Cusco, the most famous navel of the world, Peru's main tourist destination, and one of the most important in the world, offers you a unique and spectacular way to discover the rich historical and monumental legacy, located in a territory of mountains and multicolored valleys, forests and lush forests, beautiful lagoons and rivers. The department of Cusco is considered a Cultural Heritage of Humanity and its main attraction The Natural Sanctuary and Citadel of Machu Picchu, was declared one of the new seven wonders of humanity. Cusco offers the traveler the to enjoy the thrill of outdoor tourism, in an environment of beautiful landscapes, dazzle with the testimonies of the Inca architecture, admire the artistic richness of the colonial churches, overwhelm with the penetrating sound of the pututus or sacred musical inca instruments, enjoy the most beautiful sunrise in the world on the heights of three crosses, feel and enjoy the live cultures in Cusco communities or experience the flavor and aroma of a tasty pachamanca or delicious baked pork. Cusco, the mythical capital of the Inca Empire, proudly retains its walls and stone walls, which evoke the greatness of the children of the sun. A city full of monuments and historical relics, of myths and legends, that seem to be reborn every time you walk through its centuries-old streets. Arriving in the city of Cusco, walking through its streets and enjoying its landscapes is transported directly to the past, its atmosphere originates in those who breathe experiences of deep fascination.
The wonder of this place is bigger than its name and for the purposes of the case, it does not matter. His rich history has baptized him in many ways and his writing is accepted in different ways. From its beginnings, it had different scriptures because its original nomenclature was Quechua and then necessarily Castilianized. Formerly it resonated its name "Q'usqu" "navel of the world" until the confines of the known world of the Four regions "Tahuanatinsuyu", an empire that extended in the North higher than Quito in present-day Ecuador and lower than Santiago del current Chile. All the roads came or left from this Inca capital to the center of the Andes at 3400m above sea level. It was redesigned and redeveloped by Pachacutec so that its urban form of Puma seen from the sky, spread between two rivers the Tulumayu and Saphi joining in its tail in the Huatanay. Cusco or Qosqo, a city drawn in its heyday with the shape of a huge puma, at the same time the religious Mecca with its cult temples to the "Inti" the Sun, the "Quilla" the Moon and other elements and albeying the palaces of the imperators and noble families Incas, with their palaces (splendid constructions that imposed the respect and the admiration) where they lived the noble descendants of Manco Capac and Mama Occllo. The Spaniards found Cusco the city of Gold and Lights. Currently, Cusco is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in South America.
Whether you arrive by plane or bus, you will enjoy all the travel. Some agencys will offer lodging or taxis to get to the center. The center however is only a few minutes from the airport and the city is not that big. Cross it from one end to the other on foot maybe take two hours. The ideal is to take a taxi outside the airport. There are dozens of transportation companies of all price and quality from most cities in Peru. In general, travelers arrive from Lima, Arequipa or Puno. Given the informality of the routes, we recommend you to take the best possible bus services since they do not stop on the way to pick up people. The trip duration Lima - Cusco can go between 15 and 21 hours depending on the service you choose.In airplane, it takes 1 hour and a half. Also we recommend to take your travel agency before your travel to Cusco.
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Negotiate, bargain and talk. For being a great tourist city there are thousands of people trying to sell you something,
About the tourist ticket:
If your plans are to enter the museums, forts, churches and attractions of Cusco, the best way to do it is with the Tourist Ticket that includes many of these attractions for a single payment. You can also choose to visit only one place or another without the ticket paying their individual price, but usually the sum of a few exceeds all that the ticket offers. There are also partial tourist tickets divided into circuits. The full ticket costs approximately $ 43 (23 for students). The best way to get to know Cusco is with the guided visits to these places since otherwise you will only see stones with no meaning or history behind.The most popular tours are
We advise you not to use the tourist ticket on your own if you are going to do some tour since you can not enter the same place twice and you will have to wait for your group if you already used the ticket. The places that the Tourist Ticket allows you to visit do not include Machu Picchu and are the following:
