Cusco, Peru The Beautiful Attractions Of The Region
Traveling to Peru is often a history lesson that people are going to want to remember for years to come. However, what people need to realize is when they do travel to Peru the country has quite a few regions it is broken down into, much like the United States with the individual states. However, unlike the United States these regions tend to be quite a bit smaller and this makes it easier to cover the entire region at once, instead of trying to break it down even further. With that being the case, we have Andrea, who has looked into the region and has found the top sights that you should put on your bucket list to guarantee you do not miss anything.
How I Narrowed Down The List
As you can tell our editor has already given me a great deal of work to do in narrowing down my list. However, they told me that I cannot put everything that I seen on the list down! So it was quite a bit of work, but with the history that is present in the Cusco region I decided that it was time for me to buckle down and do some work, yes that is hard to do, but we all have bills to pay. So I have finally narrowed down the list based off of what I thought of the place and what kind of historical significance it played. At the same time, though, I tried to put myself into your mindset as well and figured what would most people like to see. Taking all of these factors into account I finally was able to narrow down my list, even if it was quite a bit harder than what I imagined it would have ever been. So here is the list and a quick description of the sight to make it easier for you to see why you need to plan a stop at the location. As a side note, if the editors give me time I will be doing a more in depth review of each sight as I get time.
Huchuy Cusco
Huchuy Cusco is a place that you are going to love because it is not as famous as some of the other ruins in the area. However, you will also love the fact that it still has a lot of the ruins that you can see, but without the crowds. So this allows you to have more time to explore the region and actually get to enjoy the time because you are not going to feel like you are being pushed along. This is an active archaeological dig site so you do have to be mindful of this and allow the professionals to do the job they are supposed to be doing, but they are usually very nice and will answer questions as they can.
The site is actually the location of an older royal estate.This estate was established by the Incan emperor Viracocha in the 1400 BC period. So it dates back quite a bit and the estate is slowly being unearthed. What is really interesting is the fact that you are able to see an older ancient canal that the Incans built to provide the royal estate with the water that it was going to need to support the people who were living inside of the palace.
Cathedral of Santa Domingo
While it may not seem like it would be a lot of fun to do, you need to realize the impact that Catholicism made in this part of the world when it was brought over. However, what else you are going to like is the fact this is a cathedral that has some stunning artworks and tours that you may have never seen before or even thought about seeing when you were in a church. This alone makes it worth the price of admission, which is fairly low compared to most of the places you can take a tour of.
When you are in the Cathedral you will notice that it is very centrally located to everything you would want to have. What is really nice is you have a chance to attend daily mass if you are a Catholic and want to go to church. So this will make it easier for you to have a beautiful place to go. However, what you need to realize is this is a church that has quite a bit going on in it and it is open for tours which makes it a great place for you to go and tour even if you are not Catholic and just want to see a stunning structure in the city of Cusco.
Coricancha and The Convent Of Santa Domingo
If you are in this area of Peru you will notice that it is going to be a lot of things that involved a lot of gold. What you need to realize is the original capital still exist, but for some people it is not what they were expecting it to look like. Instead, it is a place that was covered in gold and in some places the original capitol is still standing. The problem is the ruins that are present were actually built upon and the only thing that really remains from the original part of the buildings is the foundation in most cases. However, other places still have some of the main rooms that are present in the form of rooms, minus all the gold.
The capitol building was originally torn down by the Spanish and on top of the buildings they would build the church of Santa Domingo and even the Convent of Santa Domingo. This has been a stalwart of the Catholic church in the area and definitely a place that a lot of people are going to enjoy touring because some of the original structures still exist, but they are not in the best condition so you do need to make sure you are careful with the type of work that you are seeing in the area and what you are doing.
Barrio de San Blas
Finding the beautiful art products is going to be a challenge at times. However, if you want to bring home a gift you need to know that it should be unique and not something that everyone is able to find quickly on the open market. This is when you should know that Cusco, the city, has a thriving arts and crafts community. These communities are a very popular destination with the tourist so you do have to remember you will need to contend with some of the tourist, but you will also love the fact that you are getting to meet with the people who have made the pieces that you are looking at buying and know the piece is going to be something unique in the way it has been made and even the materials the product was created with.
Something else that you will find enjoyable about the location is the fact this is a place that has made it quite a bit easier for you to enjoy the town. That is because this will get you out of the downtown region, but not in a region that you are going to be harmed in. However, you will notice that you will have quite a few crafters that may be clamoring to get your attention and this can make it a little bit more difficult for you to ignore everyone that is going to be trying to get your attention.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is one of the most recognized places that you are going to see in Peru. However, what you need to realize is the place is going to be something that you will want to realize is actually an area that is starting to get restored and it is a former Incan Citadel that a lot of people will want to take a tour of. I do have to admit that I am one of those people because I really love the fact that you can explore the culture and the area is slowly being restored to what it would have looked like when the empire was in its hay day. So this is definitely something that you are going to love because the restoration process is going to make it easier for you to imagine what it would be like to live in the time period that this was in its full glory.
At the location it has a great restoration of the Sun Temple that the Incas would have used. So this is definitely something that you are going to like because it makes it easier for you to get the right feel for the ancient culture and know what they used to do. What else is nice is the site as of this time has been completely restored up thirty percent, but this is not involving any of the gold that would take this lovely tourist attraction and make it a location you would not want to go to because of all the gold would make it a haven for criminals.
Ccochahuasi Animal Sanctuary
A very commonly overlooked area that people would want to travel to is going to be the Ccochahuasi Animal Sanctuary. This is a gorgeous place that has quite an extensive amount of wildlife that is being rehabilitated as much as possible. The place does have some permanent animals, but one aspect that people are going to love with this location is they do as much as possible to try to return the animals to the wild. A great aspect of this place is they have managed to return several condors to the wild and this is helping to support the wild population.
As a side note you will notice that you are going to want to take a tour bus to the location. This is going to make it easier for you to get to the location and know that you are going to have a good time getting to the area. However, this also makes it easier for you to get a tour around the location as well and have a chance to get to see the animals that are being rehabilitated before they go back into the wild. Great place to visit, but it can be considered out of the way for some people as they are not sure where it is at or even what it offers for them.
