July 27 - The capital of the Inca dynasty and gateway to the imperial city of Machu Picchu, Cusco is one of the highlights of South America. Stately and historic, with stone streets and building foundations laid by the Incas more than five centuries ago, the town is enlivened by throngs of travelers who have transformed the historic center around the Plaza de Armas into a mecca of sorts for South American adventurers.

The Incas made Q'osqo (meaning "navel of the world" in Quechua) the political, military, and cultural center of their empire, which stretched up and down the Andes, from Ecuador through Bolivia and all the way to Chile. Cusco was the empire's holy city, and it was also ground zero of the legendary Inca network of roads connecting all points in the empire.

The Spanish conquistadors knew it was essential to topple the capital city to take control of the region, a feat they ultimately accomplished after an epic battle at Sacsayhuamán. The Spaniards razed most Inca buildings and monuments, but in many cases found the structures so well engineered that they built upon the very foundations of Inca Cusco. Many perfectly constructed Inca stone walls, examples of unrivaled stonemasonry, still stand.

Cusco's highlights include both Inca ruins--such as Sacsayhuamán, a seemingly impregnable fortress on a hill overlooking the city, and Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun--and colonial-era baroque and Renaissance churches and mansions at Plaza de Armas.

Cradled by the southeastern Andes mountains that were so fundamental to the Inca belief system, Cusco sits at an altitude of 3,400m (11,000 ft.). The air is noticeably thinner here and the city, best explored on foot, demands arduous hiking up stone steps, leaving even the fittest of travelers gasping for breath. For a few, it sometimes takes a couple of days to get acclimatized before moving on from Cusco to explore the mountain villages of the Urubamba Valley (also known as the Sacred Valley), the Amazon basin, and, of course, Machu Picchu. Others head straight for the Mate de Coca which can make your head spin and your body reel. Coca-leaf tea, a perfectly legal local drink that's been a tradition in the Andes for centuries, is a great way to deal with the high altitude of the mountains - most hotels have it at the ready for their guests.

Things I did and not to miss …

River Rafting in the Urubamba River - Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Mate de Coca: Coca-leaf tea, a perfectly legal local drink that's been a tradition in the Andes for centuries, which can make your head spin and your body reel.

Ceviche: A classic Peruvian ceviche: raw fish and shellfish marinated in lime or lemon juice and hot chili peppers called aji amarillo, served with raw onion, sweet potato, and toasted corn.

Pisco sour is the national drink of choice--something like an Andean margarita.

Cuy (guinea pig): An old Andean family favorite cuisine. It is served whole (head, paws and all) on a platter with potatoes and vegetables. It tastes a little like chicken, but with a gamey flavour. About the size of a large rat, guinea pigs can be rather skinny and there’s often not a lot of meat on them. Cuy appears on the menu of many restaurants in the highland regions of Peru but is considered a novelty by tourists, and it’s often rather expensive.

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