Cusco Photos


Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire and now serves as the launching point for trips to Machu Picchu. Most people associate the Incas with Peru and while the empire was centered here, it also stretched into modern day Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Also, the name "Incas" is actually only what the royalty were called. The correct name of the people as a whole is "Quechuas" due to the fact that the official language of the empire was Quechua. Quechua was always only a verbal language, never having an alphabet, although today users often use the Spanish alphabet to write its words. For example, Cusco is often instead spelled Cuzco because the name is actually a Quechua word, prior to the Spanish invasion never having a written form, and Cusco and Cuzco are both pronounced the same way in Spanish. Today, many people in rural areas of what was once the Incan Empire still speak exclusively Quechua, although the young people in these villages usually also learn Spanish.

Due to the lack of written language and therefore written records, nobody knows the original name of city we today call Machu Picchu. The name Machu Picchu comes from the name of the largest of the four mountains surrounding the city, which happens to not be the famous mountain that is all the pictures, Huayna Picchu. Machu Picchu was a special city, built for one of the most successful kings in the empire's history, which could not agriculturally support itself due to its spectacular setting perched atop such steep slopes. There were some crops grown on the larger terraces, but they were not enough to support the approximately 600 residents. Instead, food had to be brought from Cusco, which is why despite the Spanish never discovering Machu Picchu, it couldn't act as a refuge for the Quechuas.

The classic Inca Trail is tightly regulated and reservations must be made four weeks or more in advance. I often don't know for sure where I'll be four days in the future let alone four weeks, so the Inca Trail wasn't an option for me. The other ways of getting there are by train or alternative trekking route. Massey had to get home for his sister's wedding, so he only had time to do the train and he seemed happy to avoid another multi-day hike anyway. Afterwards, he headed to Lima for a fight back home. It was hard to see him go after traveling with him for a month, no only in South America, but a month in Thailand as well. The numerous cold nights above 3,000m weren't quite as relaxing or fun as the warmth and beaches of Thailand, but I think he still had a good time.

I chose to do the five day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu, nearly twice as long as the Inca Trail. While the Inca Trail goes past more archaeological sites, the Salktantay trek advertises more spectacular landscapes. Although we had several rare days of rain in the dry season, I really enjoyed the hike. We climbed over the snowy Salkantay Pass and then down through subtropical jungle to Aguas Calientes, the town right next to Machu Picchu. From Aguas Calientes, I was able to run up the "shortcut" path, consiting of 1600 stairs, when the lower gates opened at 5AM and be one of the first people to enter Machu Picchu when the main gate opened at 6AM as the sun was rising. Each person entering the city must have their ticket scanned and show their passport to verify their identity to prevent ticket scalping. Because of this, the flow of visitors is slow rather than a mass of people running in all at once. As one of the first in, I ran up more stairs to a point overlooking the city and was treated to a beautiful view of an empty and peaceful Machu Picchu, a truly awesome sight. Ten minutes later it was starting to get crowded and by midday it was impossible to walk around without bumping into people, but those first few minutes I'll never forget.