The main plaza of Cusco is protected by an encirclement of Spanish cathedrals and churches. The bells go off at 5am sharp every morning and clang for half an hour, until everyone in the city has thought enough swear words that they have to drag themselves to church to repent of. I loved the narrow cobbled streets that spider out in an intricate maze that only locals could know. We had fun shopping around and getting ripped off and laughing at the strange ways of a new culture.  There’s plenty to enjoy in this city for several days–which we had the pleasure of enjoying since our plane got grounded from the cloudy weather.  Be aware that flights are often delayed in Cusco since it’s so high in the Andes!

Tip: I couldn’t go inside this building because I had shorts on.

Visiting Cusco with Kids

Tip: Cusco has long, narrow, cobbled streets that offer endless exploration for kids. You could easily spend a whole day at the little markets and wandering by the old Spanish churches. We actually ended up eating at the KFC in town, so there’s recognizable food right next to the traditional alpaca meat we had the next day.

We spent the day exploring–sneaking away from our guide to see as much as we could. Iridescent blue butterflies caused us to stop in our tracks as they floated by, big as sheets of paper. You can’t help but stare in silence.

We found a walking stick bug!! Can you believe it! Of all the most camouflaged creatures out there, what are the odds of us finding one of those?! And loads of frogs and lizards. Tornadoes of butterflies were my favorite to walk through. We even found a tiny poison dart frog! The lodge itself was a good place to spot wildlife as we spied a gecko, termites, a tarantula, and we rescued a hummingbird. Everywhere we searched we found some exotic plants, insects, mushrooms, or animals.

An organized lodge is the way to go in this part of the Amazon.  It cost a bit more, but included a guide and comfortable accommodation in such daunting wilderness.  I’d do this trip with older kids.

Exploring amazon fruits

We spent the entire morning up the canopy tower. The fear from the day before completely left me as I bounded up level after level–anxious to get to the top. It swayed slightly, like a cake with too many layers, but I didn’t even notice this time as I scanned the emerald treetops around us for flashes of color. Giant woodpeckers, miniature macaws, an owl with a mask on, and bright yellow and black weaver birds hopped around, trilling like a xylophone. A gang of exotic colored toucans raided the nest of the pure white and strong black eyeliner birds. I loved sunrise at the tower.

Later–we went to an orchard and tried this crazy new fruit that looked like a giant wrinkled string bean. You twist it to open and shiny purple things lay like slugs in white cottony fluff. To my surprise, our guide threw away the purple part and popped the white fluff in his mouth. Ha ha! Like juicy fluff!

Tip: Bring your own bird book. It helps to know what you’re looking for and it helps you see more.

Visiting Puerto Maldonado (the Amazon part of Peru) with Kids

Tip: There are many lodges that provide anywhere from 3 day to 14 day packages out in the Amazon. This is definitely the way to go. They take care of food, transportation, and comfortable lodging. It’s expensive, but if you bring kids here it’s the way to go.

Tip: Build a relationship with your guide–it makes the experience more meaningful and if they like you they will naturally provide a better quality experience.