The rainbow flag is the flag of Cusco and just being in the city it is easy to see why. It is so full of color and culture and vibrance! Even the smiles on the local people’s face were bright. It may be because we were there in June during there festival period but I’m willing to bet it’s this lively and colorful all year round!
Cusco is the perfect place to acclimate!
Before arriving to Cusco the travel clinics where we got our vaccines recommended not eating fruits and vegetables with out washing them ourselves and not drinking alcohol the first few days while adjusting to altitude..
Whoops! Our guide left us for about 20 minutes to get something from the office and we broke all the rules! We had a lovely avocado salad, and a beautiful corn and queso mess accompanied with what other than Pisco Sours! The official drink of Peru! They were great, and a very nice welcome to not only Cusco but our trip. This may have come back to effect us later in the evening but we don’t think about that!
After lunch we headed to the San Pedro market. It was close to closing time so we did a quick tour through but it was still fun! You could buy everything in here and in the back they have rows and rows and rows are mini restaurant stalls. We stopped here for a cup of coca tea, little caffeine bump to get us through the evening.
The markets were great, you could see all the efforts of the local farmers and the salt mines. There was also seafood, meat and of course souvenirs a plenty!
After we left the market we got stuck amongst one of the family parades and it was crazy! The entire block was wall to wall people with the family in the middle parading a long and playing music! Honestly I’m not a crowd person and I still found it to be quite fun! We laughed as we worked our way through the literal sea of people.
We winded a through several more of the city streets making our way to our hotel. Cusco is for sure not on a grid like many other cities I’ve been too. You really need to pay attention to navigate these streets and alley ways!
Visiting Saqsaywaman to acclimate to the altitude, You can read all about that here.
Also on our way to our hotel was the alleyway with the twelve angled stone. This was neat cause it resembled Saqsaywaman in the middle of present day Cusco. Lots of people were stopping for pictures near this stone!
More Peruvian Fun Below:
Beginning Altitude Acclimation at Saqsaywaman
Feeding Alpacas near Cusco at Awana Kancha
Mountain Biking Through the Peruvian Countryside
Salt Mines of the Sacred Valley
So you want to hike for 4 days straight? Inca trail Days 1 and 2 baby!
Keep Hiking On! Inca Trail Days 3 and 4!
Visiting One of the New Wonders of the World – Machu Picchu!
Don’t Stop, Keep Hiking Higher – Huayna Picchu
Don’t Stop, Keep Hiking Higher – Huayna Picchu
The Gateway to the Inca Trail – Ollantaytambo
Rainbow Mountains, a Colorful Day Trip!
A Child’s Dream, a Trip to Monkey Island – Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian Amazon, a “Relaxing” End to a Great Trip
Land and Water, Tambopata and Lago Sandoval – Peruvian Amazon