Acclimating in Cusco, Peru

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

Since we  started to take interest in hiking, a trek to Machu Picchu has always been our dream. Last year, we finally crossed it off our bucket list. But before starting with our trek, we did a couple of days of acclimation in Cusco since we were told that the highest pass in our hike is about 15,000 feet and altitude sickness (soroche as they call it in Cusco) is a possibility.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire, located at about 11,000 feet in the Urubamba Valley of the Peruvian Andes. Because of its altitude, many trekkers stay here first to acclimate before proceeding to the Sacred Valley to start their hike. The moment we stepped off the plane, we felt the effects of high altitude but more on that later.

We stayed in a very conveniently located and reasonably priced hotel called Tierra Viva Cusco Centro. It is just a few minutes walk from the city center and the free buffet breakfast was always amazing during our stay. After checking in and resting for a bit, we walked to Plaza de Armas to have lunch and check out the city.   

A sunbathing in Plaza de Armas, with the Cathedral of Cusco in the background

One of the many parades we saw in Cusco. They love their parades and
it seems like there's one everyday, at least for the duration of our stay there.

The food in Cusco was amazing and that's saying a lot since we lived in Tokyo and New York for most of our adult life. On our first day, we tried some of their corn soup and fried pork belly with potatoes. They were exquisite! Too bad they ended up in either a plastic bag or our hotel's sink because of altitude sickness!

After lunch and walking around town for a bit, we decided to go back to the hotel and rest as our head started pounding. We were also advised to buy some pills for our headache called Diamox and so buy we did. At the end of Day 1, A and R: 0, altitude: 1.

R taking some needed oxygen from a tank. Thankfully, it was free in our hotel!

On our second day, we were feeling much better so we visited Qurikancha (Temple of the Sun). It was an impressive temple and apparently, one of the most revered in this city. We learned a lot about the Inca Empire, the history of Cusco and  Spanish Colonialism. If you like history and architecture, this is a must see!

A view of Cusco from Qurikancha

Courtyard of Qurikancha

R on his way to the lovely gardens of the temple

Whenever we visit a city, we like to go to their famous markets to check out the food and the produce so for lunch, we visited Mercado Central de San Pedro. The fruits, the freshly butchered meat and variety of fish reminded me of my hometown in the Philippines. We ate fried fish and a soup made from innards of a pig for 10 soles (about 3 bucks!)

A at Mercado Central de San Pedro

Fried fish from the mercado. No picture of the pig's innards soup.

After lunch we walked around the streets of Cusco before proceeding to our orientation for our trek to Machu Picchu the next day.

Watching another parade

That concludes our two days of acclimation in Cusco. It was unfortunate that we were affected by the altitude but by eating and resting well, we were able to overcome it and continue with our trek. Please read the next post about our hike in the Peruvian Andes.