Breathless In Cusco

From Cusco '06

I´ve spent about 5 days now in Cusco (Peru) with a trip to Machu Picchu sandwiched in-between which I´ll get to in another post. If I´ve done the math right, Cusco stands at about 10,000 ft up in the Andes. Needless to say, walking around and exploring takes a little more out of you than at sea level. It turns out to be a good training ground because Machu Picchu is actually a thousand feet or so below Cusco. I remind myself of this every time I make the ascent to my hostal which is conveniently perched on one of the steeper inclines above the main square of Cusco. But, aside from a headache on the first day, I´ve manged to acclimate pretty well.

Cucso is the main jumping off point to Machu Picchu and the rest of the Sacred Valley points, thus it´s tourist central but not in a bad way. It´s a very quaint mountain town with a bit of European flair to it (sans European economy). The homes or businesses are mostly in Spanish style architecture while streets are invariably cobblestone and narrow. There are numerous plazas around which most of the shops and restaurants are built. The main square is Plaza de Armas from where everything else eminates. The Plaza de Armas has a nice park in the middle, surrounded by numerous restaurnts and stores and bookended by a couple museums and churches. No chains stores are to be found as everything seems locally owned. I´ve tried a couple different restaurnts and thankfully found a couple that serve great food in good portions for pretty cheap.


There is Inca culture here too as Cusco was once the capital of the Inkan Empire that stretched from Colombia to Chile. Many of the buildings still have Inkan stonework as their base. There are a number of Incan historical sites within a few miles of the city as well as futher out into the Sacred Valley. The sheer size of the Inkan empire is incredible, but their construction is even more so. Many of these sites are massive with very detailed and sizeable buildings, fortresses, etc. Incan life is still celebrated and embraced here. I´ve learned that the term Inca (or Inka) is actually misleading. The people are actually Q´uechua with their own language of the same name which is still spoken locally. The Inca was the king of the Q´uechans of which there were supposedly nine during the realm of the empire before they were conquered by the Spanish.


Unfortunately, as in Lima, there is also a lot of poverty. Tourism is the main business and there are plenty of stores to support it. But, it seems a lot of the native inhabitants of the area still live in sub-standard conditions. This is not as apparent in the touristy areas. But, after you get out about a dozen blocks or so it becomes much more apparent. There seems to be a push for local business owners to hire indigenous Q´uechua people and treat/pay them fairly as it seems this was not the norm previously.

Cusco (Q´osqo in Q´uechua) is a good base from which to explore the rest of the area. It´s also been worth exploring on its own. There are hostals, hotels, restaurants and shops for all budget levels. I think I found the deal of the year at my hostal. I have my own room with hardwood floors, a nice bathroom, a shared courtyard, free breakfast and a friendly staff all for US $14 per night. I´ve also managed to eat a couple pretty good meals at various places around town for just $10 a day.

But, I think I´ve done all I can here. I head back to Chicago tomorrow for a week or so. On to Sydney in about 10 days. Stay tuned for a post on my visit to the incredible Machu Picchu in the next day or so.