Cusco

User Review:

• Cusco is the old capital of the Incas and was also an important colonial city for several centuries afterwards. The superimposition of the two monumental architectural styles gives it its breathtaking beauty. The Plaza de Armas and the district adjacent to it (called "Casco Historico") is I believe the only example in the Americas of a colonial center which is still also the political and business center of the town. Cusco was built by the Incas at the confluence of two rivers (now running underneath the asphalted city streets) in a beautiful elongated Andean valley, a short drive to Puno and Lake Titicaca (6 hours southeast),the Amazonian forest (9 hours north) teh Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu (4 hours nortwest) and within drivable distance of Lima (!2 hours west). The weather in Cusco is tropical, but tempered by the altitude (12,000ft.). Mostly there are only 2 seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. Great for hiking all year.
• The description was provided by Jean-Jacques Decoster