Cultural tour of Peru: Cusco and Pisac

After a night of stay at the Quito airport (which shall I say was surprisingly good), I flew into Cusco bright and early. After dosing myself with some coffee, I quickly drop off my bag and started sightseeing.

The ancient city of Cusco has more than 900 years of history way before the time of the Incas. Aside from being famous for the close access to the Sacred Valley and the Macchu Picchu, the city itself also worth a few days exploring. Sites like the Qorikancha (or Convento de Santo Domingo) and Saksaywaman showed material history from the Pre-Inca period all the way to the Spanish conquest. Even the streets and public squares of Cusco have their own Spanish-Inca mixed style. Be warned, at more than 11000 feet high cruising around the hilly city of Cusco requires you to be in decent shape. Otherwise, you may find yourself making coffee shop runs frequently just to sit down (which is not a bad idea either way).

Main square Plaza de Armas.

Streets of Cusco.

Qorikancha

A woman at the Quechua museum demonstrating woven techniques.

Making marks at Saksaywaman!

View from Saksaywaman

Overlooking and protecting the city of Cusco.

Another renowned feature of Cusco is its constant festival atmosphere. A local joked to me that unless its Sunday after 10pm, Cusco is always celebrating something. True its form, there was some sort of a festival every single day while I was in Cusco.

One of the celebrations that I saw.

Alcohol usually is one of the main features at these festivals. The famous brand here is Cusqueña, produced by the only factory in town.

To prepare myself for Macchu Picchu, I took a “collectivo” to go to the nearby city of Pisac in the Sacred Valley. Famous for its archeological site and markets (and recently Ayahuasca) Pisac is a busy town on Sundays. Feeling slightly car sick from my ride, I bought oranges and a corn on the cob which is famous for its giant kernel. Seriously, the size of each kernel was as big as my thumb fingernail.

Color is an important part of Inca and some pre-Inca culture. A woman demonstrating the use of the color powders.

Did I say there is a lot of celebrations? A Sunday mid-day festival in Pisac.

Vendors selling produce at the Sunday market. The Sacred Valley has very fertile soil suited to grow many vegetables.

Water is an integral part of the Inca culture, so it runs through the markets too.

After an unpleasant haggling with a taxi driver, I finally got to the archeological site which is around 30-minute drive out of the town center. Little is known of this particular site. Archeologists know that it was important due to the location and the scale of the site, but not its principal purpose. Some argued it was military defense while others championed the idea that it was farming due to the massive terrace. Regardless of its original intent, the Pisac archeological is a must visit for us modern day tourists.

Farming terrace and parts of the Pisac ruins.

Intiwatana and the farming terrace.

After the day in Pisac, it was time to pack up, bid my fair well to Cusco, and head to the Salkantay and Macchu Picchu. But before I left, there was one thing I needed to do: visit the San Pedro market and have lunch there. Located 15 minutes walking from the Plaza de Armas, San Pedro market is a good place to do your souvenir shopping or simply marvel at the variety of goods offered. Window shopping is not a crime either!

Fruits are the main produce around Peru. Many locals favor juice or smoothie as their drink of choice.