Xapiri Ground

Cusco is a unique city among its South American peers. The capital of the Inca Empire, the Spaniards built a city on top of the old Incan city - using the Incan rocks all over the bottom of buildings. The facades of the buildings diverge significantly from the colorful stucco of its peers; it whitewashed buildings with blue accents as far as the eye can see. It would be easy to confuse this for coastal Greece or North Africa if you weren't aware of the lack of water. Cusco - just a comfortable train ride from Peruvian Disneyland (aka Machu Picchu) - has become the center of Peru's tourism industry. And while some parts of this make traveling to Cusco less authentic (you'll be able to imitate the ladies trying to sell massages really well by the end of your trip), Cusco's food and drink scene has exploded from the tourism rush. The best part (in my opinion)? A coffee scene predicated around local Peruvian coffee. The coffee shops in Cusco could rival coffee in most large cities in Western countries. If visiting Cusco, make sure to set aside some time in the morning or afternoon to look into some of these awesome coffee shops!