Cusco, the capital of the Inca empire

Trip Start Jun 03, 2008

Trip End Aug 11, 2008

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Flag of Peru Cusco, Peru
Saturday, June 28, 2008

From Arequipa we took a short flight, one hour twenty minutes to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca empire.We were staying here for one night before begining the Inca trail. After the Inca trail we were then staying a futher 5 nights in Cuzco. Cuzco was by far the nicest city I have been in in South America. It has a lovely relaxed atmosphere with a lovely central plaza, plaza de Armas, and excellent museums and the nightlife is excellent with clubs staying open til 7am!!. It was also nice to have three days off after the Inca trail and just relax in the city. Went to two excellent museums, Museo Historico Regional and The Museo Inca which highlighted the history of the Incas and other indigenous tribes of Peru. There was also an excellent mummy showcase in the latter museum. Unfortunately much of the Inca history in Cuzco has been destroyed by the Spanish but some Inca walls still survive and the stonework is incredible and has survived three major earthquakes.

Best friends!!!

On the Saturday 5 of us took a horse-riding trip outside Cuzco to visit three Inca ruins which were very interesting. We saw where the Incas mummified the bodies and had ceremonies to the sun and moon. Cuzco was also our base for exploring the Sacred Valley which we did the day after the Inca Trail. We visited the town of Ollantaytambo where there was a great Inca fortress. We also visited Moray and Sacsayhuaman, Inca ceremonial sites and fortresses. From Sacsayhuaman we also had excellent views over the city of Cuzco.The tour was excellent and I really enjoyed it because I am fascinated by Inca history but most of the group felt that it would have been better to do the tour before the Inca trail so you would appreciate the ruins more.