Cusco travel accommodation tipsCusco is a holiday magnet because it is the base camp for many travellers who take flights to Peru so they can tour and explore the nearby ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. Pictured below, Cusco is the old imperial capital city of the Incas in Peru and sits high atop the Peruvian Andes. |
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Cusco travel guide
Peru travel tip: Holiday travel tours to the area around Machu Picchu have resumed after floods stranded about 2,000 tourists and caused widespread infrastructure damage in January 2010. Cusco holiday accommodation is easy to find with the cheapest hotels in 2011 asking about 145 nuevos sols per night. Cusco hostel accommodation allows cheap travel with dormitory beds available in 2011 for as little as 19 nuevos sols. A private Cusco hostel room could be found for as little as 29 nuevos sols in 2011. Cusco travel accommodation tips and Inca guide Cusco boasts a rich architectural and archaeological heritage of Spanish colonial buildings and original Inca stonework. This city is fairly cosmopolitan as it's the headquarters for travellers from around the world who are intent on a Machu Picchu tour and need accommodation. The hotels and other Cusco accommodation are usually full around June 24 because of the famous Inti Raymi festival of the winter solstice. By 1500, Cusco was an Inca architectural masterpiece and home to about 15,000 people. Walls of massive granite blocks lace the city, intricately carved and fitted without mortar to withstand centuries of earthquakes. Cusco was seized by the Spanish invaders in 1533, many of the original Inca buildings destroyed to make way for palaces and churches. Much of Cusco was burned during a rebellion in 1534. The desecration of Inca culture and religion by the Spanish saw the demise of a civilisation unique for its various scientific, astronomic, engineering and at times mysterious achievements. The busy main square of Cusco, Plaza de Armas, was the Incans' symbolic centre of their empire. Today it is often full of people and is encircled by restaurants, street vendors, holiday accommodation and tourism outlets. Many of the restaurant serve local cuisine such as guinea pig and alpaca. The plaza is dominated by a massive Catholic cathedral with churches on either side and a huge church occupying another side of the square. Within strolling distance are two other public squares, Plaza San Francisco and Plaza Regocijo, as well as numerous other historic places of worship such as the beautiful Spanish church of Santo Domingo on Av El Sol (Avenue of the Sun). This is the site of the original Incan Koricancha, or Temple of the Sun, dating from about AD1200 when its walls were covered in gold panels. Just outside Cusco is Sacsayhuaman, a massive complex of large stone structures displaying superb Incan stonemasonry of boulders weighing up to 200 tonnes.
The city is filled with narrow cobbled streets, Inca stone walls and extravagant colonial palaces and churches built by the Spanish following their overthrow of Cusco and Peru. Right in the heart of Cusco is a main square called the Plaza de Armas ... a great meeting place for tourists and an excellent area to wander and shop through the local market stalls. It should be noted that after decades of controversy, Yale University has recently returned 366 of an estimated 40,000 Inca relics removed from Machu Picchu by explorer Hiram Bingham when he first discovered the Andes ruins. The artefacts, which include ceramics, textiles and bones, are now on display at Cusco's new Casa Concha Museum. Perched on a low hill overlooking Cusco is Sacsayhuaman, long revered as one of the most majestic Inca temples and the site of a tragic final battle when the Incas tried to reclaim their city from the Spanish. Many people go to Cusco as a stop-off point before they travel into the nearby Sacred Valley of the Incas, through which runs the Urabamba River. This valley is peppered with ancient Inca ruins just begging to be explored. Cusco remains a vibrant city steeped in authentic Peruvian culture and is a great Peru travel base to find holiday accommodation from which to set out on the Inca Trail or catch a train all the way to Machu Picchu. Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Peru weather for holiday travel To book low price flights to Peru, hotels, hostels and travel tickets for most South American cities, visit our Travel Shop. |
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