Cusco is considered by some the oldest continuous inhabited city in the Americas, and is now home to about 300,000 residents. This city was the ancient Inca capital, and the Inca's four color flag representing the four corners of the empire still flies in the town square along with the Peruvian flag.
It was the first Peruvian city I visited on my vacation. I had only stopped in the Lima Airport for a few hours before boarding a flight to Cusco.
Flying into Cusco I was first struck by how dry the city looked. Its above the tree line, and in a basin surrounded by brown hills. The Incas called Cusco, the capital of their empire, "The navel of the Earth".
Once I landed, I was struck (physically) by how high in elevation the city was. As the plane landed and the passengers were walking off the tarmac to the airport, everyone seemed to be walking in slow motion, except for me. My pace continued until the altitude (3,320 meters or 11,000 feet above sea level) hit me and I realized I couldn't breath and I was getting dizzy!
There are plenty of hotels of all qualities in this city. I found a hotel (Royal Qosque) within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas for $10 US per night con baño. My hotel clerk noticed the problems I was having with Cusco's altitude (local term is "soroche" -altitude sickness) and suggested I spend the rest of the day laying low in my hotel room. They would send me mate de coca for my altitude sickness. They sent me a mate and later a second one arrived, but then I went out exploring the Center Plaza and city - (it was only noon and too early to call it a day)!!
I soon found myself completely surrounded by ambulentes - vendors trying to sell me their goods. It was a little bit too much.
I work as an urban planner, I found Cusco is interesting in that the Incas layed it out as a map of a Puma, their sacred animal. The zig-zag ruins of Sacsayhuman are the Puma's teeth and the sacred Koricancha, Temple of the Sun, is the Puma’s genitals.
The next morning I went to to check out the ruins of Sacsayhuman. It was a short distance from my hotel, but I had to climb several few hundred vertical feet up to the top edge of the Cusco basin. I still was not acclimated.
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School kids dressed in Quechua Indian traditional clothing in a religious parade honoring Señor di Huanca
Cusco is also noted throughout Peru for its local brew, Cusqueña, arguably the best beer in Peru. Make sure to try one, but remember you are at 11,000 feet elevation!