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South Valley of Cusco

Do you want to know the tourist attractions of Cusco, but do not know where to start, in this article we will talk about the places you can visit when visiting the South Valley of the city of Cusco, which you can visit the Huacarpay Lagoon, Saylla village, Oropesa village and the village of Lucre..

In short, knowing these unique destinations will allow you to know and savor the rich cuisine that has each of these people, but that's not all we will also see what travel agencies offer us as tour of the South Valley of Cusco, then we will detail what things we can find in these places.

What is the South Valley?

La parte meridionale della città di Cusco è nota come Valle del Sud, un luogo molto importante dove si sviluppò la prima cultura pre-Inca nota come Marcavalle, che popolò il luogo intorno al 1000 a.C.

During the visit to the southern valley you can learn about their culture, tradition, lifestyle and even find some Inca remains that will teach you more about their culture.

Why is it called South Valley?

As we said before, it is in the southern part of the city of Cusco, and houses archaeological sites, colonial temples, and above all it shows its rich gastronomy and some activities that you can practice.

What to see in the South Valley of Cusco?

We have a variety of places to visit and activities to do which I will detail below:

Huacarpay Lagoon

The Huacarpay Lagoon is 27 km from the city of Cusco (30 minutes from the city), located in the district of Lucre at about 3,050 meters above sea level. Its name Huacarpay refers to the White Heron bird that inhabits the site and in Quechua is known as "Wakar", according to the villagers mention that this bird inhabits the waters of the lagoon throughout the year however at present this species is reducing.

What does the Huacarpay Lagoon offer us? We can see that it has four permanent lagoons, two marshes with rivers that cross the lagoon, it is characterized because its waters are shallow and fed by the Lucre River, it is home to different species of birds and has a unique beauty.

Town of Saylla

The town of Saylla is known as the gateway to the city of Cusco, by history it is known that Saylla is settled on three ancient ayllus: Saylla, Anawarque and Chingo, the latter two ayllus still retain their traditional organization and production based on relations of solidarity and reciprocity (ayni and mita).

Regarding its gastronomy there you can eat the best pork cracklings, as you will find a variety of chicharronerias that offer their traditional dish, some have open fields to better enjoy and others have games, etc..

As an extreme activity Saylla offers us to do the extreme swing better known as mortal swing from a supported platform, it has all the safety and precautions of the case.

Typical dish of Chicharrón from Saylla
Typical dish of Chicharrón from Saylla

Town of Oropesa, the city of bread

The town of Oropesa is located south of Cusco, has a unique feature, because since ancient times they were dedicated to the planting of wheat, an activity that was carried out by the following generations and that over time were dedicated to the production of bread, so they are known as the largest producers of Oropesa plan and bread chuta.

The Oropesa bread accompanies the famous adobo, another of the typical dishes of the region but as I mentioned they are best known for their bread making.

Town of Lucre

The town of Lucre is 29 km from the city of Cusco, by bus it takes at least 20 minutes to get there. This destination is known for its duck-based cuisine, such as roast duck, baked duck, rice with duck and other specialties served with duck.

It also has tourist sites that you can visit such as Pikillacta, Choquepujio, Cañacaray, Urpicancha and Minispata, but the most visited is Pikillaqta for being one of the main urban human settlements of the Andes.

Visit the South Valley of Cusco with Terandes.com

Knowing the South Valley of Cusco is undoubtedly one of the best experiences that you will take with you, because you will not only visit an attraction, when the tour is done we will arrive to different places like the Archaeological Site of Tipon where the best Inca hydraulic engineering is evidenced, you can visit the Archaeological Site of Piquillaqtaanother of the first pre-Inca settlements.

Then we headed to one of theColonial Church Andahuaylillas or known as "The Sistine Chapel of America" which has paintings on its walls belonging to the Cusco school and the ceiling, definitely one of the best works of art.

Finally we will visit the Archaeological Site of Raqchi, another well known destination, because there is the temple of Wiracocha. Visiting with our travel agency Terandes.com will allow you to visit each of these attractions with a specialized guide, if you are interested in this tour write us to WhatsApp +51 984 550 165 or leave us a message to our mail ventas@terandes.com.

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