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Now, we are entering
in the heart of the Inca Empire. The tour begins in
Cusco. We arrived in Cusco in the dawn of August 8,
2005. Here there are several good hotels and
restaurants. Different of the other Peruvian cities,
Cusco is really for tourists, including much more
expensive prices in relation to the rest of Peru. 
Cusco is a beautiful
and very pleasant city. The main stores and hotels
are near to the central square "Plaza de las
Armas". You will be surprised by the great
amount of cabs that have in this city. My impression
is that everyone here is a taxi driver. Another
curious thing, all the cars are Japanese, very
little cars, perhaps inheritance of Fugimore.
Around the "Plaza
de las Armas" there are dozens of tourism
agencies that offer tours in the Cusco area
including Machu Picchu. Here you will also find the
oldest cathedral of America, shown at the side. 
A night view of the
cathedral. 
The city is an
archaeological site. The constructions are raised on
the Inca ruins. You will find several walls of Inca
constructions, as the famous rock of 12 angles,
shown at the side. 
Very close of the
city, we found the Saqsaywaman ruins. Saqsaywaman
means satiated hawk "halcón saciado" (saqsay
= saciado; waman = halcón). As says the legend,
after the war, the deads were eaten by the hawks. 
In Saqsaywaman you
can find the presumably sun clock, shown in the
picture. 
In the picture, a
view of Cusco from Saqsaywaman. 
The best tour in
Cusco area is the visit to Machu Picchu (latitude
13º09'49, longitude 72º32'43), that is located at
ca. 100 km at northwest of Cusco. There are
two forms to arrive in Machu Picchu, traveling by
train or walking by the Inca trail. If you want to
go by the Inca trail, you need to make reservations
in advance. 
If you go by train,
you will also see a wonderful landscape. The trip
delays 3 hours, while the return is more tiresome
and it can take up to 4 hours. 
The last station is
in a small village called "Aguas Calientes",
Hot Waters (latitude 13º09'20, longitude 72º31'26).
Starting from here it is possible to go by bus or
walking. 
Arriving the city
this is the first view. Machu Picchu ruins and
Huayna Picchu montain. 
This place is magic
and impossible of describing. The landscape is
wonderful. 
This is the portal,
the only entrance of the city. 
Machu Picchu, shown
in the picture, is the highest mountain of this
area, 3050 meters above sea level. 
Until the year of
1911, this place was known only by the peasants of
this area. In July 24, 1911, Hiram Bingham
discovered this place and revealed it for the world.
Machu Picchu is at
2400 meters above sea level and about 500 meters
above the railway on the margins of the Urubamba
river. 
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