Being completely fed up with long bus rides we decided to take a plane from Arequipa to Cuzco, the “Rome of the Incas”, an absolutely stunning city. We landed in a valley at 3400m altitude, surrounded by mountains and the air a bit smokey, giving the whole place a very mythical atmosphere. Cuzco was a very important city in the Inca time, indeed ‘Qusqu’ means ‘bellybutton’ in Quechua and was the centre of the Inca Empire. Still today the city is absolutely amazing and is the meeting point for all the backpackers who are going to visit the Machu Picchu.
The center of Cuzco is a colonial treasure with many ancient Inca buildings, monasteries, colonial churches and cathedrals. Plenty of bars and restaurants, shops and a lot of party opportunities in the evening. We visited the beautiful main square (Plaza de Armas) and the Catedral de Cuzco which is one of the most important religious centres of all of Peru, several churches and Calle Loreto, a narrow perfectly preserved Inca street in the middle of the city (still with original stones).
We fell in love with the city of Cuzco. The city is very welcoming and we could have spent a whole week here just strolling around. However we only had a few days to get ready for the legendary 4-day Inca Trail hike to the MACHU PICCHU (see next post!).
Cathedral on main square
Central Cuzco
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas
Main market
Our favourites:
- Pariwana hostel – by far THE BEST HOSTEL in Cusco
- Greens Organic restaurant – amazing salads and Ceviche
- Incanto restaurant – great pastas
- Kintaro restaurant – Japanese!