How to have fun in Cusco without Getting sick

The height of Cusco can make our body not to feel so good, and therefore not make our trip so fun as it should be. Here we can give you some recommendations to prevent getting sick and continue having fun in this mystic city:

-First you need to drink a lot of water or juice before, during, and after the trip. When our body is in height it uses a lot of body fluids, and we need to replace them so that our body can continue working. Approximately five liters a day would be OK.

-Also, you should avoid smoking or drinking during your trip. The alcohol will make your body to dehydrate, and this will make you to lose oxygen needed to get used to the heights. The ciggarretes will reduce greatly your pulmonar capacity, so they are also bad for heights.

-Fruits, vegetables, and bread are the best food during your first days in Cusco, because during that days your body is getting used to the height, you shouldn't give it more work with slow-digeting food or a buffe restaurant. After the first days you can consume these, but not in excese, because the cold of Cusco slows digestion and your stomach can feel very bad if you do not take care of what you eat.

-Moreover, try to rest the first days and not do any physical activity. As I mentioned before your body is working a lot to get used to the height. If you give it more work it will collapse, and probably you will start feeling sick (this is a reaction of your body to force you to rest).

-Stay in open places with a lot of air. There is already very little oxygen in Cusco, and you don't want to be in a place with even more less oxygen.

-Finally, preventing is better than regretting, when you are already with the symptons it is more difficult to feel good again. If you prevent taking all these recommendations I can assure you that you will have a very fun trip with no complications. If you are already feeling bad a pill or a "mate de coca" might help, if it does not get better see a doctor.

The Climate in Cuzco is varied. There are 2 seasons, the season of rains from November to March and the season of drought from April to October. In the Low jungle the climate is a moist climate, the temperatures are between 30 to 20°C. In the low yungas the climate is dry, the temperatures are between 32 and 4°C. In the central valleys the climate is a temperate climate, the temperatures are between 29 and -4°C. In the punas, the climate is very cold, the temperattures are between 10 and -10°C. These cold temperatures affect the velocity of the digestion in the stomach, and that's why you have to be careful of what you eat.
The height of Cusco is of approximately of 3400 metres above sea level. If you come from a place that is at 0 metres, then that is a great diference. To make a comparison it is like 10 times "El Palacio de la Bahia", the tallest building in south and central america (340 metres)

                                                       

                                                                         "El Palacio de la Bahia", the tallest building in south and central America.  

Moray

Moray


Moray

 Moray is located 74 km away from the city of Cuzco. Moray is 3500 m.s.n.m. This place is conformed by 4 circular andens, each one seems to disappear i nthe interior of the Puna.  

Moray is a agricultural investigation center in which the incas experimented different crops such as corn, potato, quinua, and others. Moray was a place in which the incas planted crops in order to make them acclimatize. Each anden had a difference in temperature of about 0.3°C, in this way they could make the plants adapt to any of the different climates of the Tahuantinsuyo, in this way thy solved the problem of hunger in all the empire.

Qoricancha

Qoricancha, the Genitals of the Puma

Qoricancha

The translation of this rare Inca name for the temple is “Gold Solar”. This touristic place has a lot of attractives and we will mention some of them:

First, the Ceremonial pool. It was worked by indian workers, it had the function as water storage, it has an octagonal form and cuadrangular base.

Also, the enclosure of the rainbow is a great attractive. It was covered by gold, with a wall that had the rainbow with its seven colors.

At the end of this gallery, we can find the Moon Temple. The Moon was considered as the sister of the Sun in Inca’s believes.

Then, we can find the sacred alley, this beautiful Inca passage gave acces to the most important place of Qoricancha. The biggest attractive of it are three big stones that have more than twenty angles.

After that we can appreciate the Temple of the Starts, the stars in Inca cosmovisión were known as the Sun and Moon servers, it was thought that each animal in earth had its parent in the sky as a star.

In the Temple of the Sun we could appreciate The Sun idol, the most important god for the Incas.

From outsides of the temple we can see great rock constructions made by the Incas and the sacred gardens, decorated with an impressive flora, that discover the beauties of Cusco.

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Q'enqo

Q'enqo



Q'enqo

 It is located 4 kilometers to the northeast from the city of Cuzco, it's altitude is of 3680 m.s.n.m. The ruins of Q'enqo are formed by a laberynth, a semicircular backyard, some niches and a chapel. the territory occupied by Q'enqo is over 3500 m².

This place had many uses, one of them was predicting the future of the production of crops, of the wealth of the empire, etc. They made this predictions by sacrifying black llamas on a rock table. There was a group of priests around the table, each especialized on interpreting each of the movements, sounds, color of blood, bloodshed, etc. Also Q'enqo was used to momify the people of the high society, the method they used was natural momification, it consisted in changing the place of the body from a cold envinronment to a hot one and viceversa.

Sacsayhuaman

 Sacsayhuaman, The Head of the Puma



Sacsayhuaman



It is found 1 kilometer away from the San Cristobal Church, in the City of Cuzco. This

arqueological remain has an extension of 3000 hectares and is placed on the highest mountain that surrounds the city of Cuzco.

The city of Cuzco was shaped with the form of a puma by the 9th inca Pachacutec (Tupac Inca Yupanqui). For this he channeled two rivers that passed accross the city of Cuzco so that it made the outline of the Puma, beign Sacsayhuaman the head of this Puma.



Cuzco's Pumas' shape





The Arquitecture of Sacsayhuaman is well known for the incredible presicion at fitting giant pieces of andesita rock that reached the weight of 350 tons. This arqueological remain has 3 floors consisting in 3 gigant walls that reached their peak at a ceremonial center. This construction was a temple in honor of the God Iyapa, the God of lightning, thunder, and rain, for this reason the stones are placed so that the gaps between them create the shape of a lightning.

Let it be clear that Sacsayhuaman wasn't a fortress designed to fortify the city of Cuzco and neither to harden the control of the Inca; as it was already mention, Sacsayhuaman was a temple in honor of the God Illapa, the God of lightning, thunder, and rain.