Cusco is often thought of as the stop along the way to Machu Pichu that perhaps has some cool things to see along the way. In the weeks to come we will have seen a number of ruins around Peru and yet it is still the city of Cusco that is most striking to me. Far from the popular ruins there is something about this city that makes it hard to leave.
This is the second trip here for both of us. And since we both loved it last time we decided to stay for a couple of weeks and do some language school. Our timing was also pretty spot on as we arrived in time for Corpus Christi in our first week, which was followed by Octava the following week.
As this is a place of ruins, I'm going to start there, where we did, in Pisac.
The village of Pisac lies about 45min to an hour away from Cusco, depending how you get there. Sunday's has for a long time now (since I was here last at least) been market day and the tourists will flood in from Cusco to see the markets as well as visit the ruins, 600m above town.
Initially occupied by pre-Incan civilisation, these ruins demonstrate the terracing used to cultivate various plants and vegetables but in places they are also used for ornamental garden beds. When I came here last time there was barely a handful of tourists at the ruins themselves, no signs or entry fees, and the ruins were free to explore. This was our first experience of the increasing popularity of Cusco and surrounds, not only by the number of tourists, but of hte conservation work being put in place to protect these valuable sites.
The following weekend we started our visits into other parts of the Sacred Valley, which lies between Cusco and Machu Pichu. First stop was Ollantaytambo.
This has to be one of my favourite ruins. The city is one of the most well preserved cities from Incan times with many of the original walls still standing or have been built upon and reinforced. This city was created in the shape of a Llama and from across the valley you can start to see it.
We had actually had a week between here and the next to sites but you can actually see them all in one go so I'll include them here. The first one is Salineras
A naturally occurring warm salt spring arises from the top of this little hill. Starting out in the 1400s, the locals made shallow tanks and directed the water the fill these tanks sequentially. Once one was full, the gutter was blocked and diverted to the next. The water would then evaporate and the salt collected. The number of pools have expanded but are still in heavy use.
And our final stop in the Sacred Valley was Maras. This site has been shown to have been essentially a laboratory where vegetables were accustomed to new altitudes. The story goes that this area was able to produce significant micro-climate changes on the terraces, so that a vegetables that wouldn't normally grow at certain altitudes were taught to grow properly by slowly moving them up the terraces each year.
In between these trips to ruins we had the great pleasure to see to festivals. Corpus Christi is a procession of the local saints from each church making there way into the Cathedral. It seems this celebration is a mix of Incan ideology and tradition and Catholicism that was enforced upon them at the arrival of the Spanish. Whilst the delivery of the saints is one part of the festival, the main part appears to be about the celebration of food and drink.
The day prior to the procession, a band practices and gets caught in the rain
The emptiest the plaza will be for a few days, just after a rain fall
The day prior to the festival, the markets set up in the next plaza over from the main plaza (Plaza de Armas). Here, every stall is essentially selling the same thing. Chiriuchu! This is a cold plate that consits of cuy (guinea pig), chicken, tortilla, corn, seaweed, and a variety of fish eggs. And at each corner is a massive van selling beer. Corpus Christi is a public holiday but it seems the day off starts a little earlier from about lunch the day prior and the beer vans seem to run out sometime into the night.
Cuy
Joining the locals for a spot of warm beer from plastic cups on the steps of the plaza
The Cathedral, ready to receive the saints the next day
The procession and the crowds
To get a seat here, you had to be here very early
Of course I couldn't do a Cusco post without mentioning Machu Picchu, it is afterall one of the most famous attractions in the world. And rightly so.
We planned to stay in Aguas Callientes the night before so we could be up for sunrise. A lot has changed. This little mountain town was once a small road and few buildings, and a train station. When Claire was here last there wasn't even a paved road. Now the town has exploded with hotels and restaurants everywhere. It's also become fashionable to called it Machu Picchu Pueblo.
Anyway, we linned up bright and early with several hundred others to get the bus up to this ancient city. And the first look in is AMAZING!
Since we had both been here before, we planned to hike the Machu Picchu Mountain. But that still left us with a bit of time to take a wander around and meet some of the current locals.
Claire and Machu Picchu in the background, halfway up
About 10am we started out accent to the top of Macchu Picchu mountain. It's about 650m above the ruins. We had to book tickets in advance and could either start between 9 and 10, or 7 and 8. We thought starting later would have been good but we severely underestimated the heat.
The views were awesome though and we continued to push on up the mountain, finally reaching it a little before 12. Note that small town down there is Machu Pichu.
When you go to Cusco these days you must buy a Boleto Touristico (Tourist card) to see the sites. You can buy individual sites or a pass to allow you to see many over 10 days. Having bought it on our first day when we went to Pisac, we were keen to see some more ruins before it ran out and we went to find to ruins around the city.
Tambomachay
Four ruins lie close to town, the furthest being 8km from the centre. We hopped on a local bus out to this furthest one after lunch one day and started wandering back. These are also easily seen on tours but it's the countryside that we enjoyed as much as the ruins.
Puca Pucara
Sacsayhuaman
Of these ruins, Sacsayhuaman has to be a favourite. The sheer size of the stones, some more than 3 tones, all perfectly arranged. Like Ollantatambo, Cusco is shaped as an animal and this site is also the head of the puma. Unfortunately, only about 20% of this site remains after the majority of the stones were taken by the Spanish to build their churches in town.
View over Cusco from Sacsayhuaman
Sunset over the plaza
Cusco is a place that you just need to visit. Between the ruins, the architecture, the people, and the pisco, it really is a fabulous place to spend some time.
35 893 Km (14011Km Flights, 8026Km Sailing, 13 576Km Bus, 112km Hiking, 18Km Horse riding, 150Km Train)