Kipu Life Trip Day 03: Cusco, Peru - Ancient Capital of the Inca Empire

On our third full day in Peru we traveled from the capital of Lima, Peru to the city of Cusco in the Andes mountains.

Cusco is 3500 meters up so the air is thin and it is recommended on your first day up that high you take it easy.

As some of the pictures below will show, we didn't listen to our own advise and few of us on the trip ended up bed ridden by late afternoon from the after effects of the altitude.

This wasn't before the lovely experience of touring the Ancient ruins of Sacsayhuaman and the surrounding sites.

Sacsayhuaman is a fortified complex that has a beautiful view of the Cusco valley. Theories surrounding the construction of the site range from some who believe it was indeed built by the Incas. Others who claim it could very well have been built thousands if not tens of thousands of years before hand.

Some researchers such as Graham Hancock and Randall Carlson hypothesize the ancient stone structures are actually remnants of a lost, ancient civilization from before the impact of the comet that caused the environmental climatic event known as Younger Dryas 11,700-12,900 years ago. This is a great youtube video by a incredible research who sheds some light into these theories.