Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire and gateway to the Inka trail and Machu Picchu. We arrived in Cusco from Lima travelling from sea level to 3300 meters above, in a one hour plane ride. The first couple of days were spent acclimatising before the Inka trail, and boy did we need it. We were staying in a lovely family house on top of a hill. Not a particularly big hill but it was killler for the first few days due to the altitude. Sleeping and eating were difficult at first too but we took it easy and after about 2 days we were fine.

At the center of Cusco is the Plaza De Armas, the center square and is dominated by 2 magnificent churches, La Catedral and La Compania. Both have spectacular art inside and we got to go to mass in La Compania. It was very interesting to see the religious art in the churches, there is a huge Andean influence, e.g lots of references to former Inka gods like the sun, the moon and the mountains, in with scenes from the gospels.

Other Cusco highlights included Sachsayhuaman (pronounced Sexy Woman), a former Inka fortress. There is a fantastic view of the city from up here. We also visited Coricancha or San Domingo Church. This is a lovely church that was built over an Inka palace. An earthquake in 1950 revealed the Inka foundations and it is now a tourist attraction showing Cusco before and after the Spanish conquest.

One night we were eating in a random restaurant when one of our former classmates, Mike Kelliher walked in. We didnt even know he was travelling so it was quite a surprise and we had a good chat. After our first week in Cusco we set off on the unique Inka trail but that deserves its own piece. After the Inka trail we came back and did the Sacred Valley tour which showed more Inka fortresses and towns. This was probably something we should have done before Machu Picchu though, as nothing quite compared. The whole area around Cusco is so rich is history its amazing. Our final week in Cusco was spent taking Spanish classes. They were good, but the flashbacks to my schooldays were not so good. Six hours of school a day is tough after 7 years out of it.

On leaving Cusco we both decided it was our favourite place so far on the journey. We spent over 2 weeks there and were still not bored of the place when leaving. A must see place!!!