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Other entries in Cusco

A Little R 'n' R.

Returning from the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, the next few days were spent relaxing and recovering. Just taking in the sights, sounds and sampling the many eateries and watching the world go by in this fantastic city.

Useful Information for Travelers:

The Cuzco area has some extremely good international food with tasty options for all budgets. Best pizza ever at the end of the Av. Cultura. There's no need going to the expensive restaurants (which often only serve foreign food anyway), go to the restaurants that serve local food. Be sure to try an alpaca steak (don't forget a llama/alpaca is normally kept and used for it's wool - so only old animals will be slaughtered. But cuy (guinea pig) is the absolute traditional holiday food of the region. A must when visiting a market is to enjoy, in the cold season, "once frozen" / cooked potatoes.

"El Balcon" offers a soup, main course, and desert (no drink) for s/10 which is about $3.33. If you're looking for good quality food for not a lot of money, this is the place to go. 

• If you are looking for traditional Peruvian food try lomo saltado (beef tips with tomatoes, onions, and spices, over a bed of french fries and rice), aji de gallina(chicken in a very good yellow sauce with olives and hard-boiled eggs), or Papa Rellena (stuffed potato with beef, olives, hard-boiled egg, vegetables, and spices)
• Also, try eating at a Chifa. This is the Peruvian version of Chinese food. The neighborhood of Wanchaq has many Chifa restaurants.
• Try Inca Kola, a bubble gum/tutti-frutti flavored soda. This drink outsells Coca-Cola in Peru; (a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola company). Also, Chicha Morada is a Peruvian specialty. It's a spiced drink made out of purple corn.
• The soups are amazing. Try Sopa de Zapallo (a type of pumpkin soup)

If you want to try Cuy go for the Inka Grill in the Plaza de Armas, a bit pricey (60 soles) but is mouth wateringly good. Plus it is served without the head so eating doesn't remind you of your pet hamster.

Food quality on the whole is good in Cuzco; hygiene can however be rather lacking in places. Be wary of food like burgers - although cheap, this is not a local specialty.

• El Empridore has two restaurants within the city, both are very reasonably priced. They have a 13 page menu with all sorts of foods from around the world. Try the pisco sour tall, its the best in the city.
• There are huge and cheap breakfasts at Yaku Mama at the end of the Gringo Alley, but be warned that the door whores to the restaurants are worse than vultures!
• The sister restaurant Yaku Mama Grill on Plaza de Armas has some really good dinners, and a cheerful English-speaking waitress called Yolanda, but is a bit short on the alpacas.
• The absolute place though is MAMA Amerika (former Mama Africa) which actually is everything on 3 levels: snack, cafe (rooftop), restaurant (with a good cheap menu), 2 discos, the latest movies on DVD. Some of the decorations and paintings are by the owner/artist.
• Kukuly, Nuaynapata 318, is a cozy place with friendly prices also attracting locals, ran by a Swiss guy. Daily menu for 4 soles. Visit also Aromas de Juan Manuel for the best value three course meals including drinks for 4 soles / $1.33 / 66p!!!!!!
• "2 Nations" on Huaynapata, not too far and not too close to the Plaza de Armas, is a very new restaurant opened up by an Australian named Matt. The food is excellent (coming from a very large, multi ethnic menu, with an amazing cook to boot), and the service is not just service; chances are you´ll find yourself chatting with Matt himself for half the night. This place is a certainly one of the best restaurants in Cusco, and it will definitely be in all the next travel books. Great prices too!
• If the delicious Peruvian food does not agree with your stomach, and you need a break, there is a restaurant called Jack's(thought by most to be the best restaurant in Cusco) which serves a variety of delicious close-to-home foods in large portions. Jack's Cafe by the South American Explorers clubhouse at the corner of Choquechaka & Cuesta Blas, just past the 12 Angles Stone, serves fantastic food. Also probably the best coffee in Cusco. This is the best place to get a big breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, avocado, toast. You name it... and they probably have it. Also, right outside of Jack's is an empanada stand which has the best rocoto (a spicy salsa that goes well on the cheese or meat-stuffed pastries.

Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo, located in the Municipal Palace at Plaza Regocijo. Has exhibitions of contemporary art. Admission with the boleto turistico

• Museo Historico Regional, located in the home of the Inca historian Garcilaso de la Vargas. Many paintings from the 17th and 18h century.
• Museo del Sitio del Qoricancha, Av Sol. With information about the different pre-Columbian cultures and fragments of ceramics and textiles of the Inca culture.
• Museo de Arte Popular, located in the basement of the OFEC office. Displays a collection of popular art.
• Galleries; the stunning scenery of the Cuzco area are often very well depicted by local artists. It is possible to find cheap prints that are of surprisingly good quality if you're prepared to shop about.
• Santa Catalina Convent, also a collection of religious art. Admission with the boleto turistico.
• The walls of the city are Incan walls, particularly near the Plaza de Armas.
• Monumento Pachacuteq, down Av. Sol, is a statue of the Inca warrior King Pachacuteq. The statue is placed on a cylindrical base and the total monument is over 22 metres high. The cylindrical base can be climbed, but views are disappointing because the monument is located at a lower part of town. Admission with the boleto turistico.
• Walk around the Plaza de Armas; the square has churches, shops, restaurants and bars backing on to it and is a great place to spend an afternoon.

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