South America
Inca ruins, Andean peaks, and the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Peru is South America at its most spectacular — a land of soaring Andes, Amazon jungle, desert coast and the lost cities of the Incas, wrapped in a living indigenous culture and one of the world's great cuisines. Cusco, the ancient Inca capital high in the mountains, is the beating heart of it: a gorgeous colonial city built on Inca stone, full of cobbled lanes, golden churches and markets, and the launch pad for Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Breathtaking, in every sense.
What things cost: Peru is very good value — a hearty menú del día costs a couple of euros and markets and street food are cheap, though the Machu Picchu trip (train, ticket, guide) is a significant, unavoidable expense. Cusco sits at 3,400m, so take the altitude slowly for a day or two. When a zone below says 'low', that means very low.
Sometimes the event picks the city for you.
On Easter Monday, the revered dark-skinned crucifix known as the 'Lord of the Earthquakes' — Cusco's protector since a great quake in 1650 — is carried through the streets, showered with red ñucchu flower petals from the balconies. A profoundly moving, uniquely Cusqueñan Holy Week procession.
Cusco · The old town
A dazzling fusion of Catholic and Andean tradition — fifteen saints and virgins, borne on huge silver litters from the city's churches, are paraded to the cathedral amid crowds, brass bands and feasting on chiriuchu, a special festival dish. One of Cusco's most colourful and deeply local celebrations.
Cusco · The Plaza de Armas
The great 'Festival of the Sun' — a spectacular re-enactment of the Inca winter-solstice ceremony, with hundreds in brilliant costume, processions through the city and a grand staged pageant at the Sacsayhuamán fortress. The biggest event of the Cusco year; buy grandstand tickets ahead, or watch the plaza processions free.
Cusco · Sacsayhuamán & the plaza
