If you're visiting Peru, there's no way you can get away with not spending a couple of days in Cusco.
First of all, it's literally the gateway to Machu Picchu. It's the closest airport. Also, all travel agents suggest spending a day or so in Cusco to acclimatise to the elevation before going to Machu Picchu.
While trip planning, I wasn't that kicked about wasting spending time in Cusco. That one extra day could have been spent elsewhere, I thought - maybe an extra day in Machu Picchu?
But, all the warnings about altitude sickness made me think I should accept the travel agent's advice. After all, I've never been much higher than sea level before. I had no clue how my body would tolerate an altitude of 2500m above sea level.
So, I spent a day in Cusco. And came to really like the place. True, it was a rainy day, and a lot of the sight-seeing was marred by the poor weather. But the city is really pretty, and I discovered that it was good I was cautious about the change in altitude. The moment I got off the plane in Cusco (flying in from Lima), I found myself breathing heavily and with a slight headache.
So yeah, I was grateful to have a fairly mellow day to acclimatise to the altitude hanging out in a pretty city.
Here are some photos of the city. Click on the photos to view in full size.
Apart from hanging around the city square and roaming around the city, I also visited an old church - the church of San Blas. This church is stunning and I loved all the interiors. Photography is not allowed inside, but here's one I found on the web of the altar.
Gorgeous!
Outside of Cusco too, there are some great places to see. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad, and with my headache and just generally feeling poor, I didn't have the motivation to take too many photos.
One place where the sun peeked out a bit was Sacsayhuaman (pronounced sexy woman). This place was an important military base of the Incas, and is one of the must-visit places if you are in Cusco.
Unfortunately, it poured continuously for more than an hour, and it was pretty much a wash out for me.
This is the only photo I have of the place.
So, this was the one day I spent in Cusco. In summary, my day was like this:
- Visit Sacsayhuaman (spent 2 hours just hanging out there waiting for a break in the rain. Total waste of time!
- Return back to the city. Hang out at San Pedro market. This is a local market selling fruits, vegetables, meats etc. Nice to hang out. Tasted some fruits and breads (breads here are made with pork fat in them, so not a good idea if you're a vegetarian 😔).
- Visit the cathedral of San Blas. Beautiful place, very nice mix of Spanish and Inca style.
- Walk around the city a bit. Then, visit Coricancha - this is an old Inca temple, which is now a museum. Quite interesting!
- Roamed a little bit more - sampling Peruvian chocolate, coca tea (tea made from coca leaves - incidentally cocaine is also made from this plant), and then finally ending the day with dinner at a small restaurant close by to the hotel, before calling it a night.
I have read many travel blogs where people spent a week or more in Cusco. I'm not sure I would have wanted to spend so much time there. That said, this is a really cool place to visit, and I enjoyed my day there. Would I have wanted to extend it? Maybe another additional day as well.
But, with my limited time, I think I am quite happy with all that I managed to see in a day.
