Cusco

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco
August 21st 2008

Published: August 26th 2011

Edit Blog Post

Claire and Kev

Snow Covered Mountain

The Andes, taken from the bus on the journey to Cuzco

After our very relaxing stay in Las Olas we left Bolivia for Peru crossing the border at Puno which is on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. This time it was a day time bus as we didn't have far to travel.
Caroline and Rich were ahead of us in Cuzco so with the power of the internet we booked into the same hotel as them.
As we arrived at the hotel, they were waiting for us with some beers so a nice evening was had by all.
So we had a few days walking around the busy and very touristy Cuzco , also pricing a trip up to Machu Picchu. After much searching we figured out that a late hiking trip was way too expensive so we would get train up. We booked out trip via the travel agent in the hotel we were staying it, worked out half the price of a hike and included a overnight in Aqua Calentas, this is town that has grown up around the tourism of Machu Picchu, it located at the base of the hill where the ruins now lay. We would be getting the train up and down.
Cuzco is full of

Catheral

tourists, its the starting and end point for the Inca Trail and the entrance to the Sacred Valley. The are loads of bars, restaurants and shops here and the food, it must be said is some of the best in South America.
Also here is where we meet up with the lads from Kerry that we had been out with in Rio all those weeks ago. Kev had carried Andy's flip flops all the way around Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia and he was now happy to give them back to there rightful owner, so we all headed to the pub and got very drunk.

We did a day trip through the Scared Valley, we had a local market to visit, some Inca ruins and a couple of other nice towns with markets and locals selling all sorts of stuff. The Scared Valley is a real highlight of Cuzco, it one of the most picturesque parts of South America.

On to our trip up to Machu Pichuu, as we had a return train up and down, we were picked up from the hotel and driven to the bus station. The train journey up took a few hours but

The Main Square

it was another excellent view of the Sacred Valley. After arriving in Aqua Calentas we booked into our hotel for the night, now not blaming the girls but leaving Kevin and Richard alone for even 10mins didnt go down well, we ended up in a pub for the night, it was a long session which would be paid for the next day.
We got up early the next day to try get up to Machu Picchu for sunrise, it is a short 30min journey by bus. While we didn't get up for sun rise it didn't matter as the mountains were cover in mist.
Machu Pichuu is a amazing place to visit, perched about 3000m above sea level in the mountain jungle, it really is impressive to see this place, especially considering the Inca's didn't have a wheel.
We spent most of the day up there which included a 2 hour guided tour around the site. The sun came out and the hangover lifted.
All in all a excellent trip to Cuzco and the impressive Sacred Valley

Additional photos below

Photos: 45, Displayed: 24