Cuzco
From World travel guide
Cuzco (also "Cusco", or "Qosqo" in Quechua style), located in the Southern Sierras, is one of Peru's most touristed cities.
Contents |
Understand
The Tourist Office is in the Plaza de Armas.
Get in
By Plane
The airport is at the edge of the city (taxi ride). There are daily internal flights to and from Lima, Arequipa and small jungle airstrips in the Amazon basin. The closest main international airport is Lima. The cheapest one way flights to Lima cost around USD 70. Frequently, bad weather conditions can cause flights to be cancelled, often up to two days on end. If you are flying straight into Cuzco, beware of altitude sickness for the first couple of days.
By Bus
Buses are plentiful from other Peruvian cities like Lima, Puno, Arequipa etc, but are quite long and slow, although the views can compensate. The main roads are quite good, but some can be bad, making trips take longer than expected.
By Rail
There are some, limited rail connections from Cuzco, though they're mostly just for more upmarket tourists who want a bit of comfort and class.
Cuzco - Lake Titicaca
PeruRail [1] connects Cuzco to Juliaca and Puno ($16.66 Tourist/Backpacker class, $119 Andean Explorer class, both one-way), and the journey is one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world, passing both through amazing scenery and the middle of small towns.
Having said that, there are two distinct disadvantages to taking the train:
- The price (it's significantly cheaper by bus)
- The journey time (it's also significantly shorter by bus)
The journey should take 10 hours, but there are often delays. The 'scenic stop' included at La Raya is a bit of a waste of time, though it's included anyway.
Cuzco - Machu Picchu
It's certainly worth walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and there are numerous tour companies through which you can do this. However on the way back instead of taking the bus, you could also take the train (though, as stated above, it's more expensive and a longer journey time). A one-way trip on PeruRail [2] will set you back $59.50 Vistadome class, $41.65 Backpacker class. This journey takes about 4 hours if you go the whole way, but most people coming back from Machu Picchu get off at Poroy from where they take a connecting bus. This will save you a considerable amount of time (around 45 minutes) as shortly after this station the train does some strange backwards/forwards manouvers to cross up/down a steep slope.
Get Around
The centre of Cuzco is small enough to walk around, although you will probably need to catch a bus or taxi to the bus station, Sacasyhuaman or airport. Beware about walking around at night alone and/or drunk, robberies have often been reported.
Taxis are very common in Cuzco. Officially they cost 2-4 soles depending on distance. Call Alo Cusco Taxis http://www.alocusco.com Often many drivers are not locals. Beware when using taxis at night; robberies have been reported in collusion with taxi cab drivers, at certain times radio taxis may be the safest option.
See
- Visit nearby ruins. The largest of these ruins is the amazing Inca Sacsayhuaman (sometimes called Saqsaywaman and Sexy Woman) ruins high above Cuzco. Be careful, as robberies have been reported in mornings and evenings. Other ruins up the road from Sacsayhuaman include Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay.
Amazing Inca walls at Sacsayhuamán
- Visit the local markets; great bargains are available to tourists willing to haggle with friendly locals.
- Walk around the Plaza de Armas; the square has churches, shops, restaurants and bars backing on to it and is a great place to spend an afternoon.
- Galleries; the stunning sceneries of the Cuzco area are often very well depicted by local artists. You can find cheap prints that are of surprisingly good quality if you shop about.
- Go out to the many clubs; in the summer clubs are falling over themselves to get tourists in and often hand out free drinks vouchers to entice.
Buy
Cusco is quite an expensive city, you´ll get an idea of prices by listening to the locals barter. There is a market called Molino, which is in Wanchanq, close to the national bus terminal where things are a bit cheaper. But when it´s crowded, keep your bags in front of you and if you feel anything like a pick pocket, react quickly. This is the advice from a local lady, however for me by staying alert and keep looking around, nothing happened to me yet.
In Molino, they were selling Mini DV cassettes for my sony handycam for locals they are S/12 for tourists they tried to charge S/35 each! In the Plaza de Armas they are S/25. Just tell them my friend said they are S/12 ;)
If you want cheap cheap touristy stuff, go to one of the two Saturday and Sunday morning markets in Juliaca, Puno. They are about 1/3 the price of Cuzco.
Also in Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu prices can be the double of what they are in Cusco.
The further away you get from the main square, they cheaper things become, although there is a mini-mart next to the big church in the main square that is cheaper than in my hotel, then there is the San-Pedro market where bread is s/0.10 and a glass of combination juices is s/1.50 and they give you like 2-4 refils. Don´t go too far from the main square at night though, it can be dangerous.
When you go on the "Sacred Valley" (Vallé Sagrado), there is lots of touristy stuff to buy, you can barter, but the prices won´t go down much.
There is another market called Molina, you have to take a taxi and it costs s/4 to get there. In this market you can buy heaps of illegal merchandise, DVDs, CDs etc. A good quality copy DVD is s/8, or you can by 5 VCDs for s/10.
Eat
The Cuzco area has some extremely good international food with tasty options for all budgets. Best pizza ever at the end of the Av. Cultura. There's no need going to the expensive restaurants (which often only serve foreign food anyway), go to the restaurants that serve local food. Be sure to try an alpaca steak (don't forget a llama/alpaca is normally kept and used for it's wool - so only old animals will be slaughtered. But cuy (guinea pig) is the absolute traditional holiday food of the region. A must when visiting a market is to enjoy, in the cold season, "once frozen" / cooked potatoes.
Food quality on the whole is good in Cuzco; hygiene can however be rather lacking in places. Be wary of food like burgers - although cheap, this is not a local speciality.
- There are huge and cheap breakfasts at Yaku Mama at the end of the Gringo Alley.
- The sister restaurant Yaku Mama Grill on Plaza de Armas has some really good dinners, and a cheerful English-speaking waitress called Yolanda, but is a bit short on the alpacas.
- Joe's Cafe by the South American Explorers clubhouse at Choquechaca 188 (on the corner) serves fantastic food.
- The absolute place though is MAMA Amerika (former Mama Africa) which actually is everything on 3 levels: snack, cafe (rooftop), restaurant (with a good cheap menu), 2 discos, the latest movies on DVD. Some of the decorations and paintings are by the owner/artist.
- The Crossed Keys Pub looking onto the central square is a pub serving European food to tourists.
Sleep
- Orquidea Real, Calle Alabado 520, www.orquidea.net.The colonial building has original Inca walls and exposed wood beams, and the rustic accommodations are simply decorated in a cozy mountain lodge aesthetic. All rooms are oriented toward Cusco below, offering panoramic views.
- Hospedaje Estrellita, Av. Tullumayo 445, good and save, ca. US$ 3.50 including breakfast, free use of the kitchen, many gringos.
- Hotel El Balcon, a short distance from Plaza de Armas, awesome interior design, delicious breakfast and moderate prices.
- San Blas - 4 blocks from Plaza de Armas - where very many new hospedajes/hostales have opened.
- Gran Hostal Machu Picchu
- LOKI Backpackers Hostel, a new hostel set up by 4 backpackers in a 450 years old peruvian national monument. Much more information about the hostel and cusco in www.lokihostel.com.
- Hostal Familiar, Calle Saphi 661, three blocks from Plaza de Armas. Singles go for $8.00 @ night with private bathroom + hot water.
Drink
There are many pubs in cuzco, and there are always people handing out flyers around the Plaza de Armas. These usually include free drinks. The "hot-spots" change nightly; ask around and you will quickly find the crowds of travellers.
- Mama America, this is a popular place in Cuzco, a lot of people, good music, good atmosphere and free salsa lessons
Stay Safe
- Drugs - Drugs are very cheap in Peru, but you must consider that the law is very severe in Peru - that is, years in prison and no pleasure. Consider that many "long resident tourists" are part of the scene. It is already a felony that you "consider to maybe accept" an offer to buy.
- Water Rafting - Although the water is of dubious health value, the trips offered are very tame and certainly don't offer tourists good value for money. Cuzco, full of Incan history, has much more to offer than this and one would be well advised not to bother with it.
Get Out
- Visit the colourful market and climb to the castle ruins in Pisac.
- Visit Ollantaytambo and it's fortress.
- See Machu Picchu - the atmospheric ruin perched below the Andes and above the jungle. Even better, walk there on the Inca Trail.
External links
- Cuzco travel and tourism guide Travel site offering news and updates on Cuzco travel
