Cusco
We arrived in Cusco on a sunny afternoon after another long, overnight bus ride from Lima (via Cruz del Sur). It was the end of the trip, and we were less meticulous with our planning so we had no reservations. We hopped in a cab and said, “the center of town please.” From there, we wandered into a hostel that looked pretty nice and asked for a room. They had one, for one night, which we took.
Prior to arriving in Cusco, we were told stories of travelers who had gotten sick from the altitude; we were currently at 11,150 feet. I’m not sure if it was the gradual ascend via the bus ride, or our pre-exposure via our Colombian Paramo hike, but neither of us seemed to be affected by the altitude.
Our first order of business was to finalize our trek. Walking the streets of Cusco, one would see that there are many, many trek opportunities. Biking trips, jungle hikes, the Incan trail, all of which end in Machu Picchu. A while back, my sister had worked with a local conservation group, Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinoa ECOAN, to set up treks through the preserved landscapes of the Sacred Valley. I felt that if we set up a trip with ECOAN, we would have a more unique experience while putting our dollars towards a good cause. We met at their office in downtown Cusco to finalize the planning. Most of the trips they had organized in the past had been for wealthy donors or fancy birders, and we quickly realized that they were not used to two trekkers willing to carry all of our own food and sleeping gear. We cut out the extra packhorses, the personal chef, and the tent rental, and got the budget down to an agreeable amount. We now had two days to see Cusco before embarking on our adventure.
On our first full day in Cusco we moved into the Niños’ hotel, one of my trip favorites. Niños is situated in an old, Spanish-style building with a lovely center courtyard. The hotel café makes a delicious brunch with homemade bread and preserves. The hotel, which is priced more like a hostel, was created to support local children. Each day, the bakery makes several loaves of bread, which they slice and hang in a basket by the front door. School children will pop in from time to time to grab some slices of bread for an afternoon snack. It was adorable.
After we settled in, we caught a free walking tour, which met in the center of town. Our guide showed us around the center square, telling stories of the city’s bloody history. We learned about the churches and the Incan temples. We took a walk down the city streets to study the Incan craftsmanship and the twelve-sided stone. We looked for symbolism built into the city walls. Our guide pointed out the three sacred animals formed with stone: snake, puma, and condor. Lastly, we visited the local market where we warned to eat the food with caution (as most travelers tend to get a bit tummy sick). That night, we bundled up and headed to a lovely dinner.
The next morning, we decided to take some time to get to know a few of the museums. Our favorite was Qoriqancha, one of the most important Incan temples. According to stories recorded by the Spaniards, this temple was one of the Incas’ most opulent, with vast amounts of gold decorating the interior. After the fall of the Empire, the Spanish converted the temple to a convent. Not only was it beautiful, it had such an interesting history, not to mention stunning city views.
We then headed over to the artists’ district, San Blas, and picked up some delicious pies at a local coffee shop. Since we were leaving for our trek the next day, we wandering through the many shops selling alpaca goods to stock up on warm hats, mittens, sweaters and socks. I imagine the clouds in heaven feel something like double-layered Alpaca socks. Since we were waking up before the sun, we headed back to Niños for an early night.
Planning to do a trek – check out ours for ideas!
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