Day 7: Departure Day
Spend the day exploring Cusco on your own. Fly today to Lima where you will connect with an international flight home.
More about Cusco and Lima:
Cuzco (also Cusco or Qosqo) was the religious and administrative capital of the Inca Empire which flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1534 CE. The Incas controlled territory from Quito to Santiago, making theirs the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time. Cuzco, which had a population of up to 150,000 at its peak, was laid out in the form of a puma and was dominated by fine buildings and palaces, the richest of all being the sacred gold-covered and emerald-studded Coricancha complex which included a temple to the Inca sun god Inti. Cuzco is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Cusco in Mythology:
In mythology the Inca race was created by the great god Viracocha who caused them to be born from the sun god Inti. The first eight Incas were thus born at Tiwanaku or, in an alternative version, they emerged from the sacred Pacaritambo cave, and then they migrated down to the Cuzco valley. Led by Manco Capac (or Manko Qhapaq) and Mama Ocllo, the group fulfilled the earlier prophecy whereby they should settle where their golden staff could be easily driven into the ground. Before the Incas could prosper, though, they first had to defeat their local rivals, the Chanca, a feat they achieved with the help of stone giants, the Pururaucas. This event did have a basis in reality, as the Incas did indeed defeat the Chanca in 1438 CE. Thus the Inca capital was established. The name Cuzco may derive from either Gosqo, meaning 'dried-up lake bed' or Cozco, a particular stone marker in the city.
More about Lima:
In Lima everything is in endless movement, and even the past is constantly being rediscovered. Lima offers an extraordinary range of emotions, sensations, colors and flavors: travelers can visit the city’s impressive cathedral, fly over the ocean, enjoy a photogenic sunset, or savor unmatched cuisine.
Lima is a place of converging trends, created by its people and their living culture, where you will find every corner of Peru represented. Lima, filled with colonial-era riches, is the only capital in South America that faces the sea, and it is hailed as the gastronomic capital of Latin America.