude and trying to recover from the headache that I've been having the whole day, or maybe I'm just getting annoyed with the number of sellers trying to sell me stuff. There are several locals dressed up in traditional clothes with llamas in tow, asking tourists if they want to take photos with them for a fee. Local handicrafts (souvenirs, paintings, handiworks) are well done but being hassled almost constantly can get a tad tiring.

We booked 3 nights with Casonas Pleinenas @ San Blas, the artistic district of Cuzco. Due to the low season, our double room costs US$55/night. We have the room on the highest floor and probably the best to avoid the noise from nearby bars. Strangely we're not given the key to the front door and have to knock or ring the bell when we return. The B&B offers quite good buffet breakfast including cereal, ham and cheese, bread, cake and fruits, with coffee and tea. Coca tea is available the whole day and is considered a good remedy for altitude sickness.

Open larger

San Blas district @ Cusco, Peru

On Sunday we will have a road trip to Ollantaytambo before taking the train to Agua Calientes to stay the night. On Monday we will visit Machu Picchu and then take the train back to Cuzco. The cost of the trains is US$105/person while the entrance fee is S128/person (US$1 = 2.7 Soles).

It's definitely not a cheap city. Our first night our dinner @ a local restaurant, Pacha Papa cost us about US$35 - we each had pork stew and lamb stew with rice. Average main course here is US$10 while mid size beer is US$5 per bottle. Tip is not included in the bill and we still haven't figure out if it's customary to tip. Our cheapest meal so far was S30 for 2 persons (about US$12/person) but it wasn't very much a meal cos' the pasta was tasteless.

Communication is not as difficult as Guatemala since many locals do speak some English. Understandly, considering how tourism is a major economic activity here. There are many police officers checking the streets of Cuzco. Even then, we've read on guidebooks to be careful especially after dark. Markets and bus/train stations are the common place for mugging and pickpocketing.