OK, I´m going to have to separate this into two posts because Cusco is awesome but there is some stuff you should know.

Firstly altitiude is a bitch. Many people fly into Cusco from other high altitude spots like La Paz in Bolivia and so they´re already well adjusted. But if you´re doing Peru only, then take care on your first few days. My advice is (if you´re coming from overseas), check into your hotel, get a really plain meal for dinner (no rich restaurant food), drink plenty of water and go straight to bed. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. You will feel like death warmed up. So don´t waste your money on a great meal you can´t eat like I did!

Secondly, Cusco is a bona fide tourist town. It´s a cliche used widely in the west, but until you´ve experienced it here, you have no idea. Some pubs even sell a T shirt with ´No Gracias´ on it to fend off the local vendors. It´s also a bit sleazy at night with people offering you free drinks and stuff. Leading me onto my next point.

Regarding alcohol, take it easy champ. There´s plenty of bars but with less oxygen in your lungs, you´re gonna get drunk a lot quicker and end up like a fourteen year old mess. And you will be dehydrated as hell and up all night pissing. No fun. So at least for the first couple of days, maybe lay off the piss! 

Oh yeah, and the coca. It´s everywhere. Drink plenty of coca tea, or even better buy the coca flour which will sort your right out. But you ain´t gonna get stoned off it champ. You can chew coca leaves to your hearts content and you won´t be like Tony Montana on Scarface. It fixes your digestion and altitude sickness though.

Finally, trouble. Especially in the main plaza in Cusco, there are cops everywhere. They are really making a concerted effort to stop violence against tourists. But a poor bloke got mugged the second night we were here, just outside our window. An Aussie guy that has a restaurant here told me it was absolutely remarkable - because the tourist police here crack down HARD on anyone that mugs a tourist. While I believe him, there are no street lights here and there´s plenty of steep dark alleys. So if you´re not absolutely knackered at night from sightseeing, either stay right in town or have early nights.

Anyway, that´s the load off my mind. Next comes the happy stuff, of which there´s plenty!