Not for nothing is Cusco one of Peru’s most visited cities and also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a fascinating city located in the Southern Sierras and is a starting point to travel to various Incan sites in the region. The flight from Lima to Cusco is only about an hour, but the descent down into the Cusco airport is one of the scariest I have ever sat through.
The Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport at Cusco (10,800 ft above sea level) is flanked by mountains on all sides and usually experiences bad weather for most parts of the year. Touch down at Cusco usually requires the pilot to make very steep, bumpy and sudden manoeuvres. But once you are safely on the ground, the sights and sounds of Cusco almost make you feel like you have travelled a few hundred years back in time.
Cusco is a bustling town that has very well preserved Spanish colonial architecture, plenty of Incan ruins and delectable food. The city itself is very easy to navigate — you can walk to most places or simply jump into any of the easily available and reasonably priced taxis. Most of the shops, restaurants, bars and touristy places can be found all around the main square — Plaza De Aramas. This main square seems untouched for the last several centuries and the white statue of Christ overlooking the entire city on top of a nearby hill adds an almost magical flavour to it.
Cusco has plenty of things to offer to tourists, my favorite being — the museums (Museo Historico Regional and Museo de Arte Popular), the archeological sites (Sacsayhuamán, Qenko, Pukapukara and Tambomachay), foods (try eating at a chifa, which is a Peruvian style Chinese food or if you are missing Indian food simply go to the Maikhana restaurant) and shopping (everything from cheap souvenirs, Peruvian fruits, wool products and beautiful paintings is easily available). A trip to Peru cannot be complete without trying out the famous Inca Kola which is a tutti fruiti Peruvian soft drink that outsells even Coca Cola in Peru!
For those with adventurous gastronomic tendencies you might want to taste the grilled alpaca or Llama kebabs. There is so much to see and do in Cusco that you need to spend at least two days here to leisurely see everything.
Next stop was Machu Picchu. Reaching the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu is in itself quite a trip. You have to first take a 20 soles ride in a small Peruvian taxi from your hotel in Cusco to the train station. What follows is a 3.5 hours train ride to Machu Picchu onboard the bright blue coloured Peru Rail Hiram Bingham train. I would highly recommend that you get the Vista Dome Seats with the glass tops because the view is simply exhilarating. Perfect for couples on a honeymoon!
Although the Hiram moves at an excruciatingly slow pace, time simply flies with all the treats being served onboard — different types of Peruvian wine, cusqueña beer and exotic fruits (like camu camu and the local mango). Keep an eye out for all the hawkers that come to the train windows trying to sell corn with some of the most gigantic kernels that I have seen in my life. When you think that you have finally reached Machu Picchu, you are then informed that you have only reached Aguas Caliente and there is still a 20 minutes bus ride up to Machu Pichu. Most people start to groan at this point. But what you see at the end of the bus ride makes it all worthwhile.
Discovered by the American archeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu are one of the most captivating and mysterious sites in South America. Nothing can prepare you for Machu Picchu. No matter how many pictures or videos of Machu Picchu you might have seen, you have to be physically standing at the entrance to the ruins at 10,000 feet above the sea level to truly appreciate their beauty and magnificence. You can’t help wonder how the Incas managed to build something so glorious in the middle of nowhere.
While packing for Machu Picchu, make sure you have plenty of sunscreen lotion and comfortable walking shoes.