Cusco Things to Do Tips by Amareyui

This is the heart of Cusco, where most travel agencies, restaurants, bars, hostels and internet cafe locate. In other words, where most tourists hang out, especially at night.
The plaza looks fine, with the European catherdal and open square, but the vendors and all sorts of annoying personnel keep me from staying here for long.

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This is the alley congested with every tourist related services you will need in Cusco. But somehow this conveniency isnt really an enjoyable thing, since every time you walk through this alley, you will be asked about the same questions over and over again. To make matter worse, the moment you got past a pesky shopkeeper, another one was right in your face.
This is sort of like a theme park ride, I guess, where there is no escape until you reach the exit.

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Built upon the foundations of the Inca Wiracocha's palace, Cusco's cathedral was established in 1550 and took nearly a century to complete. The church sustained serious damage in the 1986 earthquake; inside, some areas are still blocked off.

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Directions: In Plaza de Armas

Sacsayhuaman is an interesting place to visit, with a humourous name to boot.
Sacsayhuaman was first built to be a Temple complex, and it wasnt until the arrival of the Spanish that it became a fortress. This ruin was supposed to be the head of the body that the four corresponding ruins composed of. Its symbol was the satisfied falcon.
The zagzig base is a design of Inca religious importance. After climbing up to the top, the foundation of the demolished five storied temple is still intact. This is a good place to take some photos of the belowed Cusco.

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Directions: From Plaza de Armas, turn to San Blas and hike up the steep slope when you reach Choquechaka.

The zigzag base's basic bulwark is composed of three sets of parallel walls set together for over 400 metres. The purpose of the zigzag construction, which resembles the teeth of a puma, is for both better defense of the fortress and an Inca belief to contact with powerful supernatural beings. The largest block measures 8.5 metres and weighs over 300 tonnes.

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This was the base of the Sun Temple, which used to be one of the more important ceremonial building in the Inca Empire. It was destroyed by the Spaniards after the conquest.
The fifth story, which was the highest of the temple, was used to stored sacred tribute to the sun god. The offerings ranged from gold and silver artifacts to alpaca wool weavings to coca leaves.
The foundation is still clearly traceable. It looks like a giant propeller inside of a square.

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Pope John Paul II made a visit to Cusco in 1985, and he held a mass at the open field besides Sacsayhuaman. There were more than 85000 people who attended the mass.
So what's the big deal about this, I hear you ask. Well, consider this: It rarely snows in Cusco; about a couple of decades in between each time it snows.
That day in 1985, it snowed, and it snowed hard. Thus, the gossip spreaded, that the local spirits didnt welcome the Pope to preach on their turf.
I heard all this from a local, so I couldnt confirm the validity of this "story". I found it pretty funny nevertheless.

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Pisac

It was a Monday when I went to Pisac, so I missed the Sunday market fair. The town was really small, and there wasnt much to do around. But the empty streets of a lonely mountain town did have some strange kind of charm.

Just outside of the town is this beautiful field. You can walk right beside the field to take a closer look at the crop.

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Directions: About an hour bus ride from Cusco

This was my baptism to Inca ruins. The trail which bypassed the three smaller ruins and ended at the fourth and largest ruin was not easy for me, mainly because I didnt spend much time to acclimatize to the high altitude. The feeling of having the valley at my feet, and having the ruin all by myself, made the effort to be worthwhile.

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Directions: About 15-20 min cab ride from Pisac the town

The fortress ruin, Ollantaytambo, is where some of the most fierce battles in Inca history takes place. It is a complex of steep terraces on a hill side. The foundation of the fortress is formed by enormous granite blocks that are transported from the nearby Cachicata quarry.

There are some huge, hairy cacti growing right beside the ruin fortress of Ollantaytambo. Their existence provided the deserted site some elements of life.

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Directions: Take a bus from the bus station on Puente Rosario, Cusco to Urubamba(1.5hr), then hop on a colectivo bound for Ollantaytambo(1/2hr).