Trek 1: Gems of Cusco

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Trek 1: Gems of Cusco

Cusco, as the capital of the Inca civilization, counts with many buildings around the city. According to some chroniclers, it was a big city full of buildings, but not everyone was allowed to get in; that is why all the Inca trails had “control points”. Today just a few of those buildings are visited by tourists, it gives us the chance to visit them avoiding the crowded, enjoying the landscapes walking through original Inca trails.

Our adventure will take place in the ancient capital of the Inca Civilization: Cusco city.

This amazing and perfectly planned town had many multifunctional buildings (religion, military, agriculture, and others). It trails connected buildings, sites, towns, and allowed the correct development of the empire, it will be our time to explore some of them.

Our adventure will take place around Cusco, we will start our trekking on Kusilluchayoq site – also known as the Monkey’s temple, then we will visit the Amaru Markawasi site – also known as Moon temple, after that, we will continue our trekking toward Inkilltambo archaeological site, through an original Inca trail. Inkilltambo in Quechua means Inca prison, even when it was not a prison.

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Destinations
Departure	mornings / everyday / private service
Departure Time	8:00 AM
Dress Code	Comfortable walking shoes (Trainers), rain coat (rainy season), cap, sunglasses, sunblock, water bottles, positive energy.
Included	Box Lunch English-speaking Guide Transportation from the trekking ending point to your hotel Transportation from your hotel to the trekking starting point

Tour Plan

At 08:00 AM you will be picked up from your hotel, the transportation will drive for 10 to 15 min until the starting point of our trek. Our first gem to visit will be Kusilluchayoq (Monkey temple), its name is due to the presence of some figures carved in rock to which some attribute the shape of monkeys while others assume that they are pumas. For us, it will be the beginning of an original Inca trail (Qapaq Ñan). The next gem to explore will be Amaru Markawasi, also known as Moon temple, which is a gigantic in-situ rock that has many elements that compose it, the main one being the upper external surface where you have 360 visualizations, the most outstanding being the high-quality carvings, such as the surface of the ceremonial altar. Likewise, the steps and small sculptures of the Puma stand out, carved in high relief and whose heads were mutilated at the time of the colony, possibly to eradicate the native religion. After our guided tour to Amaru Markawasi, we will continue through the Qapaq Ñan (Inca Trail) for 1 hour to our next gem, Inkilltambo archaeological site. The route is scenic. The site is divided into two sectors; the agricultural and the religious area. Here we can appreciate some Colcas (food warehouses), identified in colonial vocabularies such as barns or garner "with walls" (González Holguín 1989 [1608]: 686). From here, we will hike back to Cusco city. The Tour ends approximately at 04:00PM.

Location

Trek 1: Gems of Cusco

Cusco City: Located between sacred mountains, such as "Apu Wanacahure" where according to the legends the empire was founded, Cusco offers a privileged geographical scenery, of beautiful landscapes; its cultural coalition Andean-Hispanic, has determined very special characteristics in its architecture and population. Walking around Cusco we will enjoy many archaeological sites and walk in original inca trails.

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