After leaving Andahuaylas, I completed the final leg of my trip to Cusco. Once the capitol of the Incan Empire, Cusco is now a nice modern, cosmopolitan, and somewhat touristy city of about 300,000 people. After a few days of traveling the back roads I was ready for a good cup of coffee, a meal that I recognized, and a hot shower. Cusco sits in a nice looking valley which it fills up like a bowl. Its part of a larger area known as The Sacred Valley which not only is incredibly scenic in its own right, but is literally full of Inca ruins. . . When walking through the valley, one constantly stumbles across them all the time. The bigger ones are marked. Many aren't. The city of Cusco was literally built right on top of the capitol of the Inca empire. When walking the streets of Cusco you can see evidence of old Inca structures that were either topped or added to by the Spanish. The city is full of nice old buildings and museums. While I don't particularly have any interest in religion, the churches, along with the religious art museum were quite impressive. Unfortunately photography wasn't allowed.
Plaza De Armas:
Rainbow flag. . . not gay pride, represents the Incas:
Old Inca walls line both sides of this street:
Conquistadores built this church literally right on top of an Inca temple which is still easily seen:
Backstreets:
As I was walking I came across this interesting parade containing elements of both Inca religion and Catholicism. Folks were marching threough the streets, playing music, dancing, and throwing fireworks everywhere. . . seemed allmost random. None of the streets were closed. All the traffic just had to deal with it and wait for them to passs:
One of the days in Cusco, I took a bus out to the countryside and followed a path leading back to the city, passing several large ruins as well as a few villages along the way. It was a great day for a walk.
These guys (Alpacas) are just all over the place. They are quite friendly. You can walk up to them and pet them. They don't seem to mind at all. Unfortunately they are also featured on the menus of alot of restaraunts in Cusco. I liked them, so I decided not to eat them:
The following pictures are of Saqsaywaman. . . the largest ruins along the way back to town. . . whats left today is oñly 20% 0f what was once there. The Spanish tore down most of the walls, using the bricks to build there own houses, leaving the larger blocks behind. In 1536, Saqsaywaman was recaptured by a rebellious Inca, Manco Inca, and used a a base to lay siege to the Spanish in Cusco. After several months he was repelled in a costly battle. Thousands of dead Incas littered the sight attracting swarms of Condors. Because of that event, eight condors are included in Cusco's coat of arms:
Plaza De Armas:
Rainbow flag. . . not gay pride, represents the Incas:
Old Inca walls line both sides of this street:
Conquistadores built this church literally right on top of an Inca temple which is still easily seen:
Backstreets:
As I was walking I came across this interesting parade containing elements of both Inca religion and Catholicism. Folks were marching threough the streets, playing music, dancing, and throwing fireworks everywhere. . . seemed allmost random. None of the streets were closed. All the traffic just had to deal with it and wait for them to passs:
One of the days in Cusco, I took a bus out to the countryside and followed a path leading back to the city, passing several large ruins as well as a few villages along the way. It was a great day for a walk.
These guys (Alpacas) are just all over the place. They are quite friendly. You can walk up to them and pet them. They don't seem to mind at all. Unfortunately they are also featured on the menus of alot of restaraunts in Cusco. I liked them, so I decided not to eat them:
The following pictures are of Saqsaywaman. . . the largest ruins along the way back to town. . . whats left today is oñly 20% 0f what was once there. The Spanish tore down most of the walls, using the bricks to build there own houses, leaving the larger blocks behind. In 1536, Saqsaywaman was recaptured by a rebellious Inca, Manco Inca, and used a a base to lay siege to the Spanish in Cusco. After several months he was repelled in a costly battle. Thousands of dead Incas littered the sight attracting swarms of Condors. Because of that event, eight condors are included in Cusco's coat of arms:
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