Exploring Cusco

Peter Frost has been living/working in Peru since the 1980s and provides an amazing amount of information about Cusco, the Inca Trail/Machu Picchu, and the surrounding cities. There are multiple walking tours described in great detail as well as some great day hikes. Frost also gives a wonderful history of Cusco, the surrounding cities, and most of the Incan sites of the sacred valley that provides reference to the buildings you are viewing. I traveled to Peru this year (2007); and after searching in many bookstores in Lima, Cusco, and Pisac, I was finally able to find a copy of this book in Ollantaytambo (and promptly bought the only one in the store). This is a tough book to find since it has been out of print since 1999! The search proved worth it to me though, as I was able to travel through the area and learn more about the Inca sites with this book than friends who took guided tours. I only wish I had found the book before arriving in Peru! It also provides some great lodging and dining recommendations.