The City of Cusco
and the Sacred Valley of the Incas
The city of Cuzco is located in the southeastern Andes. Its name in Quechua means "center of the world", from when it was the capital of the empire or Tahuantinsuyo (four regions). Legend has it that the city was founded by Manco Capac and Mama Occllo, who rose out of Lake Titicaca.
The Incan architectural legacy of Cuzco dates back to the 15th century and is attributed to the Inca Pachacutec (1438-1471), who built the city's most remarkable constructions, including fine stone carving, the perfect locking between stone blocks, and the trapezoidal design of entryways. These buildings include Sacsayhuaman, in the upper part of the city; the Korikancha (temple of the sun) on top of which the Spanish built the Santo Domingo convent; and on the street called Hatun Rumiyoc (two blocks from the main square), the wall that includes the famous 12-sided stone.
Following the arrival of the Spaniards, Cuzco became a mestizo and colonial city featuring splendid colonial constructions, built on top of Inca foundations, and which developed its own mestizo style of architecture and painting that can be seen in the Cathedral and the Compañia de Jesus church.
The city is known as the Archaeological Capital of the Americas. UNESCO declared Cuzco a World Heritage Site in 1983.
Altitude.
Cuzco: 3,360 masl (11,020 ft); Sacred Valley: 2,900 masl (9,512 ft)
How to Get There
- By air: daily flights from Lima (55 minutes), Arequipa (35 minutes), Puerto Maldonado (30 minutes) and La Paz, Bolivia (1 hour, flights every other day).
- By rail: from Puno, 384 km (238 miles) in 10 hours.
- Overland: by bus, from Lima via Nazca and Abancay, 1,131 km (701 miles) in 19 hours; from the city of Puno, 389 km (241 miles) in 6 hours; and from Arequipa, 528 km (327 miles) in 10 hours via Juliaca.
Lodging
Cuzco offers all categories of lodging, including five-star hotels with central heating and very good restaurants.
Activities.
Visits to archaeological sites, museums and churches, arts and crafts markets, experiential tourism, ecotourism, trekking, cycling excursions, river-rafting, mountain climbing, balloon rides, bungee jumping and horse-riding. Other features are the gastronomy, variety of popular fiestas and the traditional markets of Chincheros and Pisac.
Tourist Services.
Several categories of restaurants, rental of equipment for trekking, camping and rafting. Transport (car, bus), guided tours.
Minimum Length of Stay.
Three to four days for the main attractions in the city of Cuzco, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
Recommendations.
Visitors need to get used to the high altitude. Avoid any over-exertion for the first few hours; eat easily-digestible food and drink coca tea to ward off high-altitude sickness (soroche).
Attractions.
The Cathedral, the Compañia Church and Santo Domingo Convent, San Blas artists' quarter, Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park which includes Kenko, Puca Pucará and Tambomachay. The Sacred Valley includes the remarkable archaeological areas of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. The archaeological complex of Choquequirao is 185 km (114 miles) from Cuzco, with a main square, storage
buildings, terracing systems and ceremonial platforms. Season / Climate.There are two clearly-defined seasons: The dry season, from May to August, when the nights and early mornings are extremely cold (frosty); and the rainy season, which is from December to March.
Festivals
Easter Week (March / April, movable feast): Holy Monday, procession and blessing of the Lord of Earthquakes, patron of Cuzco.
- Corpus Christi (May / June, movable feast): procession of images of saints and virgins, patrons of the different parish churches.
Qoyllur Riti (May / June, movable feast): its name means Bright Star of Snow and is a blend of the ancient worship of the Apus or mountain gods with Catholic traditions. More than 50,000 people participate, dressed in the clothing typical of each of the different regions in the south, to the Sinacara Sanctuary. The pilgrims carry stones of different sizes up the mountainside to place them at the apacheta or rock pile, and return downhill carrying blocks of ice on their backs.
Inti Raymi (June 24): the staging of the feast of the Sun God, the supreme Inca deity, with folk dances and costumes on a grand scale.
Nuestra Señora del Carmen (July 16): folk dances in the town of Paucartambo.
Gastronomy
- Lawa: fresh maize and bean soup.
- Queso Kapchi: a cold dish of fresh cheese, lima beans, potatoes and onions, seasoned with milk and hot chili
pepper.
- Chicharron con Mote: pork fritters and fresh maize.
- Chiriuchu: roast chicken or guinea pig, served with an omelette of toasted corn flour, cheese, salt-dried meat,
rocoto chili pepper and algae.
Arts & Crafts.
The most important crafts include textiles woven on hand looms, pottery, silver jewelry, replicas of Cuzco School paintings, furs, carved and gilded wood, religious imagery (the Magi, Virgins, Christ Childs, and Archangels), and masks. The artists' quarter of San Blas is the center of most workshops, including of leading craftsmen such as the Edilberto Mérida, Antonio Olave, Jesus La Torre and the Mendivil family.
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