Peru

Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco
Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco	Cuzco
Cuzco	Pisco Peru	Pisco	Ballestas	Ballestas
Pisco Peru	Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu	Huaquillas

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Cusco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru in the Huatanay Valley (Sacred Valley), of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco region and has a population of about 300,000, triple the population it contained just 20 years ago. Alternate spellings include Cusco in Spanish and with pre-1987 Quechua orthography, and Qosqo with post-1987 Quechua orthography.

Cuzco was the capital of Tahuantinsuyu (or Inca Empire). It was shaped like a Panther. The city had two sectors: the hurin and hanan, which were further divided to each encompass two of the four provinces, Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Condesuyu (SW), and Collasuyu (SE). A road led from each of these quarters to the corresponding quarter of the empire. Each local leader was required to build a house in the city and live part of the year in Cuzco, but only in the quarter of Cuzco that corresponded to the quarter of the empire he had territory in. After Pachacuti, when an Inca died his title went to one son and his property was given to a corporation controlled by his other relatives, so each title holder had to build a new house and add new lands to the empire, in order to own any home and the land his family needed to maintain it after his death. Andean Indians still abandon their homes and build new ones when they marry, even if no one remains in the house.

According to Inca legend, the city was built by Supa Inca Pachacuti, the man who transformed the Kingdom of Cuzco from a sleepy city-state into the vast empire of Tahuantinsuyu. But archaeological evidence points to a slower, more organic growth of the city beginning before Pachacuti. There was however a city plan, and two rivers were terraformed and channeled to outline the city.

Many of the Inca walls were thought to have been lost until a 1950 earthquake devastated the city. The granite walls of Korikancha (the Sun Temple) were exposed, as well as many walls throughout the city. Many wanted to restore the buildings to their colonial spendor, but a contingent of Cuzco citizens wanted to retain the exposed walls. Eventually they won out and now tourists from around the world enjoy looking at these ruins within the living city.

Many buildings constructed after the conquest are of Spanish influence with a mix of Inca architecture, including the Santa Clara and San Blas. Often, Spanish buildings are juxtaposed atop the massive stone walls built by the Inca. The major earthquake that hit Cuzco in 1950 badly destroyed the Dominican Priory and Church of Santo Domingo, which were built on top of Korikancha, but the city's Inca architecture firmly withstood the earthquake. This was the second time that the Dominican Priory was destroyed, the first being in 1650 when another major earthquake wracked Cuzco. The Priory was completely destroyed in 1650 as well.

Other nearby Inca sites are Pachacuti's winter home Machu Picchu which can be reached by a lightly maintained Inca trail, the "fortress" at Ollantaytambo, and the "fortress" of Sacsayhuaman which is approximately two kilometers from Cuzco. Other less visited ruins include Inca Wasi, the highest of all Inca sites at 3,980 m (13,134 feet), Old Vilcabamba the capital of the Inca after the capture of Cuzco, the sculpture garden at Chulquipalta (aka Chuquipalta, Ñusta España, The White Rock, Yurak Rumi), as well as Huillca Raccay, Patallacta, Choquequirao and many others.

The surrounding area, located in the Huatanay Valley, is strong in agriculture, including corn, barley, quinoa, tea and coffee, and gold mining.

Pisco

Pisco, is a city in Peru. It is only 28 feet above sea level. Pisco originally prospered because of its nearby vineyards, and now the name of the town is on Peru’s Brandy, “Pisco Sour”.

The area is normally visited because of the concentration of marine animals and birds at the Paracas National Reserve, or the Peruvian Galapagos. At the reserve there are the Ballestas Islands, which are off limits to people, but boat tours can get close. On the islands there are tons of birds, including pelicans, flamingos, penguins, cormorants, red boobies and terns. There are also sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and whales.

This wildlife is definitely something to boast about, but Pisco origins are from one of the major ancient civilizations in Peru, the Paracas culture. Due to its ease of access, and its crossroads to the Andes the Spanish considered making Pisco the capital, before they decided on Lima.

In the city is the Plaza de Armas, where people hang out and buy tejes, small sweets made from pecans. Many different building that surround the Plaza are the statue of San Martin, the mansion he lived in, and the Municipal Palace. Other building in the city is the heavy Baroque Iglesia de la Compañía , begun in 1689, boasts a superb carved pulpit and gold-leaf altarpiece.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu (sometimes called "the Lost City of the Inca") is a well preserved Pre-Columbian town located on a high mountain ridge (at an elevation of about 6,750 feet) above the Urubamba valley in modern-day Peru. The name Machu Picchu literally means "old peak". It is thought the city was built by the Inca Pachacuti starting in about 1440 and was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Archeological evidence (together with recent work on early colonial documents) shows that it was not a conventional city; rather it was a sort of country retreat town for the Inca and other nobility. The site has a large palace and temples around a courtyard, with other dwellings for the support staff. It is estimated that a maximum of only about 750 people resided in Machu Picchu at any one time, and probably only a small fraction of that number during the rainy season and when no nobles were visiting.

It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Waynapicchu, representing his nose. The Inca believed that the solid rock of the Earth should not be cut and so built this city from rock quarried from loose boulders found in the area. Some of the stone architecture uses no mortar, but rather relied on extremely precise cutting of blocks that results in walls with cracks between stones through which a credit card will not pass.

The city became re-introduced to larger society by Yale historian, Hiram Bingham, who first visited it on July 24, 1911. Bingham was exploring old Inca roads in the area. Bingham was led to Macchu Picchu by Quechuans or Incans who were living in Macchu Picchu in the original Incan infrastructure. Bingham made several more trips and conducted excavations on the site through 1915. He wrote a number of books and articles about Machu Picchu; his popular account Lost City of the Incas became a best-seller.

In 1913 the site received a significant amount of publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.

The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist attraction. In 2003, some 400,000 people visited Machu Picchu, and UNESCO has expressed concern about the damage this volume of tourism is causing to the site. Peruvian authorities insist that there is no problem, and that the remoteness of the site will impose natural limits on tourism [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3335315.stm). Periodically, proposals are made to install a cable car to the site, but such proposals have so far always been rejected. [2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/Americas/428396.stm)

One of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's best-known works is "The Heights of Macchu Picchu", inspired by the city.

Book Hostel in Cusco

Cheap Hostels in Pisco and Cuzco (Peru)
Hostal San Isidro in Pisco Calle San Clemente 103 - Pisco, Perú Phone: 51-56-536471 E-mail: hostalsanisidro@hotmail.com Web: Hostal San Isidro Pisco, Perú	Hostal "Cusi Wasi" in Cuzco Calle Fierro 584 Tel. +51 84 254475 E-mail: info@cusiwasi.com Web: Hostal Cusi Wasi Cusco - Peru
Albergue Municipal Kiskapata, 240 Tel. 084-252-506 Cusco	Hostal Huaynapata Huaynapata, 369 Tel. 084-228-034 Cusco

Central International of Hostel Reservation

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