Cusco was previously known as ciudad de los incas (city of the incas), as it was the historic capital of the Inca Empire, but lately the city markets itself as ciudad de todos (a city for all). And it is true, there seems to be place for everyone here; you can see Indian ladies in their traditional dresses, Peruvian couples getting married, locals living their everyday life and thousands of tourists walking around and taking pictures.

Cusco has a beautiful historical center with many nice colonial buildings, and you can easily spend 1-2 days walking around and visiting the museums there, but as the city is very touristy, you will be constantly harassed by cab drivers, vendors and Indian ladies with baby alpacas selling their pictures. To be honest it is quite exhausting, so we were happy that we had only 2 days in Cusco and planned to spend more time in the Sacred Valley instead.

Cusco is located at an altitude of 3,400 meters and it is common for many visitors to experience some mild symptoms of altitude sickness. Both Kasper and I felt a little bit weird on the first day, but after a few of hours we got used to the altitude and it was not a problem for the rest of our stay in the area.

Everything in Cusco seems to be uphill, including our accommodation: Loki hostel. We were constantly walking up and down the stairs. On the upside we got some amazing panoramic views of Cusco.

Cusco is a great place for acclimatization and to plan your visit of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, but it is very touristy; 2 days are definitely enough time in ciudad de todos.