Drink the cocoa tea!
Written: Jun 21 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of activity
Cons: People begging for money & thieves
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| kdonica's Full Review: Cuzco |
I was in Cuzco for 2 days, 1 day each before and after my hike of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Cuzco is bustling with activity and it's a tourist center for adventure travel in Peru. Most trips to Machu Picchu use Cuzco as a starting/ending point.
Cuzco is about 10,000 feet altitude and we flew in from sea level in Lima, Peru. This was quite an adjustment. I haven't been to many high altitude previously and I was not prepared for how it was going to make me feel. Immediately upon arrival at our hotel they sat us down and served us cocoa tea. I think this helped slightly with the altitude and it is tasty. My first night in Cuzco I could hardly sleep from the altitude sickness, I took some Diamox, it helped but not enough. I would recommend staying in Cuzco for a couple of days to acclimate before doing any activity. This was a mistake that I made - we started our hiking trip one day after arriving in Cuzco and I think I would have felt a lot better if I had had an extra day.
About Cuzco in general...
There is a lot of shopping in street markets. They have decent goods but they are similar to the type of stuff you will find for sale all over Peru. The advantage here is that you can buy it all on one street in the Plaza de Armas (the main town square).
There are several historical sites to see - Inca ruins and a church from the Spanish conquerors. It was interesting to see how the Spanish came in and overlaid their Catholic tradition and culture on the Incas. There is an old Inca church where a Catholic cathedral was literally built on top of it as the second floor.
There are many beggars on the streets and I think numerous thieves. There was one person who we think was going to pickpocket my friend so I would recommend wearing a new moneybelt or having some other way to protect your valuables.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kdonica
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Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 2 members
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