After an era of solo travel this year, it was finally time for me to meet up with my bestie Bianca in THE city of Cusco, Peru, aka a place on the top of every backpacker’s list! Most famous for access to the world wonder Machu Picchu, Cusco is a city of 400k+ people situated at about 11,000 feet with, a well-serviced airport, access to the ancient Incan “Sacred Valley,” and a hilarious amount of American outdoor stores (yes, they have Patagonia and North Face stores for the wealthy foreigner explorer!!)
The flight to Cusco for me, coming from Trujillo and Lima, was stunning as I caught last light over the Andes! We decided to stay most the week at Secret Garden, which Bianca perfectly described as "a little toooo homey"-- we did indeed stay in a dorm in the family's home, but they were so generous and took care of every little request that I understand why it's rated 9 /10, and it only costs $5/bed per night. One catch-- the shower water is cold. That is definitely a catch :(
Stepping out in Cusco was quite the culture shock for me— I would say at this point in my travels I try to avoid the most touristy spots because it's pretty annoying. But we had no choice but to base ourselves in Cusco, and the first night the bombardment of souvenir sellers, etc, was overwhelming and annoying! Literally 90% of Cusqueñas work in tourism, so be prepared to spend a little more in this town just cause there’s so many nice handicrafts to buy, yummy foods to try, and attractions all around you, and their economy relies on you.
The first day we were both in Cusco to acclimate to the altitude and have a rest day before a jam-packed week of tours and hiking. 15 minutes in, we already found ourselves paying a small tip to take a pic with baby alpacas and traditionally-dressed women (later we found out it was a baby sheep, but we can ignore that for now). Soon after, we were whisked into the colorful depths of San Pedro Market, where you can find the cheapest and greatest selection of souvenirs probably in all of Peru. Like literally, before Cusco I had bought zero souvenirs in South America and I probably bought some 30-odd small things for friends and fam back home. Highlights of this market include fresh fruit and cheap dried fruit, 3 dollar stuffed alpacas made of alpaca fur, 1 dollar smoothies from any of 150 matching jugo ladies, Peruvian chocolates, and the cheapest lunch you can find in Cusco ($1.50), aka where the locals go!
We next found ourselves on a free walking tour which covered many of the spots we discovered ourselves that morning.. we got to learn about some unique Peruvian fruits in the market which we then tried in ice cream flavors throughout the week hehe. Peru is really cool and self-sufficient in the way they supply their own produce to really avoid import/export and support their own agricultural industry! We got to visit an abundance of plazas, including the gorgeous Plaza de Armas which is surrounded by historical buildings that I should have remembered better but that is not my specialty.... Some fun tidbits I did retain were that the Incan museum is behind the KFC, an original Incan brick wall is now home to a Starbucks, and the man that inspired the Incans to fight back against the Spanish was named Tupac!
lots of pretty buildings like the one in the middle-- a very colonial, European influence
After getting our pointers from the walking tour, we huffed and puffed up lots and lots of stairs to the Cristo monument that is not unlike the famous Rio de Janeiro monument. The walk up took us through the beautiful San Blas neighborhood, aka the hipster, hilly part of town with veggie restaurants, kombucha bars, and nice pretty alleys all around. The sunset was pretty early in Cusco and obstructed by the mountains, so probably the prettier part of the evening was once the city got all lit up and we grabbed a Cusqueña beer at a restobar at the top of the hill. No need to go to a fancy cocktail place-- we just went to a tienda with some chairs and beer and had the view all to ourselves!
pretty and pretty hilly in San Blas part of Cusco!
The next day we began our daytrips from Cusco and found ourselves returning just for the evenings. Although you will base yourself in Cusco while you explore the Sacred Valley, many of the organized tour trips pick you up at 4 AM and drop you back off at 6PM, leaving little time in your day to do much other than dinner. However, we still found a few highlights in our remaining time in Cusco. For one, if you have a bit extra time to wander, the Eucalyptus grove near the Cristo Rey is so gorgeous at golden hour and is totally free! It's also adjacent to an Incan ruin with admission included on the boleto turistico (more to come on this!)
Other places I would recommend eating and enjoying are:
Green Falafel, with the most incredible generous veggie portions ever, and kombucha as part of the $5 combo!
any local panaderia! a good way to get more bang for your buck in a tourist town.
Eating at San Pedro, getting a cheap juice and a cheap meal inside the market!
Walking around as much as you can! Every part of the city, including outside the Centro Historico, was relatively safe and clean because you are their economy as a tourist, so I think the general vibe is not to take advantage of the people visiting. Whenever you have the chance, step into a more local eatery, whether its a breakfast spot or ice cream cafe. We had the best time watching one of the World Cup qualifying games surrounded by excited Peruvians and good food :)
Lots of Peru mountain content coming soon, stay tuned!
