The bus ride from Lima to Cusco is a long 24 hours up curvy mountain roads. We start off at sea level, in Lima, and end our ride at 3,400 m, in Cusco. Cusco is a medium sized city but so many tourists come here because of Machu Picchu that it feels like half the city is built around tourism. You have everything from 5 star hotels to hostels that only cost 8 Soles a night (that's about $3 Canadian) and Starbucks to Peruvian street food. There are lots of ladies in the main plazas selling massages, and children in traditional Quechua clothing posing for pictures, for money of course.
We were supposed to Couchsurf at Willy's house but when we arrived he already had 5 people at his place, so he suggested a hostel where we could stay. We really liked Hostel Ukukus and stayed there rather than going to Willy's place later. It was clean, comfortable and had the hottest shower we have had so far in South America!
We spent a couple afternoons exploring the plazas and many streets with artisan shops selling the usual "Alpaca" clothing and handcrafts. There are also many stores selling all the gear necessary for a hike up to Machu Picchu (jackets, ponchos, boots, tents, etc.). The plazas and streets are filled with so many beautiful churches and buildings that you could really just come to Cusco as a destination itself.
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