Walking through Cusco
I love walking through the centre of Cusco. It’s such an interesting, vibrant colourful city with a good mix of locals and international tourists, many of them backpackers. It also feels very safe. I’ve walked around quite a lot, even to the parts where there’s far more locals than tourists, and so far I haven’t felt threatened or unsafe.
There are a few small annoyances though. On an average 10 minute walk through the centre of Cusco you’re almost certainly going to be approached by:
- At least 1 lady asking if you want to take a photo of her and her llama (you have to pay her for the pleasure of course).
- At least 2 store owners trying to get you to come into their store and look at what their selling.
- At least 1 artist wanting to show you his artwork for sale.
- At least 1 ten year old kid trying to sell you post cards.
- At least 4 girls asking if you want a massage. (It’s legitimate therapeutic massage, not a cover for prostitution, as far as I’m aware). This is usually the hardest to refuse, particularly when the massage is about £8 for 1 hour. I’ve had one so far and it was pretty good.
- At least 3 restaurant workers trying to get you to look at their menu
- At least 1 lady trying to sell you jewelry, trinkets or whatever else she’s carrying on her.
- You will also be honked at by at least 1 car driver, even though they’re 50 feet behind you and driving about 10 miles an hour (in some areas many of the roads are very narrow with even narrower pavements, so most people walk down the middle of the roads).
Thankfully most of the people who approach you are not persistant. If you just say ‘no gracias’ and keep walking they don’t usually follow.
So that’s walking through Cusco. I love it!
Really fantastci Andy, tell me, what do most people do in Cusco?
Are you intending to go to Machu Pichu?
Cusco is a essentially a central launching pad for a wide range of activities in this area of the Andes. You can probably find almost every kind of adventure activity you can think of, including hiking, hang-gliding, bungee jumping, white water rapids, canoeing, climbing, motorcycling, horse riding, exploring ancient ruins etc etc.
In Cusco itself you can spend days just pottering around the incredible amount of shops, museums and many other places of historic interest. There’s also a very lively nightlife here, with many restaurants, bars and clubs. Then for people who want something a bit more chilled out, or spiritually enlightening there’s a lot of spas and therapy centres and opportunities to work with shamans and take part in various ceremonies, such as ayahuasca ceremonies.
And yes, I will definitely be visiting Machu Picchu fairly soon. It’s about 3 and a half hours away from Cusco on the train, but I also hope to hike the Inca trail which goes from Cusco to Machu Picchu and takes about 4 days I think.