Cusco NYE and NYD

New Years Eve in Cusco and after a drink at the hotel we had a group dinner including alpaca (tastes like beef) and watched some Peruvian dancing. In the main square it was raining heavily so we retreated to the hotel (the midnight firework photo is not mine).

Today we started with a drive up to the Inca temple of Saqsaywaman with incredible stonework. One of the photos shows a Puma paw - the Condor, Puma and Snake are important parts of the Inca religion.

After a retail stop we went back to Cusco for a tour of the Koricancha temple remains. The Spanish conquerers built a church over it but some walls remain with trapezoidal doors for strength. The window in the photo lines up with the winter solstice and the holes would have had precious stones. Inside the temple the walls were lined with silver and gold - that all went back to Spain. The seat set in the stone wall was where they placed the mummified Inca Kings so the people could bring offerings.

We also visited the Cathedral of Cusco in the main square which is a huge Basilica that took over 100 years to construct (no internal photos, sorry). After a rest we caught up with our friends at a brewery and went to the Irish pub for dinner. Sacred Valley tomorrow.Read more