Cusco — Travels — Open Corners

Favorite Corners - Cusco

Cusco, known as the navel and capital city of the Inca world, and one of the highest places we’ve ever been. To put things into context, the Rocky Mountain city of Banff sits at 1,397 meters above sea level. Machu Picchu is at the top of a mountain and sits at 2,430 meters. And then there’s Cusco, sitting even higher than both of those places at 3,400 meters. The air is much thinner and dryer, so we had to take it easy our first few days which was very hard because there is much to see and do here.

Jenny WongDecember 17, 2018Peru, Cusco, Favorite Corners

Alleyways of Cusco

Cusco is one of those beautiful cities where getting lost really doesn’t matter too much. There’s no glass skyscrapers or polluting highways here. Just narrow alleyways chock full of little stores, restaurants, and surprises. There are also stairs (so many stairs…), but a terrific view is always around the corner if you ever need an excuse to take a little break.

Jenny WongDecember 10, 2018Peru, Cusco

Machu Picchu

I hope that the posts up to this point have shown that there is more to Cusco and Peru than Machu Picchu. That said, do NOT miss Machu Picchu. The name means “old mountain”, but it’s probably better known as the lost city of the Incas. Unlike other Inca sites around Cusco, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu and it remained pretty much untouched and forgotten for over 300 years.

Jenny WongDecember 3, 2018Peru, Day Trip, Cusco

Sacsayhuaman

Located a 30 minute walk uphill from the main square in Cusco (which can be quite a breathless march when dealing with the altitude), Sacsayhuaman was one of our favorite sites to explore on this trip. The Quechuan name translates to “Satisfied Falcon”, but most English speaking tourists remember it phonetically as “sexy woman”. The main attractions here are the spectacular views of Cusco and the long jagged fortifications, but it pays to take a few steps away from the crowds and explore what other things have been left to find.

Jenny WongNovember 21, 2018Cusco, Peru

Food Fridays - Cusco

This was our first time in South American, and up to this point, we haven’t had much exposure to Peruvian cuisine. But now, we can definitely say that food in Cusco is seriously good and seriously fresh. Guidebooks can list all of the tasty foods to try, but that only hints at the flavors ours taste buds will encounter. We fell in love with papaya juice, battled altitude sickness with coca tea, and discovered that even the tiny little quinoa, when done right, can blow your mind.

Jenny WongNovember 9, 2018Peru, Cusco, Food Fridays

The Llamas of Sacsayhuaman

While working on the post for Sacsaywaman (coming soon), I discovered that some of our most memorable moments, and about a third of our pictures, were of our interactions with some adorable four-legged, two-toed grass-grazers. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve had a good animal post, so, without further ado, here are the Llamas of Sacsaywaman.

Jenny WongNovember 4, 2018Peru, Cusco

Moray & Chinchero

There are two stops featured in this post. First, the agricultural terraces of Moray which are stunning to behold and give new meaning to the words “crop circles”. The second stop we hit was a little town called Chinchero which swirls with rumors both past and present.

Jenny WongOctober 28, 2018Peru, Cusco, Day Trip

Ollantaytambo

When we first entered Ollantaytambo, our gaze turned upwards to stare at the massive terraces towering towards the sky. There are plenty of Inca sites to visit around Cusco, and each one has their own historical significance or architectural marvel. The name of this site literally means “resting place of Ollantay”. Legend says that Ollantay was an Inca warrior who shared a forbidden love with an Inca princess.

Jenny WongOctober 22, 2018Cusco, Day Trip, Peru

Salineras of Maras

Salt has been collected in this area since before the Incas (although it is said that they are the ones that turned it into a more enterprising venture). We’ve seen salt pans before, carved along rocky sea shores, sea water evaporating into white crystals. However, we're in the middle of the Andes mountains, nowhere near an ocean. Where does the salt come from?

Jenny WongOctober 17, 2018Day Trip, Peru, Cusco

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