Cuzco with its red-roofs, winding alleys and colourful markets is quintessential colonial cool though Machu Picchu, with its evocative ruins and cloud-shrouded vistas unequivocally steals its thunder.
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Cusco, Machu Picchu & The Sacred Valley
The atmospheric city of Cuzco offers colonial grandeur, cobblestoned streets, indigenous fiestas and far-fetched foodie treats. Well… offerings. We’ll leave it to you to determine whether fried guinea pig on a stick is a delight or not!
Well fed and city-stocked, follow the snaking Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley with its artisan market towns and terraced hillsides. There’s plenty to marvel at, but once found, the ‘lost city’ of Machu Picchu stands as the clear trump card.
The jury is still out on the true purpose of the buildings at Machu Picchu, but the favoured school of thought is that it was a residential complex, an elaborate compound for Inca aristocracy.
Watching the sunrise above Machu Picchu and over the Andes is one of life’s most magic moments. Sitting in absolute silence, head not far from the clouds, it is quite easy to feel like royalty from a time long past. This awe-inspiring ancient city is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and there is no doubt as to why.
