Cusco 🌈

Cusco, the most famous city in Peru. A city where you will never really be bored. I spent about a week there and there was still so much I would have liked to do. For me, as for many others, it was the starting point to Machu Picchu. When I first arrived after 20 hours on the bus from Ica to Cusco, it was initially very overwhelming, loud, and completely crowded. Accordingly, I just took a stroll through the city center in the evening before heading to bed. The next day, I wanted to really explore the city and joined a city tour. As the former capital of the Inca Empire, it is very rich in history. There’s a lot to see in the city, and a lot of celebrations take place here. You can still see along the city how perfectly the Incas built the houses, with each stone fitting perfectly to the next. But the next day, at 4:00 AM, I was off to the Salkantay Trek, so I just packed my things in the evening and went to bed. After 5 days, I was back in Cusco and wanted to continue exploring the city and its surroundings. But first on the agenda was getting a tattoo. 2 hours later, I was richer by an artwork, hand-poked by a Chilean woman. After that, I explored the San Blas area in Cusco. San Blas is known for its colorful alleys filled with textile shops. From the very top, you also get a perfect view over Cusco. I then enjoyed the view while having a delicious Peruvian coffee. Cusco is also the city to get to Rainbow Mountain. That was my plan for the next day. Like almost always, I was the only non-Peruvian on my bus. Honestly, I don’t know how I always end up on these buses. Even though opinions on Rainbow Mountain are quite divided, I found it to be really cool. There were indeed a lot of tourists there, but the colors of the mountain are truly fascinating, and in the background, the Red Valley with its red rock creates an impressive overall picture. At the mountain, I also coincidentally ran into a few members of the Salkantay Trek group. On the way, you see an incredible number of alpacas and llamas. Back home, sheep graze the pastures, while here it's alpacas and llamas. To wrap it up, there was a delicious traditional meal nearby. Unfortunately, that was already my last real day in Cusco. The next day, I would be heading south again by bus in the evening. I spent the day relaxing in the city and watched one of the typical city festivals for quite a while. The customs here are quite different from ours! I definitely enjoyed my time in Cusco 🫶🏼