While Cusco and Machu Picchu are obligatory destinations for a first trip to Peru, the country has much more to offer. There is too much to see and do in one trip, so plan your itinerary according to your interests and the season.
The ancient Inca Capital is said to have been foundes around AD 1100, and since then has developed into a major commercial and tourism center of 2750,00 inhabitants most of whom are Quechua. The city council has designated Qosqo (Cusco in Quechua) as the offcial spelling.
Colonial churches, monasteries and convents and extensive precolombian, ruins are interspersed with countless hotels, bars restaurants that cater for the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Almost every central street has remains of Inca walls, arches and doorways; the perfect Inca stoneswork now serves as the foundations for more modern dwellings. This stonework is tapered upwards (battered): every wall has a perfect line of inclination towards the center, from bottom to top.The curver stonework of the tenple of the Sun , for example, is probably unequealled in the world.
Cusco is considered one of the most ancient cities of the continent. The name Qosqoin Quechua means "The earth's navel" There are many myths about the creation of the city. However, it is know that the city existed before the Inca empire (5000 BC). The Spanish foundation of the city took placein 1534. Later it was the seat of the first Bishop of the South America and the center of a great cultural activity. In Cusco, had one of the most outstanding art school of the worls: the Escuela Cusqueña. The basic characteristic of the city is its perfect blend of the urban with the pre-colombian monuments. Among the most outstanding places, is the Qoricancha temple, which is located near the Main square. This was the center of the cult to the Sun God or Inti. On top of this temple,the Spanish built the Santo Domingo convent. The Cathedral and La Merced Churches are some of the Spanish legacy.
Walking along the streets of the city, there are wonderful things to visit as the craftsmen village known as San Blas. Its temple is a magnificent piece of colonial art. In and out of Cusco there are great things to see. For example, in the center of the city are the Sacsayhuaman ruins or the complex of Ollantaytambo and the towns of Pisaq and Calca. And of course Machu Picchu. an awe-inspiring city. There are also religious festivitis that you can enjoy such as the Procession of the Corpus Chriti or the Inti Raymi. Come to Cusco. Nothing you have ever done is even close to a visit to Cusco.
