Peru: Cusco

We mainly used Cusco as a base for excursions.  We spent very little time in the actual city of Cusco, which I regret.  It seemed like a cute little town, and it had some really beautiful buildings.  There’s a free walking tour that we didn’t get to go on, but next time I’d like to. ​

 
We arrived in Cusco with nothing booked – no tour and no hostel.  Colin had researched tour companies, and I had researched hostels, so we had an idea of what we wanted at least.  We haven’t arrived so unprepared before, but we heard that it was the cheapest way to find tours.  For example, online a 4 day tour in Manu National Park with the company we booked with was over $1,000 US.  We paid $250 US.  We arrived around lunch time, and we spent the next 5 hours getting our 3 tours booked and finding a hostel.  It was stressful, but like I said, much cheaper for the tours.  We left the next day and did 6 straight days of tours.  It was a fast week!
 
We stayed at Dragonfly Hostel for 37 Peruvian soles (about $12 US) a night for a mixed dorm of 8 people with a private bathroom (to share with the other people in the mixed dorm).  This was the same price as online, so it didn’t matter that we were booking last minute.  It was a fine hostel.  The wifi didn’t work very well in the actual dorm, but it was okay in the common area.  There was a very loud group staying while we were there, but it probably isn’t always like that. 
 
Peru is known for their food, and Cusco didn’t disappoint.  I had quinoa ravioli with a cream sauce that was amazing.  They have a lot of veggies and quinoa, so I felt healthier here. 
 
My biggest complaint about Cusco is the crazy number of tourists EVERYWHERE.  It’s crowded, and there are sooooo many people wandering around randomly.  That’s to be expected though considering Machu Picchu. 
 
See my separate blogs for each tour / excursion that we did from Cusco:

• Manu National Park (jungle / Amazon rainforest for 4 days)
• Rainbow Mountain (1 day)
• Machu Picchu (1 day)

​See our Peru photos here.