CUSCO, THE URUBAMBA VALLEY AND MACHUPICCHU

Cusco was founded by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1534, who gave it the name Cuzco, Noble and Great City. Cusco had already been the capital of the great Inca Empire, and it possesses an incomparable cultural legacy which has led to it being commonly known as the Historical Capital of Peru and becoming the most important travel destination in the country.

The great history reflected in the buildings of the historic centre began in pre-Inca times and continued through the Inca, colonial and republican periods. In fact, Cusco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is situated in the highlands of southern Peru and it is the starting point for those planning to visit the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary, which since 2007 has been included in the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Machu Picchu was an Inca settlement and was built in the 15th century. It is the most important pre-Hispanic archaeological site in Peru. This magnificent city is considered the most important vestige of the Inca culture, in terms of its architecture, engineering, urban planning, agricultural system and Andean religion and spirituality. The complex is comprised of plazas, streets, water fountains, temples, palaces and residential areas, all of which are surrounded by a stunning geography of great magical-religious significance for the people of the Andes. Machu Picchu stands at the summit of a mountain and is surrounded by other peaks the steep slopes of which end at the banks of the Urubamba River. The city is surrounded by agricultural terraces which were the Incas’ solution to the rugged geography of the area. Machu Picchu stands at an altitude of 8,085 feet (2,450 metres).

The valley of the Urubamba River is a magical place where one can appreciate the living culture of the Quechua speaking inhabitants of the Andes. Visitors can enjoy colonial era villages, local markets, traditional handcrafts and local homes, and get a real feel for the Andean way of life. Local establishments serve chicha (the fermented corn beer drunk by the Incas which is still the traditional beverage in this part of the Peruvian Andes). The valley is the setting for a number of Inca remains, including the archaeological sites of Ollantaytambo and Pisac, which were constructed on mountain tops so that the limited flat areas of land in the valley could be used exclusively for the growing of the region’s several crops, particularly corn. Today local people cultivate white corn, which is the largest and sweetest corn on the cob in the world.