Terra Andina Hotel, Cuzco

The Navel of the Universe - Cuzco

Advantages: Beautiful buildings and a real sense of history
Disadvantages: Extremely touristy and more expensive than most of the country.

, a small town in the Urubama Valley, about an hour and a half away from Cuzco as the minibus trundles. It's a very beautiful city, surrounded on all sides by mountains and encircled by ancient ruins the Incas left behind them, in various states of violition. The Spanish plundered the temples for stone, but many are still standing after earthquakes that floored more modern buildings. There are many hotels in the city, particularly around the main square, Plaza des Armas. As a rule these are pretty good, but the further out from the city centre you go, the shabbier they are. This is fine if one is after a more realistic experience, but caution is needed in the poorer areas as tourists can be an easy target for pickpocketers. One more thing - DON'T drink the water. Not even ice. It can make you really sick, as one of my campmates found out ...

dreamkin 14.12.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Cuzco

My heart belongs in Cuzco...

Advantages: Beautiful, cheap (if you know how) and cultural
Disadvantages: altitude, but only briefly

In the Summer of 2004, I went on a month long trek around Peru with the Gap Year company, 'World Challenge'. It was quite a whistle-stop tour, as we packed in Lima, Cuzco, the Amazon Basin, Macchu Piccu and Puno/Lake Titicaca all into around 26 days, so what we saw of Cuzco was brief, but... Magical. We fell in love with Cuzco - I, most especially. The wonderful thing about the place is that it combines the wonders of new technology (an internet cafe around every corner) and the beauty of the Inca and Spanish architecture. The streets are littered with shops, restaurants, hotels and hostels, as well as laundrys and supermarkets. There are hotels for the rich traveller, and hostels for the more economising. I myself was in a hostel, sparse but comfortable enough, at a price of about £2 a night, including breakfast. If you ...

marthas1234 31.03.2005 (07.04.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Cuzco

Cusco - A very charming city with altitude

Advantages: Beautiful archtecture, Inca ruins, fantastic food, wonderful scenery
Disadvantages: the altitude takes geting used to

Cusco is a beautiful city in south-eastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes mountain range (its altitude is around 3,300 m (10,800 ft). It is the former Inca capital city of Peru and was also the Colonial Spanish capital for many years. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and the Cusco Province. The city has a population of 348,935 which is triple the figure of 20 years ago. It has narrow cobbled streets and wonderful Spanish architecture and there is something of interest around every corner. We flew into Cusco from Puerto Maldonado with LAN Air. We were met at the airport and taken to our hotel - The Libertador Palacio Del Inka (I'm waiting for Ciao to let me do a review of this as it is not on their list of products!). While we were checking in we were offered a cup of coca tea to help with attitude ...

catsholiday 23.11.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Cuzco