Peru punches above its weight when it comes to incredible sites and clever cultures.  And the two most magnificent examples of how clever the Inca’s were can be seen at Machu Picchu and Cusco. We were lucky enough to visit both in May where we discovered the warmest (and smallest) people, delicious food and some of the most ingenious agricultural and architectural practices from the 1400’s that were way ahead of their time.

Curious Cusco

Cusco, the historic former capital of the Inca empire is full of curiosities starting with the design of the town which is laid out in the shape of a Puma. The Puma is considered an apex predator by the spiritual Incas and the head of the Puma is at the stone fortress of Sacsayhuamán, which we didn’t get to visit but we did see in the distance when we climbed up to the Mirador de San Cristobel above the town.

The Mirador de San Cristobel sits in front of the San Cristobel Church which the guides will tell you is a 20 minute uphill walk from Plaza des Armas. It took us over 30 minutes as it is straight up, very steep steps, which at altitude, take twice as long to ascend!  We puffed and huffed our way up but really enjoyed the views back over Cusco – so it is worth the effort.

Coping with the high delights of Cusco

Cusco sits very high up in the Andes mountains at nearly 3,400 meters (11,152 feet) high and I certainly felt the effects of altitude with headaches, restless nights and loss of appetite.

I soon learnt that the best relief was not Panadol but coca leaf tea – which you can get everywhere. The Incas chewed local coca leaves if they couldn’t boil up tea and the leaves have natural alkaloids that acts as a mild stimulant that relieves fatigue, suppresses hunger, and boosts oxygen uptake to combat altitude sickness. Sadly, you cannot take this wonder-tea home with you!

Kindness is at the heart of Cusco

The local culture is deeply rooted in indigenous Quechua traditions, which value community, mutual respect, and a concept known as ayni (reciprocity or mutual help). Most travelers describe the locals (Cusqueños) as polite and eager to share their rich history, Andean traditions, and culture.

We found this to be particuallry true at the Niños Hotel, wejre we stayed in Cusco. Opened in 1998 by a Dutch woman wanting to help support neglected children in the city with a good meal and a place to stay. Many children are sent down from surrounding countryside to the city for an education but do not have safe or hygenic place to stay. Ninos Foundation provides hot showers, meals, clothing and books to these children and you can support the foundation by staying at the hotel or donation

We absolutely loved the feel of the place which is arranged around a central courtyard and also the delicious meals they served in the canteen – our favourite was the pumpkin soup served with fingers of fried bread

Cuisine reaches new heights in Cusco

Peruvian food is delicious and quite famous because it mixes ancient Andean traditions, indigenous high-altitude ingredients, and lots of unique spices and herbs. There’s lots of soups, stews, grilled meat, quinoa and rice. Potatoes are my favourite food and Cusco has literally hundreds of varieties available on every menu in so many ways. There are a lot of fancy restaurants in cuscoi, as well as street food available but as we were adjusting to altitude we did not have a huge appetitie.

The regional favourites like Alpaca steak and the traditional roasted guinea pig (cuy) – which is served whole on a stick, was not to my liking but I know is enjoyed by many. I did enjoy the local refreshing drinks like chicha morada (made from boiled purple corn) and loved the coca leaf tea – at altitude I really did not feel like drinking alcohol but sought more energising drinks.

Colourful Cusco

We loved the colours in Cusco and saw colourful striped flags everywhere and at first we thought that Cusco was very progressive flying the rainbow flag in support of the LGBTQ+ movement. Then we found out that the Cusco flag has seven stripes and includes a distinctive light blue tone, (whereas the LGBTQ+ flag has six colours) – the colours of the flag are seen in the sweater I bought pictured below.

There is colour literally everywhere in Cusco from the décor in restaurants to the food to the traditional dress of each community. The Incas were experts at extracting dye from local plants and insects and used these to dye fabric and food alike. Our guide on the Inca trail crushed a tiny grey dot of a shell like insect (the cochineal insect) to produce a handful of deep red dye – which was the root of the first make-up (lipstick, rouge) used by the royals and became known as ‘red gold’ for its luxury status in trading.

We saw cultural parades, dances and ceremonies in Plaza de Armas on a number of days when we were in Cusco and were delighted to see how each community or tribe showed off their dress and performances with flair. Cusco’s major jubilee season, in May-June demonstrates deep Catholic devotion and brings vibrant Andean traditions into the streets.

We loved Cusco and the people, the food, the culture and found it a fantastic stepping off ground for our trek on teh Inca trail to Macchu Pichu.