The road to Machu Picchu

CUZCO, Peru - If you see a red-plastic bag waving on a stick like a flag, it's a signal the chicha is ready. The sacred drink of the Incas, chicha is a fermented corn beer many locals brew themselves in and around the Cuzco region of Peru. Finding and tasting the chicha is just one of the many diversions travelers can embrace on the road to Machu Picchu, Peru's most famous attraction.

The year 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of Machu Picchu's being rediscovered, as they like to say in Peru, by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. A UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu recently beat out the great pyramid of Giza as the number-one choice of readers in the Huffington Post poll "1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Your Most Desired Vacation Destination."

Machu Picchu is a spectacularly preserved Inca city. Its location in a cloud forest in the Andes Mountains protected it from destruction by the Spanish invaders, who, in the 16th century, destroyed much of the Inca Empire, including its capital at Cuzco.

There is much to see and do in Cuzco, about 70 miles from Machu Picchu. Today, it is a confluence of Catholicism and the Quechua (pronounced KATCH-wa) culture. Many of the colonial churches and cathedrals are built on Inca foundations.

If you are there in September for the festival of the Virgin of the Natividad, you will witness the mixing of the two civilizations in the most dramatic and entertaining of parades, with bands, dancers, costumes, and customs all on display. The Quechua, who are direct descendants of the Incas, live in and around Cuzco. Many still wear traditional clothing. Near the main square, Plaza de Armas, some will be trailing a llama for photo ops with tourists.

A lot to drink

In Cuzco, the places frequented by the locals where chicha is served are not easy to find - they are down alleys and behind walls. Be prepared to drink a lot if you order the chicha. It is served in massive glasses, but is hardly potent. You'll feel more bloated than buzzed.

(Along the way to Machu Picchu, if you go into one of the homes with the red bag flying, you might want to take your own cup and hope they didn't use the traditional brewing methods: Women chew the maize to a pulp and spit it into the concoction. The enzymes in saliva speed up fermentation.)