Peru Diaries 2 - Cusco & the Sacred Valley

Cusco is a beautiful city. It is small, quaint and has a lot of charm. The charm comes from the city and the people who live there. We arrived in the morning and made our way to Hotel Picoaga; which is an absolutely adorable spot. The first thing yu see when you get to Picoaga is the gorgeous stone courtyard and water fountain that just took our breath away. Our first day was spent pottering around the city and eating. We tried all kinds of things including Peru's delicacy Cuy. There are over 55 varieties of corn and 350 varieties of potatoes in Peru - both of which are included in almost every dish. In Cusco the highlight was the beautiful square and the narrow cobble stone streets that take you to all kinds of places. We loved the architecture of the monuments and spent the first day exploring the various churches and temples. On Day 2 we did a tour of the Sacred Valley. Pisac was our first stop. This is a small city where we saw our first Inca ruins. It was a  peek into things to come a few days later in Machu Pichu. Next stop was Ollantaytambo; residing in this town is an old Inca fort from where the views are spectacular. My favorite though was Chinchero. Here we explored a church that was built in 1607; the white washed structure against the lush green valley and brown stone walls looked magnificent. After Chinchero we headed back for a good nights rest. The next 2 days were going to be spent hiking in the Andes mountains. We had quite an adventure ahead of us.
Recommended Restaurants in Cusco: Paititi, Andes Grill and Jacks Cafe