Cusco
It is estimated that around 1.5 million tourists visit Cusco every year, Machu Picchu and the city of Cusco have become the main tourist attractions in Peru and one of the most visited in South America. In 1983 UNESCO declared Cusco as a World Heritage Site. The highest concentration of tourists is during the dry month of June when the celebration of the Inti Raymi takes place.
When you travel to Cusco you should be aware of altitude sickness or soroche. Cusco is located at an altitude of 10,800 feet or 3,300 meters above sea level so you need some acclimatization before you start your journey. Nausea, headache, vomiting, fatigue and dehydration are some of the symptoms of altitude sickness.
Plaza de Armas at night
.
Cusco History
Cusco, Cuzco or Qosco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire founded by Inca Manco Capac in approximately 1200AD. To the Incas, Cusco, the city of the Puma, was the center of the world, a religious center that attracted many pilgrims. The arrival of the Spanish meant the end of the Inca Empire and of Cusco as its capital. On March 23, 1534, the Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro re founded the city as the Spanish city of Cusco. When you visit Cusco you can observe that two distinctive cultures that first encountered each other five hundred years ago have progressively assimilated forming a multicultural society.
When to visit Cusco – Cusco weather
You can visit Cusco all year round. In Cusco there are two well defined seasons: the rain season and the dry season. The rain season is from November to March, these are the summer months when high daytime temperatures average 21C/70F and low temperatures during the night average 6.5C/43.7F. Rain is sporadic, usually short heavy showers. The dry season or winter is from April to October. Daytime temperature averages 19C/66F and night temperate about 0C/32F. Regardless of the season, mornings are cold and the temperature rises usually up to 20C during the day and drops at night. Click here for more detailed Cusco travel weather.
Inca Cusco
With the conquest of the Inca capital, temples were looted in the search for valuable gold and silver. Some of its temples and buildings still stand but others were used as foundations for newer Spanish buildings such as the Convent of Santo Domingo built on the structure of the Coricancha or Temple of the Sun and other churches and plazas that mixed with the older Inca architecture enriching the old capital of the empire.
The Inca city of Cusco offers fantastic attractions for those interested in the Inca Civilization and its legacy. If you are planning to visit the main attractions a tourist ticket is available for a fee and valid for 10 days. You can inquire at your Cusco hotel or your tour operator. The Cusco tourist ticket offers a good value if you are planning on visiting two or more sites. The tourist ticket allows you to visit 16 sites in and around Cusco and includes: Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara, Tambo Machay, the Cathedral,, San Blas,the museum of religious art, the museum of Santa Catalina, the museum of the municipal palace, the museum of regional history, the site museum at Qorikancha, Chincheros, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Tipón, and Pikillaqta.
.
More information about Cusco
a
Accommodation in Cusco
Cusco offers a wide range of accommodation, from luxurious hotels, cozy B&B to backpackers favorite budget hostels. This is a list of recommended hotels by Discover Peru.
Cusco, the City of the Puma
Cusco, Cuzco or Qosco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire founded by Inca Manco Capac in approximately 1200AD. It was built in the shape of a Puma, a mythological God in Inca religion.
Cusco Travel – Altitude Sickness or Soroche
Low oxygen pressure at high altitudes affects the amount of oxygen we breath making us feel sick.
Facts about Cusco
Cusco and is located in the valley of the Huatanay River in the south east Andean mountain range at an altitude of 3,350 meters or 11,200 feet above sea level.
Cusco weather
Weather in the Andes is characterized for having many climates, or micro climates, that vary according to its altitude. Cusco enjoys a very stable climate that can be observed throughout the year.
Cusco, the capital of the Inca Civilization
It is puzzling to comprehend how the Incas conquered and controlled such an extensive territory that comprised what today are Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador.
Machu Picchu, Cusco
Indeed, there must have been a good reason to justify the laborious construction of this magic city in such a challenging land. The real purpose for the building of Machu Picchu is not clear, it remains a mystery and is open to speculation.
Inti Raymi
Celebrated in the month of June the celebration of the Sun is full of tradition and history.
.
