CUZCO’S PORTALS TO THE PAST

At 7 in the morning, few places are livelier than San Pedro station, the departure point for daily trains to Machu Picchu. Hurried footsteps clatter along cobblestone streets as travelers carrying overstuffed backpacks rush in, and merchants hawk provisions ranging from bananas to film.

From the crowded sidewalk, my traveling companion, Eddy Ancasi, and I surveyed the scene until the final straggler climbed aboard and the rickety orange and red caboose chugged south into the undulating Andes. Then we sighed with relief.

We had one of the best-kept secrets in South America to ourselves.

Well, almost to ourselves. This southern Peruvian city of 300,000 perched 11,000 feet in the Andes is home to intricate remnants of stonework from the Incan empire, to a grand array of churches and to a dazzling collection of 16th and 17th century paintings. But many travelers still use it as little more than a way station for Machu Picchu, the celebrated Incan ruins four hours to the southeast.

One day here was enough to persuade me that a longer stay was in order.

Like most Peruvian cities, Cuzco has a central square--the Plaza de Armas--but what sets it apart is the collection of striking colonial buildings, mostly constructed on the foundations of Incan palaces. Smaller plazas and narrow side streets, graced with colonial-era buildings and remains of the heavy limestone and volcanic rock architecture that the Incas favored, are scattered out from the center. Red-tiled roofs, whitewashed walls and cobblestone streets give the place the feeling of being well tended. Nothing seemed more than a 20-minute walk away in this compact city.

A stroll along Calle Loreto, a narrow side street lined with Incan masonry and jutting off from the Plaza de Armas, was a dramatic reminder that, for at least a century (from 1438 to 1532 and probably far longer), this was the capital of a mighty Incan empire of an estimated 12 million subjects. The majestic cathedral dominating the plaza is a stark symbol of the Spanish conquest of the city in the 1530s.

A retreat to the bar of the Monasterio, a deluxe hotel richly transformed from a hostelry for monks on the Plaza Nazarenas, gave me a chance to sip an outstanding pisco sour (a mixture of Peruvian brandy, sugar, lemon and egg white beloved in these parts).

And that’s about as much Cuzco as most visitors manage.

But Eddy, a photographer and writer who grew up in the Peruvian city of Arequipa and who had visited Cuzco (often spelled “Cusco” or sometimes “Qosqo”) three times, persuaded me that limiting ourselves to those attractions would be like glancing at a couple of jigsaw pieces and trying to visualize a whole puzzle.

A longtime student of traditional cultures, I had come here on vacation in August, drawn by stories of the city’s unique mix of all things indigenous and colonial. (The weather was not part of the lure. August is winter here; winds were brisk, and temperatures in the 40s and 50s.) In all, we devoted four days to exploring the city. On the fifth day we toured the surrounding Sacred Valley, a stretch of lush farmland dotted by Incan ruins and sprawling for more than 150 miles toward Machu Picchu.

D uring our stay I followed Eddy’s lead and sampled the best of local cuisine. We tried hearts of beef washed down with Cerveza Cusquena, a sweet local beer, at El Meson de los Espaderos, a cozy restaurant with a romantic view of the Plaza de Armas. One evening at El Truco, I had a mouthwatering bowl of ceviche and a tasty platter of grilled trout and roasted potatoes. At the warmly welcoming Cafe Roma, we had a soup of potatoes, a toasted corn dish called cancha, and a rocoto relleno (spicy bell pepper stuffed with ground beef). At Georky’s, an unassuming eatery a block away from the Plaza de Armas, we dined on charcoal-grilled chicken, beloved throughout Peru.

Together we wandered into the intimate courtyards hidden behind many of the storefront businesses, and we mingled with mestizos, the mixed-blood Peruvians with the dark eyes and jet-black hair of the Incas and the narrow noses of the Spanish. Throughout South America, Cuzquenos have a reputation as a naturally hospitable folk who give visitors a gracious welcome, a reputation they easily lived up to. Restaurateurs were ready to appease our every request; hoteliers were eager to help resolve even the smallest problem.

We spent one night in the Monasterio, whose elegant decor was matched by an equally gracious staff. For variety, we moved to the Royal Inka I, a more intimate hotel decorated with wood-beamed ceilings, handmade pottery and stunning photographs of Andean villages. Both places are just steps from the Plaza de Armas.

This city is well suited for urban explorers, so we set out on daily walks across it. Narrow streets like centrally located San Blas and San Cristobal made for particularly good strolls; they are lined with well-preserved colonial buildings constructed when the Spanish ran riot here between the 16th and 19th centuries. One memorable walk took me down Avenida del Sol, which begins one street away from the Plaza de Armas. The broad boulevard is lined with banks and is also home to the justice department, a striking structure with a white colonial facade.

But the real attraction is the Coricancha, an Incan ruin along the street. It was once the richest temple of the Incan empire, a monument lined with 700 sheets of solid gold. The early Spanish colonizers ripped away the gold and eventually built the Santo Domingo church over the structure. The church was heavily damaged in earthquakes in 1650 and 1950, but the foundation was unaffected and is now one of the best-preserved pieces of Incan architecture. Eddy spent an entire morning photographing Incan ruins and doors, intricately designed and painted in regal blues, deep reds and other bright colors their builders favored.

Alleys and courtyards throughout the city center are home to small boutiques offering Andean specialties: hand-knitted sweaters and hand-woven rugs made mostly of alpaca and bearing the intricate designs of Incas and other indigenous groups. Oils and watercolors of the Sacred Valley painted by local artists, gold jewelry, compact discs by Andean musicians--everything seemed a bargain by American standards. At a shop on San Blas specializing in hand-carved picture frames, I paid $40 for 10 frames that would have cost $200 back home.

As much as we were tempted to venture off the beaten track, the lure of Cuzco’s main attractions kept tugging us back. Where else but in San Blas, a tiny adobe church built in the late 16th century, would we see a pulpit covered in intricate cedar carvings? Where would we see Baroque facades as finely carved as those of La Compania, a monument of a church built by Jesuits on the Plaza de Armas in the late 1500s? And where could we behold such brilliant examples of the world-renowned Cuzquena School of Art, a 16th century movement that combines traditional oil painting techniques with purely local touches in pieces depicting religious scenes? The walls of La Compania, the church of Santo Domingo and other buildings throughout the city were lined with bold examples of it. And where else but in the plaza itself, where many Indians were publicly executed by the conquering Spaniards, could we get a more chilling sense of what the fall of the Incan empire was like?

Such attractions aside, Cuzco poses some challenges for even the most seasoned visitor. The high altitude can cause dizziness and shortness of breath. (After a first day of easy walking and minimal alcohol consumption, I adjusted.) Beggars are prevalent throughout the center city. Locals recommend giving a few coins on Saturdays, a day set aside especially for almsgiving, and I took the suggestion to heart. Guidebooks warned of pick-pocketing, purse-snatching and other crimes, so we avoided dark streets at night, carried little cash and wore no jewelry. We had no problems. Even though I speak a bit of Spanish, if I had not been traveling with a native Spanish speaker, language might have posed a barrier. In Cuzco, most waiters and other service workers understood some English. When we ventured out of the city and into the Sacred Valley, we encountered locals who spoke mainly Quechua, the language of the Indians.

Still, Peru is experiencing a cultural resurgence that makes it even more attractive as a destination. Long dismissed as second-class citizens by their European-rooted countrymen, the Indians of Peru are gradually gaining prominence. Alejandro Toledo, a Peruvian of indigenous blood, entered the presidential race earlier this year and garnered 40% of the primary vote before dropping out, alleging election tampering. (Incidentally, the recent political upheaval in Peru, including a call for new elections, has not affected Cuzco, acquaintances who live here have since told me.) Not long ago the city’s archbishop began encouraging priests to offer Mass in Quechua as well as Spanish.

“In Cuzco, more than any other city in Peru, people seem to be strongly proud of their roots,” said Rolando Tumpe Churata, a local policeman who helped guide us through the city. A stocky man with dark hair and high cheekbones, he had traced his own family back to that of rebellious Incas.

It was during a close-up look at the Incan wall along Hatunrumiyoc, a narrow street in central Cuzco, that my case of Inca-mania struck. I was gazing at a 12-sided hunk of limestone, perfectly cut to fit into the palace of Inca Roca. Archeologists consider the wall one of the finest illustrations of polygonal masonry. Examples of Incan stonework in Machu Picchu and other parts of the region are said to have been more difficult to carve, but this was enough to keep me ogling.

Each time I looked I had more questions: How did the Incas cut limestone so thick? How did they move it from a quarry? And how did they know the measurements to make it fit neatly into the wall?

Though long considered mysteries, such questions are now addressed in displays in the Museo Inka, a former colonial mansion devoted to explaining the culture of the Incas and other indigenous tribes. It’s five minutes by foot north of the Plaza de Armas, just off Avenida Tucuman. Although it had no explanations in English, a tour of the place held me rapt for two hours.

On our last morning we piled into a compact car for the 100-mile trip to the ruins of the Sacred Valley. Churata, the policeman, was our driver, and Cristina Ramos came along as a guide. This was a daylong tour of venues worthy of far more time and attention.

At Ollantaytambo, which was occupied by several smaller tribes before the coming of the Incas in the early 1400s, we climbed to the top of agricultural terraces opposite the fortress, an excellent vantage point from which to see how intricately the Incas developed their towns. Mostly an administration center, it was built on a well-thought-out grid system. There was a main plaza on one side, where the heart of village life took place, with a chapel for worship in one corner. Massive terraces were used for growing corn and other crops, which were traded at grain stores down below.

Pisac, 20 miles northeast of Cuzco, was a good example of a town with a colonial feel. We walked through a marketplace full of merchants selling handmade ceramic vases with different hues of brown and covered with Incan emblems, hand-woven tapestries of colorful village scenes, finely carved masks used for decoration and other impressive artifacts. This was by far the best place for buying local wares; we drove away with a trunkful of vases and rugs.

At Sacsayhuaman, a mountainside fort a mile and a half from Cuzco where one of the most decisive battles between Incas and Spaniards took place in 1536, we saw the remains of structures built of stones as much as 25 feet high and weighing 360 tons. Although long considered a fortress protecting Cuzco, this massive ruin--which dates to the 1440s--is now thought to have been a sacred site of worship, according to Abraham Alegria, the young Cuzco resident who acted as our guide there.

It was the residents I encountered who left the deepest impression. Here were basket weavers conversing in Quechua, not Spanish. There were pottery makers wearing flowered hats, red scarves and shawls like their ancestors. “Every day we learn something new about our past, and the more we learn the more hopeful we are about the future,” Alegria said, referring to the burgeoning interest in Indian cultures.

Night was falling as we drove down from the mountains into Cuzco, and the Plaza de Armas was outlined in glittering white lights. We would rise early for the morning train to Machu Picchu. As we neared the city I reflected on the education I had received in Incan and colonial culture. I understood what the Incas had accomplished and what those feats meant then and now. I felt ready for the journey.

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GUIDEBOOK

On Top of the World in Cuzco

Getting there: From LAX, only connecting service is available to Cuzco. LanChile flies nonstop to Lima with a change to LanPeru or TACA. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $699.

Where to stay: I splurged one night on the Hotel Monasterio de Cusco, Calle Palacios 136, telephone 011-51-84-24-1777, fax 011-51-84-23-7111, Internet https://monasterio.orient-express.com, an opulently restored former seminary with a grand lobby and superb views. Doubles with buffet breakfast begin at $160.

I spent several nights at the Royal Inka I, Plaza Regocijo 299, tel. 011-51-84-23-1067, fax 011-51-84-23-4221, Internet https://www.royalinkahotel.com, with beamed ceilings and other Old World touches. Doubles, with a good breakfast, begin at $78 a night. Next door, the Royal Inka II, Calle Santa Teresa 335, same telephone and fax, is slightly more upscale. Doubles begin at $90.

I checked out several budget options and found the Tambo Hotel, Ayacucho 233, tel. 011-51-84-22-3221, fax 011-51-84-23- 6788, to be clean and distinctive in character. Doubles begin at $25 a night, with breakfast.

Where to eat: Although the city has all manner of restaurants featuring cuisine from Italy, Japan and other far-flung corners, I favored places specializing in Peruvian fare. Reservations are rarely necessary unless you’re in a large group. El Meson de los Espaderos, Calle Espaderos 105, local tel. 23-5307, on the second floor of a building overlooking the Plaza de Armas, has tasty dishes of roast potatoes and parilladas, a platter of mixed grilled meats. Entrees range from $6 to $10. Cafe Roma, Portal de Panes 105, tel. 24-5041, offers a hearty three-course lunch of ceviche, pasta and dessert for about $8 a person. At dinner, entrees range from about $4 to $10. Its location--right on the Plaza de Armas--and the section of Inca wall running along one side enhance the atmosphere. La Ensaladera, Procuradores 371, no telephone, is a tiny but charming place on a restaurant-lined street that juts off the Plaza de Armas; dinner for two was about $12. El Truco, Plaza Regocijo 247, tel. 23-5295, serves excellent local cuisine; entrees range from $5 to $15.

Getting around: Taxis to and from the airport should cost about $3. Otherwise, most of the sights in the city are within walking distance. To visit the Sacred Valley, you can take a group tour or hire a taxi for about $40 a day.

Seeing the sights: Your first purchase should be the $10 visitor ticket, which allows entrance to all of the major ruins and other attractions in the city and the Sacred Valley, 14 places in all. It’s available at most tourist sites and also at the Oficina Boleto Turistico, Avenida del Sol 103. Call 011-51-84-26-3176.

For more information: Consulate General of Peru, Tourist Information, 3460 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1005, Los Angeles, CA 90010; tel. (213) 252-5910, fax (213) 252-8130. Useful Web sites: https://www.infoperu.net/english/ tourmenu.html, https://www.peru .com/cuzco (in Spanish), https://www.peru-explorer.com/cusco.htm.