Oh man, I stayed almost 2 weeks in Cusco! Time really flights when your having fun.. I arrived in Cusco together with David and Cameron - both from the UK. We didn`t had any hostel booked in advanced so we ended up switching hostels 6 times!! Good for getting an impression about different hostels but not really good for getting some rest. But we didn`t had to sleep on the street :) We also saw the Inti Raymi festival, held only once a year on the 24th of June.

Cusco

What can I say about Cusco.. well its a great city just like Arequipa. Smaller thought but the centre had enough historical buildings to keep me busy for 1 or 2 days. Unfortunately I wasn`t able to do much walking the first couple of days because of my huge blisters from the trek to Cusco from Arequipa :(

But I managed to get myself to some touristic sights like the Coricancha Temple, the Cathedral of Cuscon and the wonderful Sacsayhuamán plus it`s great viewpoint over the city. I also visited the Inka Museum, which was not really worth going to. Other sights had to be skipped because I had to give my feet a rest for most of the day.

So whenever I wasn`t walking through the city I spend my time watching a movie in the hostel or at Mythology - big disco in town - or drinking tea and watching sports at Real McCoy`s. The days past by and my feet were getting better and better again, so we booked our alternative Machu Picchu trek. With still a couple of days to spent we visited the Inti Raymi festivalon June the 24th at the Sacsayhuamán ruins. It`s a great show invloving hundreds of people in traditional cloths and with traditional music. But halfway the show we had to go, because the people behind us were getting too aggressive. In the first half we already witnessed people fighting, throwing stones or other objects to each other and people getting pushed away. So to save our lives we left.

Music and Carnaval

During the two weeks people were getting ready for the Inti Raymi festival, so on the Plaza de Armas many local carnaval groups made their performances. Really great to see! Every group had their own traditional clothes and music. And they danced all day long!

Hostels

So switching hostels 6 times in 2 weeks in 1 city.. a new record! So for people how come to Cusco, here are my top 3 hostels:
1. Gringa 1
2. Sammy Wasi
3. Pirwa Minihostel

All have free internet (also wifi), breakfast and a TV room with many DVDs. Prices are 30 to 20 soles.

Photo`s of Cusco.