Pearls of Life: Cusco in Peru, before the Sacred Valley, the capital of the Department of Cusco.

Hilla enjoying the company of Inca tribe and a baby Alpaca in Cusco, Peru.

Peruvian indigenous people of the Inca in local market in Cusco, market.

Exploring the city of Cusco, the capital of Cusco province in Peru where the Inca empire resided from the 13th century until the 16th century. Cusco is a city rich with colors, culture, Inca ruins and a passage to Machu Picchu. In Cusco, you get familiar with the Inca culture and the ancient Inca empire habitation in that part of Peru. The native Inca and the native Peruvian are living together in this area and you can witness the differences between the Peruvian government and the ancient Inca leaders and indigenous people. Cusco was long an important center of indigenous people. It was the center of the Inca empire and it was built with walls around sitting in a very high altitude. For a western person it is very hard to cope with the altitude without feeling the difference in the air pressure.

In Cusco, you can find many Inca indigenous in the market selling their locally grown fruits, vegetables, cheeses, among other locally grown items. The local indigenous Inca market also includes smoothies of very fresh fruits and vegetables that are being grown and farmed by the Incas in their own garden. On the other hand, in Cusco you have coffee bars that are modern and have western influence, which serves many tourists that are coming to this region in order to be familiar with the Peruvian culture.

Cusco, is a very authentic city that when you are arriving there you can test the special influence of the Spanish empire conquers over the Incas. The Incas there are very strong in their presence until today. The Incas maintain the architecture of the houses, exactly like in the past. Their houses are very simple, done from land and mud, with no furniture of other western symbols in the houses. On the other hand, in Cusco center and around, you can witness the Spanish influences on buildings in the hotels. Also, there is a big church in the center of Cusco, which is evidence of the Spanish arriving in the city.

Today, Cusco, the historical center of Peru, from the point of view of the Inca empire, is a subject of research, academically, and physically for the protection of the cultural rights of the indigenous Inca tribes. Cusco is considered a very important city, after Lima. The beauty of Cusco is in its unique architecture, where many of the buildings are preserved and some areas declared as World Heritage site. In Cusco and around, whether it is in the ancient stone streets in the center of the city or outside the city in the valley where you can find the Inca ruins, such as in Sacsayhuaman. You can find women in traditional dresses with Llamas offering their merchandise.

Cusco is a point to the entrance to the Sacred Valley. It offers many tourism activities to discover this part of Peru and to immerse with the Inca culture. You have the tours to Machu Picchu, Aguas Caliente and return to Cusco, which can take 2 days. You also have the tour to Sacred Valley, and the little towns in the Sacred Valley, which is a 1 day tour. I prefer to stay in the little towns in the Sacred Valley as the beauty and the nature including the stream of river is a natural adventure by itself.

A trip to Cusco is highly recommended, as Cusco is unique in its beauty, the combination of residual influence of the Inca empire is witnessed everywhere with the influences of the Spanish from the 13th Century to the 16th Century. For more about Cusco, please read our previous and next blog about this special spiritual region in Peru.