Cool things to do in cusco Peru is and always will be a jewel. Jewel is several aspects. First of all, its people. The Peruvian is a cheerful, jovial, committed and very friendly person. Second, its food. Peru has been awarded many times as one of the best foods in the world and lately, one of the famous restaurants, Central, has won the award for the best restaurant in the world. We continue with the Inca legacy that translates into its traditions and great archaeological monuments in different areas of the country, especially in the south. We cannot leave aside, the diversity of cities that extend throughout the territory with an example of Lima, its capital; cosmopolitan city that offers great entertainment, the very colonial old part and its modern and bohemian areas, all bathed by the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
Talking about Cusco
The Incas considered Cusco to be the “navel of the world”, capital of the Empire and the center from which lines of spiritual power, or “ceques” radiated to all key points of their cosmological universe.
Magic city, with a life of its own, full of charm in every corner. Churches, nearby monuments, colors, aromas and flavors. Cusco is that and much more including its bars and restaurants and an intense night life.
Cuzco and the surrounding area contain extensive Inca ruins that reflect great skill in engineering, stonework, and architecture. Still extant are numerous walls built without mortar; their stones were cut in irregular shapes and fitted with such precision that a matchbox cover cannot be inserted into most seams.
Cusco, was built on layers of cultures. The Tawantinsuyu (former Inca Empire) was built on Killke structures. The Spanish replaced indigenous temples with Catholic churches, and Inca palaces with mansions for the invaders. Cusco was the center for the Spanish colonization and spread of Christianity in the Andean world.
Top attractions and local Delights
With its experiential Sacred Valley that includes towns and experiences as specific as Pisac, Chinchero, Maras, Moray, Ollantaytambo and so on.
These villages are the way to the most enigmatic and full of emotional citadel, the seventh wonder of the modern world, Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu
There is so much to say about the Inca citadel; the lost city, the gem of Inca archaeology.
Embedded within a dramatic landscape at the meeting point between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin, the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is among the greatest artistic, architectural and land use achievements anywhere and the most significant tangible legacy of the Inca civilization.
Machu Picchu’s famed Temple of the Sun. Mountains were sacred to the Incas, so this particularly high mountaintop dwelling would have had a special, spiritual significance. So much so, Incas even came to regard this imperial city as the center of the universe.
The origin of Machu Picchu is attributed with some certainty to Pachacutec. Likely built as a refuge for elite members of Inca aristocracy, the fortress was constructed on the eastern slopes of the Vilcanota mountain range, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Cusco, the capital of the empire.
Some sayings of the Citadel
“Few romances can ever surpass that of the granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land. (Hiram Bigham)
“In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no other place in the weld which can compare with it.” (Hiram Bigham)
“All man must live in Machu Picchu for some time! Over there, you will be closer to the universe and you will realize how trivial you are in this chaotic cosmos. Science is the only power which will make you bigger and more significant in this universe!” – Mehmet Murat ildan
Pisac town and ruins
Pisac is one of the most vibrant villages in the Sacred Valley. They do have its handicraft market in its main square, under centennial trees.
After Machu Picchu, without exaggerating, Pisac Ruins was one of the most photogenic places we’ve visited in Peru. In the lower third of this hill there are about twenty Inca terraces, the paved road enters through there in the ravine; this group of terraces is called Chaka Chimpa which means “on the other side of the bridge”; in the upper third of the hill there is a natural formation with a human figure that looks like a peasant woman with a montera and a bundle on her back.
Chinchero and Maras
Beautiful experience visiting Inca towns with living history and ancestral textile with genuine costumes. Mara’s place where water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream and a spectacular archaeological place and agricultural laboratory.
Ollantaytambo
This is famous for its Inca archaeological site. There you can see amazing stone constructions such as: the Temple of the Sun, the Royal House of the Sun, and was used as a checkpoint to control access to the Sacred Valley.
There is also the South Valley with Tipón, Piquillacta and Andahuaylillas, Vinicunca, Palcollo, the Humantay lagoon and so much more.
