Day 3 Cusco

June 28, 2014

Today we took an early morning flight from Lima and arrived in Cusco, Peru with an elevation of 11,000 feet and a population of 400,000 people. After sometime to get acclimated to the new elevation, we had a chance to tour Cusco and see the Plaza de Armas in the center of town. 

We then had a chance to visit a numerous of Incan sites in the afternoon. We made our first stop at Sacsaywaman.  They say that this place was built for the lightening Gods. The rocks each way 100-120 tons and they say that it took about 75 years to build this fortress. Today they use it during the Inti Raymi festival held on June 24th.

Next on our trip was the Qenqo. This was a temple held for one of the Inca kings Pachamatec. Here everything is laid in a limestone formation and was used for mummification.  The Inca looked at death as a person giving birth into the past life when they die.

The students had a chance to eat dinner and enjoy a typical Incan dance/music. They loved it and even were dancing in their chairs. Today was a long day, and a chance to get used to the altitude. Tomorrow we venture into the highlight of our trip to see the citadel fortress of the Inca.