2-Day Cusco Itinerary - Colonial Splendor & Inca Ruins
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Cusco, once the capital of the mighty Inca empire and later an important center under Spanish rule, is almost certainly the prettiest city in Peru and realistically one of the prettiest in all of South America.
Everywhere you wander you’ll be surrounded by white plaster buildings with ornate wooden balconies and red tiled roofs, elegant arcades line peaceful city squares, and the cobblestone streets are always full of people.
The lovely Spanish Colonial architecture quite literally rests on the foundations of the Inca empire; massive dark stones that still form the base of these buildings. Just one look at the incredible stonework is enough to leave you in awe.
With almost 500,000 residents, it’s also a real city, and not just a place for tourism. There is a lively and bustling air, and it’s easy to see how you might settle in and spend a few weeks here.
Aside from being beautiful and pleasant in its own right, Cusco is also the jumping off point for exploration of the nearby Sacred Valley, and of course, for journeys to Machu Picchu.
With excellent tourist services, good hotels, and terrific dining, it is the perfect place to start any journey into the Peruvian Andes.
Read on for my detailed guide on how to spend two days here.
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Day 1: See the sights in the historic center
Today is dedicated to exploring the historic center of Cusco and seeing the city’s main sights, as well as a few charming neighborhoods.
Morning
Plaza de Armas
Start your first day in Cusco by visiting the major historical sites all clustered around the Plaza de Armas, the city’s central square.
In the main square, you should first just go sit on the steps in front of the statue of Manco Capac, supposedly the first Inca emperor. Take a moment to look around and enjoy the beautiful colonial architecture and the busy atmosphere. Three sides of the square are flanked by lovely arcades (covered stone archways/passageways) with shops and tourist agencies in the storefronts - go for a walk under them.
The Plaza de Armas
Cusco Cathedral
On the eastern side of the square, you’ll see the elegant stone Cathedral. Surprisingly austere on the inside, it houses an excellent collection of artwork pertaining to the “Escuela Cuzqueña” or “Cusco school”, a particular style of painting that developed in Peru over the 16th to 18th centuries. The painting of the Last Supper, featuring guinea pig on the apostles’ plates, is particularly interesting.
After, also pop inside the Compañia de Jesus church. A Jesuit church from the late 1500s, it features an intricate Baroque facade and far eclipses the Cathedral in beauty. Its construction caused a stir at the time, even requiring an intervention from the Pope. You can also get nice views if you climb the bell tower.
The Cathedral
Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesus
Lovely Plazoleta Nazarenas
After visiting the churches, locate Calle Triunfo (a street - on the corner of the Compañia de Jesus church) and walk up it towards Plazoleta Nazarenas, a gorgeous little square. Have a walk around and peak your head into the Belmond Monasterio hotel, probably the finest hotel in the city.
Plazoleta Nazarenas. Photo: Pedro Szekely, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Up, up, up into San Blas
From here, you’re a quick (although steep) walk up to the neighborhood of San Blas. This is one of Cusco’s prettiest neighborhoods, and many of the streets are only for pedestrians, so it’s a joy to wander. On your way up, the buildings you’ll walk past almost all have enormous Inca stonework as their foundations, and you’ll pass by the famous “12-sided stone”, so be on the lookout.
In San Blas, certainly sit and enjoy the lovely square of Plaza San Blas, which has a church (currently undergoing renovations) which has a beautiful carved wooden pulpit and great views from its bell tower. Go inside if it’s open when you visit.
San Blas is full of artisan workshops, pretty stores, lots of cafes, and some great restaurants. I recommend just wandering around with no particular direction and enjoying the neighborhood.
If you’re up for a breath-busting climb up some stairs, you can catch a terrific view at the Mirador de San Blas viewpoint. A nearby restaurant, Limbus Restobar, has a balcony with equally terrific views, and the food and drinks are actually pretty good. If you want a break (or lunch), it’s a good option.
Calle Triunfo
Cuesta San Blas
A San Blas street. Photo: Pedro Szekely, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Blas
Afternoon
Lunch time!
For lunch, I’d recommend choosing somewhere in San Blas. I already mentioned Limbus Restobar, but you could also consider somewhere like Pachapapa, a restaurant in Plaza San Blas with a nice back garden that serves traditional Andean food, including roast Guinea pig (although you must order it in advance).
For something very local, the Mercado San Blas market has various vendors serving cheap, local lunches. The vegetarian restaurant there is quite good.
Once refueled, leisurely make your way back down to the city center from San Blas.
Qorikancha
You first stop is Qorikancha, now also referred to as Convento de Santo Domingo. This was once the site of a major Inca temple and now a pretty Dominican convent.
Its walls and floors were covered in pure gold and silver during Inca times, but supposedly they were stripped during the Spanish conquest.
To get there from San Blas, walk back to the Plaza de Armas and then navigate over to the gorgeous pedestrian alleyway called “Calle Loreto” just off the square. The alley is one of the prettiest streets in Cusco, so walk down it!
You could also walk directly down busy Avenida El Sol, but it wouldn’t be as much fun!
Qorikancha. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The interior courtyard of Qorikancha
San Pedro Market
From Qorikancha, walk over to the San Pedro Market. Here, you’ll find all sorts of things for sale, ranging from tourist trinkets to meat, produce, and cheese vendors, restaurants and stalls selling juices, and stalls with medicinal herbs and crops. It’s interesting to see.
The area surrounding the market is also interesting, so have a look around.
San Pedro market
Calle Santa Clara near the San Pedro Market
Arco de Santa Clara gate. Photo: Lindaazucena00, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plaza Regocijo
From here, you’re near to the pretty Plaza Regocijo square. I like to just sit on one of the benches there and watch the world go by, but you’ll also find some cafes around the square, including a few with upstairs balconies.
Evening
Sunset at San Cristobal church
To end the day, catch a taxi up to the hilltop San Cristobal church (which you’ll probably have noticed when you were in the Plaza de Armas) for sunset. The view over the city is simply magical.
Dinner at Morena
For dinner, the world is your oyster, but I’m partial to the excellent restaurant Morena, which serves dishes typical of Peru’s coastal regions. Like many of Cusco’s best restaurants, it caters to tourists, but it’s very good.
A partial view from San Cristobal church
Day 2: Inca archaeology, history, and a little local beer!
Your second day covers a few splendid archaeological sites on Cusco’s city limits and then leaves time to relax in town and explore further.
Morning
Inca archaeological sights
Get an early-ish start today so that you can explore nearby archaeological sites before the crowds start to show up.
You should plan on visiting Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Tambomachay, and Puka Pukara, four wonderful places all of which are 10-20 minutes by car from the historic center.
Sacsayhuaman is certainly the most impressive site; set in huge field above the city, you’ll be able to walk around ancient Inca walls and the remains of buildings, all built with unbelievably massive stones. The stonework is incredible, but so is the location.
The other 3 sites are all smaller, but still very impressive.
Tambomachay is my favorite of the three, as the ruins are fairly well-preserved, unique, and the location is beautiful.
Q’enqo is incredible because it was carved out of an area with already naturally-forming rock. Very little of the original structures remains, but the site itself is stunning and the views over Cusco are excellent.
Puka Pukara is a bit like a miniature Sacsayhuaman, with intact walls set all around the top of a hill. It was clearly a military structure.
To get to these sites, you can hire a guide or driver to spend the morning with you, or you can just have your hotel call you a taxi, and take it to the first site, and then walk between them.
If intending to walk between them, I’d recommend starting at Tambomachay, which is the furthest away. From there, you can then walk all the way down to Sacsayhuaman (and ultimately Cusco), stopping at Puka Pukara and Q’ekno on your way.
Most of the sites are within 10-15 minutes of each other (and Tambomachay and Puka Pukara are adjacent), but to get from Puka Pukara to Q’enqo is almost 45 minutes, so it’s a bit of a hike. Walking on the road is perfectly fine (and safe), but don’t expect it to be a super pleasant walk. It’s just a walk along a main road.
If you don’t want to walk, but also don’t want to hire a driver to be with you for the morning, you can try to hail an (unofficial) taxi in the parking lot of each site (or on the main road) or hop on one of the little colectivo buses that passes by every so often. Figure that a ride between any of the sites should cost you a few soles, but you won’t always find a car right away. I’ve done this many times, but please consider whether it’s a good choice for you, especially if you’re traveling solo, don’t speak Spanish, etc.
Personally, I’d probably just arrange to have a driver or a guide spend the morning with you, either showing you around the various sites and driving you between them (or waiting outside them and just driving in the case of a driver). It won’t be very expensive.
Regarding timing, give yourself an hour for Sacsayhuaman and about 30 minutes for each of the other sites. If driving between them, you’ll want 2-2.5 hours. If walking, 3-4 hours.
Tambomachay. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman
The view from Q’enqo.
Afternoon
A well-deserved Lunch
Once back in Cusco, head for a tasty lunch. If you want local food in a less touristy atmosphere, La Quinta Eulalia serves hearty traditional Andean food in the courtyard of a pretty colonial building. It’s become more popular with tourists over the years, but you’ll still see lots of locals.
For a traditional rotisserie chicken, try Los Toldos. To be honest, it’s not the best in the world, but it’s been a Cusco staple for many years and is always tasty.
For a higher end, head over to Cicciolina which never fails, go vegan at Green Point, or try something unique at Organika.
Visit a museum or two
After lunch, head over to Plazoleta Nazarenas (which you visited yesterday) and take a peak inside the excellent Museo Inca museum where you can learn all about this pre-Columbian civilization.
If you’re very in history, ceramics, jewelry, or Indigenous cultures, then I’d suggest a stop at the Museo de Arte Precolombino (pre-Columbian art museum) which is right next door.
You also have the Museo Machu Picchu, which displays artifacts from Hiram Bingham’s expedition and “rediscovery” of the famous citadel.
None of the three museums takes long to visit and they’re certainly not the best museums in the world, but they’re all interesting, and visiting one or two of them before you head to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley will enhance your visits to those places.
Museum of Pre-Columbian Art. Photo: Chalisimo5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Evening
Try some excellent local craft beer
If you’re into craft beer, you could try some of the local brews at Cerveceria Zenith or Cerveceria del Valle Sagrado. Cerveceria Zenith is located a bit away from the center in an upscale residential neighborhood, and I find it interesting to check out the neighborhood and see what “modern” Cusco looks like.
Chocolate museum
If beer doesn’t appeal, you could learn about cacao production in Peru and try your hand at making some chocolate at the ChocoMuseo (chocolate museum). You can just stop by for a visit to taste all different sorts of Peruvian chocolates, but they also offer 2-3 hour chocolate making classes where you learn a lot and get to make your own chocolates to take with you.
Take it easy and enjoy a great dinner
Cusco is the perfect place to just hang out in. Go for a wander, leisurely sip a coffee, people watch in a square, or browse interesting shops. Part of the pleasure of visiting is doing just that, and that’s why you gave yourself two days here, so do it!
For dinner, try some of the inventive fare at Local 525.
For a night cap, stop by the Museo del Pisco to sample some cocktails made with Peru’s national liquor.
Nicholas Cino
Peru Expert based in Lima
¡Hola y buenos días! 👋
I'm Nicho, and I've been a travel consultant here in Peru for the last 20 years. If you're looking for some local advice on your trip, I'd love to help!
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