As gateway to the otherworldly ruins of nearby Machu Picchu, many tourists flock to Cusco. Located in a valley surrounded by the rugged Andes mountains, Cusco is a very delightful ‘albeit touristy’ colonial city characterized by its steep hills and old world architecture. At 11,200 ft above sea level, it is also one of the highest cities in the world. A real tourist mecca, Old Cusco (the tourist zone) has many outdoor cafes, trendy bars, chic boutiques and restaurants. Most of the hotels, guesthouses and restaurants offer coca tea to their guests to help them combat altitude sickness.

Two peculiarities about Cusco – old town is littered with so many places offering cheap massages that for a moment I thought I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Walking around the main plaza, I was constantly pestered by young girls trying to sell me anything from finger warmers to little dolls in addition to trying to recruit me for a massage. I am assuming that the massages were legit, with no extras offered, but then again, I really don’t know! In addition, many people on the street were soliciting tourists to buy cheap cell phones, and I mean muy barrato. I have never experienced something like this in any other city that I have visited in my many years of travel.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 6:02 am and is filed under Peru, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.