Everyone warned us about altitude sickness when we flew to Cusco, the Peruvian city that sits at over 11,000 feet in the Andes. You need to acclimate; avoid alcohol; drink the local coca tea; sip a lot of water, SLOWLY; try chicha, the locally fermented purple corn drink; get a prescription of Diamox; carry oxygen!
After an initial night in Cusco, our busy nine-day agenda continued with two nights at a much lower and more comfortable elevation in the nearby rain forest. As a result, the trip also involved first time inoculations for hepatitis A/B and both typhoid and yellow fever, along with taking anti-malaria medication and carrying doses of Imodium, Pepto and DiaResQ. Clearly we anticipated facing more serious illnesses than breathlessness.
When we finally reached Cusco after a short layover in Lima, we were overwhelmed more by the beauty of the Andean scenery and culture than by thin air. Our confusion and headaches could have just as easily been attributed to Florence Syndrome (or Stendahl Syndrome, a dizziness occurring when you're exposed to an object of great beauty) or even jet-lag, and were ultimately alleviated by sleep, ibuprofen and purchasing the pretty alpaca sweaters we saw in the Mercado San Pedro.
Early the next morning Wild Watch Peru drove us down the eastern slope of the Andes for some amazing bird-watching and, surprisingly, spectacular star-gazing in the upper Amazon near Manu National Park. Two days later, back in Cusco for two nights, we explored the Sacred Valley, the heart of the conquered Incan Empire. A train ride through the Urumbamba River Valley brought us to Aguas Caliente, our home for a night and, more importantly, our base for a two-day exploration of Machu Picchu, the spectacularly scenic and well-preserved Incan royal estate.
Yet another night in Cusco (the third check-in at the same hotel was more dizzying than any altitude sickness) allowed us to easily catch a morning flight to Lima for a day-and-a-half of sightseeing in this sprawling Latin American city before our late Sunday night flight home.
Needless to say, I took a lot of photographs. But more importantly, I learned a lot about Cusco, a region of Peru with a stunningly diverse geography, a rich cultural history and a mind-blowing natural history worthy of any discomfort needed to visit it.
After an initial night in Cusco, our busy nine-day agenda continued with two nights at a much lower and more comfortable elevation in the nearby rain forest. As a result, the trip also involved first time inoculations for hepatitis A/B and both typhoid and yellow fever, along with taking anti-malaria medication and carrying doses of Imodium, Pepto and DiaResQ. Clearly we anticipated facing more serious illnesses than breathlessness.
When we finally reached Cusco after a short layover in Lima, we were overwhelmed more by the beauty of the Andean scenery and culture than by thin air. Our confusion and headaches could have just as easily been attributed to Florence Syndrome (or Stendahl Syndrome, a dizziness occurring when you're exposed to an object of great beauty) or even jet-lag, and were ultimately alleviated by sleep, ibuprofen and purchasing the pretty alpaca sweaters we saw in the Mercado San Pedro.
Early the next morning Wild Watch Peru drove us down the eastern slope of the Andes for some amazing bird-watching and, surprisingly, spectacular star-gazing in the upper Amazon near Manu National Park. Two days later, back in Cusco for two nights, we explored the Sacred Valley, the heart of the conquered Incan Empire. A train ride through the Urumbamba River Valley brought us to Aguas Caliente, our home for a night and, more importantly, our base for a two-day exploration of Machu Picchu, the spectacularly scenic and well-preserved Incan royal estate.
Yet another night in Cusco (the third check-in at the same hotel was more dizzying than any altitude sickness) allowed us to easily catch a morning flight to Lima for a day-and-a-half of sightseeing in this sprawling Latin American city before our late Sunday night flight home.
Needless to say, I took a lot of photographs. But more importantly, I learned a lot about Cusco, a region of Peru with a stunningly diverse geography, a rich cultural history and a mind-blowing natural history worthy of any discomfort needed to visit it.
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| View of the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús and the Plaza de las Armes, Cusco. |
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| Incan foundation used in a colonial building in Cusco. |
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| Taste of Andes fashion on the road to the rain forest. |
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| Ninamarca, restored Pre-Incan burial site, in the Andes on the road to the rain forest. |
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| View from the cloud forest on the eastern slope of the Andes, entering the rain forest. |
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| Cock-of-the-rock, the national bird of Peru, in the cloud forest. He appears to be tilting his head. |
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| View of the Rio Madre de Dios, near Atalaya, our port for exploring the river near Manu National Park. The river flows into Bolivia, joining other rivers before reaching the Amazon in Brazil. |
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| Our Rio Madre de Dios water craft. |
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| A muddy hike through primary forest brought us to Machuhuassy Lake, a swampy habitat for many Amazonian birds like this hoatzin. |
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| Our cabin at Guadalupe Lodge, in secondary forest near Manu National Park. |
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| At Guadalupe Lodge, a golden-tailed sapphire hummingbird. |
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| One of at least twenty-five different species of butterfly or moth I observed in the rain forest. |
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| View of the night sky from Guadalupe Lodge. Can you see the Southern Cross in the Milky Way? |
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| Chestnut-fronted macaws near Pilcopata as we started our ascent out of the rain forest. |
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| Agricultural terraces at Pisaq, an archaeological site in the Sacred Valley. |
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| Archaeological site at Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley. |
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| Colonial church on Incan foundation in Chinchero, in the Sacred Valley. |
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| In Poroy, near Cusco, catching Peru Rail to Aguas Caliente. |
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| View of the Andes from our Vistadome car on Peru Rail along the Urubamba River Valley. |
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| Near Ollantaytambo, hikers at the start of a three or four day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. |
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| Panoramic view of the citadel of Machu Picchu. |
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| One of around twenty-five llamas keeping the grass from over-running Machu Picchu. |
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| Three gates compound in Machu Picchu. |
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| Start of the pathway to the Inca Trail out of Machu Picchu. |
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| Our group in the settlement's Main Gate that intentionally frames Waynu Picchu, our next day's hike. |
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| Steep ascent up Waynu Picchu. |
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| View of the Machu Picchu settlement from atop Waynu Picchu. |
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| Pre-Incan adornment on display at the Larco Museum in Lima. |
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| View of the Cathedral from the Plaza de las Armes in Lima. The church is the final resting place of Pizarro, who led the conquest of the Inca Empire. I finished my visit the way I started, through the eyes of a Spanish conqueror. Future posts will explore more of Cusco's natural history. |
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