Page 12 of South America by Audley Travel

market in the sacred valley around cuzco leaving cuzco you can travel by road to some of the fascinating surrounding towns and villages the sunday market at chinchero sees a colourful array of goods with traditionally dressed women selling fine handicrafts you will have an opportunity to see threads being dyed and woven in one of the local houses plus visit the remains of the royal manor of the ruler tupac inca yupanqui the unusual circular inca terraces in moray are still used for farming today and in maras you can see the busy salt workers extracting the mineral in a way unchanged for generations since legend has it the sun god sent down a hail of salt on the people of maras as a punishment for rebelling against the incas the different salt pans create a strange and impressive sight with the mountainside a patchwork of browns and whites which you can walk amongst novotel cuzco hotel monasterio cuzco built as a monastery in 1592 and converted in 1995 into an opulent hotel which is one of the finest in south america the monasterio is a haven of peace and elegance in the centre of cuzco the elegant rooms and suites some of which can be `oxygen enriched if you are suffering from the altitude are decorated with fine works of religious art and are set around flowery courtyards the hotel even has its own chapel an ornate masterpiece the monasterio is a hotel that deserves a guided tour or at least a drink in the grounds whether you are staying there or not hotel libertador cuzco this hotel is located in a building full of history it was originally built to house the chosen virgins of the incas before becoming the home of francisco pizarro the first spanish governor of peru today it is a large and comfortable hotel with well appointed rooms peaceful courtyards and a choice of dining facilities including a bar with an original inca wall novotel cuzco the novotel has 99 rooms of which we just use the 16 colonial rooms that are located around its stunning courtyard carefully built around a 16th century spanish house which in turn had been built on inca foundations this hotel has plenty of character and a fine location close to cuzco s main plaza casa san blas cuzco occupying an 18th century adobe house that was originally home to a succession of merchant and artisan families the casa san blas is located in the heart of the historic artisan quarter of san blas in this picturesque quieter part of the city but just three blocks from the main plaza the casa san blas offers excellent value with good size rooms many with spectacular views of cuzco hotel monasterio cuzco 12

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