Cusco

Cusco is one of my favourite cities in the world.

The two and a half days here before beginning the Inca Trail felt far too short.  The main square is beautiful, the place feels safe and the surrounding archeological sites have made it the main drawcard for Peru. Despite the huge numbers of tourists Cusco retains its charm and more often than not there is an unexpected event taking place in the Plaza de Armas.  While we were there it was the anniversary of the Cusco bank and the square was set up for displays of traditional dancing. Later the same day there was a large group of pro-life activists with a smaller pro-choice protest nearby.

Our favourite restaurant was a small place close to our hotel that had a clay pizza oven. It had great character and the pizzas and enchiladas were great.

On our first full day in Cusco we did a day trip to the sacred valley where we visited the archeological sites of Ollantaytambo, Pisac and Moray, all stunning sites.  Moray was particularly fascinating as it was a series of circular terraces used to adapt and study plants and seeds that would not normally grow at that altitude. The Inca society really was an advanced civilisation.

The last stop of the day was the salt pans of Moras.  During the dry season the 5000 salt pans are flooded with the warm salt water that flows from within the mountain.  20 days later the salt is ready to be harvested; the top layer for human consumption, the next layer for animals and the bottom layer for tanning. It is a huge operation and it was great to hear that it is owned and run by the local community. The salt from this stream had been mined for over 4000 years.

The next morning felt like a sleep-in as we set out alarms for 7am.  We took taxis up to the ruins above Cusco and walked down through four archeological sites, the most impressive of which was Saqsayhuaman. This site is incredible with phenomenal stonework and huge stones, the largest of which weighs around 130 tons. Fortunately many of these were too large for the invading Spanish to pillage for their own constructions, although they did destroy the towers that once stood at the highest point.
We had an excellent guide, possibly the best we have had on the trip. His English was limited but he made an effort where he could and I translated the rest.

What an awesome place, I could easily spend a few weeks here.