A Local’s Guide to Cusco, Peru
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Nestled in a picturesque Andean valley, Cusco is home to a rich legacy of both Inca culture and then the 300-year Spanish colonial era that followed it. Its cobbled streets are packed with bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, street markets, and travel agencies offering everything from mountain climbing to kayaking in the jungle.
The city is also full of hotels, hostels, museums and churches, many of the latter built on top of ancient Inca foundations of solid granite blocks; a physical embodiment of the Spanish conquest of this great pre-Columbian civilization.
Although there is much to see and do here, you will also want to spend time just chilling out, strolling in the streets, people watching in historic plazas and soaking up the city’s unique atmosphere.
Cusco, sometimes spelt Cuzco, and, occasionally, Qos’qo (as it would be pronounced in the Quechua language once spoken by the Incas and still the mother tongue of millions of Andeans today), is a truly historic place, whose fall to the Spaniards in 1533 also marked the end of the Inca empire.
But beware, at more than 3,000 meters in altitude, exploring the city can be exhausting, especially on your first few days as you acclimatize. Cusco’s altitude is usually given as around 3300 meters (around 10,800 feet), but that is an average, with the highest part of the city, the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced a little like “sexy woman”) at 3700 meters (around 12,100 feet).
Further adding to the workout, some of the more touristy parts of the city are accessed by steep, literally-breathtaking streets.
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Table of Contents
Why visit
Where is Cusco
How long to spend
Best time to visit
How to get there
Where to stay
Restaurants and dining
Things to do
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Why visit Cusco
The former capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco today is a bustling, atmospheric city of nearly half a million residents. Almost certianly Peru’s prettiest city (and one of the prettiest in Latin Amercia), the center is packed with an interesting blend of Inca and Spanish colonial architecture, pleasant squares, cobbled streets, pretty churches, and archaeological sites. You also have fantastic restaurants, some good museums, and excellent hotels.
Just beyond the city center, you have fantastic Inca ruins like Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, and Tambomachay, and there are excellent day hikes and bike rides in the hills surrounding town as well as a host of great sights that are visitable on day trips.
Also, as the gateway to the spectacular Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, as well as a point of transit for travelers heading to the Amazon, the southern Altiplano, and the Central Highlands, the city is a major tourism hub and a jumping off point for onward travels all throughout the country.
Even if you [inexplainably] didn’t want to visit Cusco, it’s almost inevitable that you would at some point wind up here on any first trip to Peru.
You can also use Cusco as a base from which to explore the entire Sacred Valley of the Incas, which begins at Cusco’s city limits and runs to Machu Picchu (75 km as the crow flies). The valley is packed with Inca ruins, beautiful Andean countryside, and opportunities for all kinds of outdoor activities including trekking, climbing, mountaineering, horseback riding, rafting, mountain biking, and birdwatching.
Where is Cusco?
Cusco is located in south-eastern Peru, on the upper eastern slopes of the Andes. If you take the winding roads eastwards out from the city, after several hours of descent you will end up in the Amazon rainforest.
To the south of the city, the high Andean plateau (known as the altiplano) begins and stretches on for hundreds of miles to the Bolivian capital of La Paz, and beyond.
It is also a six-hour drive southeast from Cusco to Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border. However, for most people, the most obvious geographic reference is Lima, the Peruvian capital.
Cusco is almost 500 miles east of Lima, but the road there is slow and indirect, and its a grueling but stunning two-day drive. Most tourists opt to hop a one-hour flight to get from Lima to Cusco instead.
How to get to Cusco
By plane
While some international flights arrive straight into Cusco’s Velasco Astete airport, most foreign tourists first fly into Lima, and then take a connecting flight to Cusco. The flight from Lima takes about an hour and one-way tickets usually cost $100 USD.
You can also find direct flights between Cusco and many of Peru’s larger cities. Your main carriers are Latam and StarPeru.
By bus
You can also get to Cusco via bus from various cities in the country. The bus journey takes two days from Lima, one day from the southern Andean city of Arequipa, six hours from Lake Titicaca, and around eight hours from the Bolivian capital of La Paz.
Your options range from the proverbial “chicken bus”, which will usually cost just a few dollars, to much more expensive luxury double-decker buses with fully reclining seats (one-way tickets between Cusco and Arequipa cost around $60 USD, for example).
If you’re coming from the Amazon, it is a 45-minute flight to Cusco, costing around $100 one way, or a beautiful one-day drive, if coming from the jungle city of Puerto Maldonado.
How long to spend in Cusco
For a first visit to Cusco, you probably want to base yourself here for three days. While you can realistically see the highlights in 1-2 days, most visitors’ first day is spent doing very little other than drinking coca tea as they get used to the altitude. If you know that you suffer from altitude sickness, give yourself another day or two to acclimatize.
2 active days is enough time to see the “must-visits”, including Sacsayhuaman, located within the city proper. But there are countless nearby lesser-explored ruins, day hikes, and activities to keep you occupied for longer.
If you’re planning to use Cusco as your base to explore the Sacred Valley and even visit Machu Picchu – typically a 15-hour excursion if done as a day trip (not advisable) – then you could easily spend a week or more here.
Here’s a quick overview for how to spend two days sightseeing in Cusco:
Day 1
Spend your first day visiting the major historical sites all clustered around the Plaza de Armas, Cusco’s central square. You should plan on buying tickets and entering the Cathedral and Compañia de Jesus church.
After visiting the churches, make your way up Calle Triunfo (or another side street) towards Plazoleta Nazarenas where you should take a peak inside the excellent Museo Inca museum where you can learn all about this pre-Columbian civilization. If you’re very interested in history, the Museo de Arte Precolombino (pre-Columbian art museum) is right next door. It’s not amazing, but it’s interesting a quick visit.
Grab lunch at any of the great restaurants all around you (you’ll find some recommendations in the restaurant section below) and give yourself a break. Once refueled, spend the afternoon wandering the charming San Blas district. It’s full of artisan workshops, galleries, tight alleyways, pleasant squares, and good cafes. Be sure to stop into the Templo San Blas church and climb the bell tower.
Day 2
On your second day, dedicate the morning to exploring the archaeological sites of Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, Tambomachay, and Puka Pukara all of which are about 20 minutes outside of town. You’ll want a taxi to bring you to them, but they’re nearby so you can walk between them.
Return to Cusco for lunch and then pop by the Mercado San Pedro to see a real Peruvian market in action. From San Pedro, it’s a quick walk over to Qorikancha, which is now a Dominican monastery but used to be an Inca temple to the sun. It’s walls and floors were once covered in pure gold, before the Spanish stripped them.
Wind down your final day people watching in the Plaza de Armas before a good dinner of hearty Andean fare.
Best time to visit
The seasons in Peru are not like those in North America or Europe. There are no four seasons, with the year really mostly being split between “dry season” and “rainy season”.
For me, the best time of year to visit Cusco is in April or in October. These are both “shoulder season” months where you’ll typically encounter few crowds and get good weather with little chance of rain. In both April and October you’ll get lower prices than in busier months, all the hiking trails are open and in good condition, and temperatures are pleasant for outdoor activities and sightseeing.
The worst period to visit is probably February, when rains are heavy and the Inca trail is closed for maintenance. Even so, it almost never rains all day up in the Andes, and if you’re not planning on hiking, the minimal crowds of February and rock bottom prices may be appealing.
When planning your visit, you should also take into account which other parts of Peru you’ll be visiting. Cusco’s seasons are similar to those of the Amazon, yet very different from those of the coast.
For more info on visiting Peru in each season, check out our guide to the best time to visit Peru.
High season
If you don’t like crowds, avoid Cusco’s high season of July and August when the city is packed with tourists from all over the northern hemisphere. This is also the most expensive time to visit.
December, especially around Christmas, and the start of January are also very busy times to visit.
Dry season (winter)
Dry season runs from around April to October. This period represents winte winter in the southern hemisphere, but daytime temperatures are actually quite nice as the sun is strong this time of year. Nights, however, can get very cold and often drop below freezing.
June and July - the middle of winter - are, together with August, the busiest months of the year due to European and North American summer vacation. The traditional Inca Inti Raymi festival also takes place towards the end of June.
Prices for everything in this period go up significantly and you’ll be competing for space with thousands of other visitors at all the main sights and on the trails.
Wet season (summer)
Rainy season in the Andes runs from November to March. Truthfully, it never really gets all that wet up here in the mountains, but the summer months of January and February in particular do tend to be quite rainy.
For the entire month of February the Inca trail closes down for maintenance and hiking trails all throughout the region can be muddy and even impassible for days at a time. It’s not uncommon to have significant rainfall
December, while busy, is actually a very nice time to visit. You may get rained on some days, but the sun almost always still makes an appearance and Christmas in Cusco is always a treat. Keep in mind that this is when Peruvians are on their summer break, so domestic tourism is very high this month.
Where to stay
As you would expect of a major hub of international tourism, Cusco has endless options for accommodation, ranging from rock-bottom priced dormitories to luxurious five-star hotels. You’ll find both boutique options and well-known international chains.
The more expensive options are generally located between the main square (Plaza de Armas) and the trendy San Blas district, a 15-minute walk away. Many of the fancier hotels are located in old colonial palaces, often with beautiful stone courtyards.
As a general rule, the more atmospheric hotels are near the main square or up in San Blas. Accommodation in more modern buildings, often mid-range to cheap, are downhill of the Plaza de Armas. You’ll find some mid-range options in colonial buildings (though not always ones that have been well renovated for the 21st century) also going north or west of the square.
In general, as you move away from the main square in any direction, things become more local and within even just a few blocks you’ll rapidly see the tourist crowds disappear altogether. Climbing uphill into San Blas is a bit of an exception as it is also a pretty touristy neighborhood.
Luxury options
Monasterio, run by the Belmond group and housed, as its names suggests, in an ancient monastery, is another of the city’s longstanding luxury options. It’s in Plazoleta Nazarenas, a lovely square exceptionally located for sightseeing. Rooms start at around $500 per night.
Palacio Nazarenas, the sister hotel to the Monasterio (also run by Belmond), is a few yards away on the same block. It’s the only hotel in Cusco that features a heated outdoor pool, but I’m really not sure that should feature much in your decision. A bit pricier than down the road at $600+ a night.
Inkaterra La Casona claims to be the first five-star boutique hotel in the city. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s excellent either way. The location has also been one of Cusco’s premier addresses since the 1600s. Rooms here start at around $300 per night.
Palacio del Inka set inside a Colonial mansion on a quiet street adjacent to Qorikancha offers similar luxury to the already mentioned options, but with the added bonus of a very good in-house spa. Rooms cost from $300 a night and up.
Marriot Convento on Calle Ruinas sits inside a beautifully and painstakingly restored colonially convent just a few minutes from the Plaza de Armas. Rooms cost $300.
Mid-range
Casa Andina Premium is located close to Qorikancha and the common areas are pleasant and rooms spacious. $120-200 per night.
Antigua Casona San Blas offers much of the luxury and elegance of the higher-priced hotels on this list, but for around $120-200 a night. You have to be ok with being uphill in the very atmospheric San Blas neighborhood, but I think that’s a good thing!
Casa Andina Standard is the lower-priced option from the same big national chain. There are two or three of these standard offerings in Cusco, one of which is in San Blas and the other by the Plaza de Armas. I’m not sure where the third is, to be honest. Rooms start at around $100.
El Balcón is a solid moderately-priced option with a rustic, colonial feel. Rooms cost $70 per night and up.
Budget
Teatro Inka sits a few blocks off the main square and is a good option for those on a budget. An individual room without breakfast can be just under $20.
Where to eat in Cusco
Peru has wonderful cuisine and Cusco is no exception. You have all kinds of options in the city, ranging from classic Peruvian to international, at every price point. Vegetarians and vegans will also have no trouble eating as most restaurants have options for them and many even cater specifically to them.
Typical Andean fare includes various meat dishes made with alpaca, from hamburgers and steaks to alpaca stroganoff, as well as lots of potatoes, soups, and stews. You’ll also see trout on many menus, served grilled or as tiradito or ceviche. Cusco’s cuisine is not typically particularly spicy.
If you’re in a group, you could try pachamanca, a meal/style of cooking in which various kinds of meats, including lamb, alpaca, pork, beef and chicken, are cooked with fragrant herbs by being buried in the ground together with hot stones plucked from a fire.
For vegetarians, try huatia, the pre-Columbian dish that inspired pachacamanca, but which is made just with potatoes and other tubers, and then served with delicious hot sauces.
In general, the restaurants surrounding the main square and hotel area tend to be quite expensive by Peruvian standards, but still pretty reasonable for most tourists. As you get further away from the center, especially walking south along Avenida El Sol, you’ll start to find more local restaurants, many of which will serve lunch specials (menu del dia) which include a soup, a main, and perhaps a drink for 15-20 soles.
Cusco is full of terrific restaurants and it’s unusual in that it’s a very touristy place where it’s actually still pretty hard to find a bad meal, so you really can’t go wrong. Anyways, here are a few favorites:
For more dining ideas, check out our guide to the 12 best restaurants in Cusco.
Pachapapa
This restaurant in the San Blas district serves hearty Andean classics and local takes on pizza, for example with smoked trout, in a (heated) colonial courtyard.
It’s also a good place to try pachamanca although you will need to order a day or two in advance and need a minimum of 2 diners. Main courses typically start at around $10.
Monkey Cafe
Overlooking the San Blas plaza (an uphill 15-minute walk from the main square), this tiny café has excellent Peruvian coffee. Just the thing to get your motor going in the cool, mountain air.
Morena
Morena serves “comida criolla”, which is Peruvian fusion food more typical of the coast than the Andes. The clientele are mostly tourists, but this shouldn’t dissuade you as their food is seriously excellent.
Their desserts in particular are divine (and very creative), they make good cocktails, and it’s one of few places in Cusco where you can get good quality salt-water fish ceviche.
Papachos
Situated just off the main square, this is one of a chain of three hamburger joints created by Gastón Acurio, the celebrity chef who is widely viewed as the father of Peru’s gastronomic boom.
If there is such a thing as a gourmet burger, then this is a great place to get one, with a Peruvian flourish, of course. A burger and fries with a drink typically costs around $20.
La Cicciolina
Often considered the best restaurant in town, La Cicciolina overlooks a colonial courtyard and features Italo-Peruvian fusion food, among other original dishes. You may need to reserve a day or two in advance. Main courses cost from around $15.
Green’s Organic
A great place to grab a salad or something vegetable-based and healthy, although they do also serve alpaca dishes. A short walk from the main square, like most good things in Cusco. Main courses from around $8.
Green Point
This cute little spot serves good value vegan and vegetarian dishes. The food is more international than Peruvian.
Chicha
Another Gastón Acurio creation, this spot serves his takes on Peruvian classics, and not a little fusion, all with an haute cuisine flourish. Main courses start at around $10
La Rabona
La Rabona is an excellent bakery, offering sourdough and wholemeal bread, along with other baked cooks, including vegan options.
Los Toldos
Los Toldos does one thing: pollo a la brasa (roast/rotisserie chicken) and, thankfully, they do it pretty well. You can get a quarter, half, or whole chicken served with salad and fries.
What to see and do
1. Visit the main square - Plaza de Armas
The Incas regarded Cusco as the “bellybutton of the world.” If so, Cusco’s main square is also the bellybutton of the city, the centerpiece of its economic, social and cultural life.
With the cathedral on one side, you’ll definitely want to spend time just hanging out in and around the square, including sipping coca tea at the many restaurants, cafes and bars, or interacting with the locals, including cholas (woman of indigenous heritage dressed in traditional Andean attire) charging a dollar or two for tourists to take photos with them and their fluffy alpacas.
2. See the Cathedral
Taking nearly a century to build shortly after the Spanish had subjugated the Incas, Cusco’s cathedral dominates the main square and houses many treasures of colonial art. It famously features a painting of the last supper with a roast guinea pig, an Andean staple, providing a wonderful example of the syncretic nature of Christianity’s growth among native peoples in the New World.
3. Take a look inside the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesus
Just a few yards from the Cathedral, is this stunning church built by Jesuits in the 16th Century (and then rebuilt following an earthquake in the 17th Century) on the ruins of the palace of Huayna Capac, the last Inca sovereign to rule over an undivided Inca Empire (the empire had split between two warring brothers by the time the Spaniards showed up, a civil war that greatly facilitated the Conquest).
Many view this church as more spectacular than the cathedral, and certainly with a more detailed baroque interior and larger altar.
4. See a blend of Spanish and Inca architecture at Qorikancha
Two blocks south east of the main square lies the remains of what was once Inca empire’s richest temple, literally lined with gold. Qorikancha, the name means “gilded courtyard”, now lies under the Santo Domingo church and convent, but you can still see the incredible stonemasonry of its Inca walls, which now form the foundations of the Spanish structure.
Under a modern glass roof, you can appreciate both the pre-Columbian and colonial architecture and daydream what Qorikancha must have looked like in its heyday, with solid gold llamas and alters before they were plundered by the conquering Spaniards.
5. Learn a little at the Museo Machu Picchu
This relatively new museum contains hundreds of Inca artefacts taken by Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who “discovered” the famed Inca citadel in 2011, and recently returned to Peru by Yale University. It also tells the story of Bingham’s expeditions to Peru — which provided the inspiration for the Indiana Jones movies.
6. Pop inside the Museo Inka
This small museum is also a great place to learn about the Incas. Just a block from the main square, it is packed with everything from gold jewellery to mummies. Unusually for a Peruvian museum, it actually provides good, fascinating information explaining the exhibits.
7. Wander around Sacsayhuaman
This Inca fortress overlooking Cusco is a must on any itinerary of the city, however brief. The adventurous can walk up here from the main square in around half an hour, but for most others, it is a 10-minute taxi ride. Among other things, Sacsayhuaman is the perfect place to appreciate the Incas’ stunning stonemasonry, building with huge, irregularly-shaped granite blocks and no mortar.
The craftsmanship is so fine that even today, centuries later, you still could not fit a penknife blade between the blocks.
8. Grab a taxi and explore Tambomachay, Q’enko, and Puka Pukara
These are 3 Inca archaeological sites all about 20 minutes’ drive from Cusco city center (and even closer to Sacsayhuaman). Each one is quite distinct from the other, and all three are set in gorgeous natural surroundings. Despite being so close to Cusco, very few people visit, especially if you go early in the day. If you’re interested in the Inca empire or archaeology, they’re very much worth visiting.
It’s an uphill walk to them from Cusco, but the walk back to the city (1.5 hours about) is all downhill, and quite scenic.
Tambomachay. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Blas
San Blas view
9. Learn about coca cultivation and use at the Museo de la Coca
A tiny but fascinating museum about the traditional uses of the coca plant among Andean cultures as was, of course, as coca’s more polemical present as the key ingredient in cocaine, an invention of a 19th Century German chemist and for which Latin America continues to pay a heavy price.
10. Prepare for your visit to Machu Picchu at the Museo Machu Picchu
This relatively new museum contains hundreds of Inca artefacts taken by Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who “discovered” the famed Inca citadel in 2011, and recently returned to Peru by Yale University. It also tells the story of Bingham’s expeditions to Peru — which provided the inspiration for the Indiana Jones movies.
11. Explore San Blas
The San Blas neighborhood starts at the edge of the Plaza de Armas, immediately climbing steeply uphill. The neighborhood is home to many of Cusco’s best hotels, inventive restaurants, beautiful architecture, and all sorts of cafes, lounges, and bars.
It’s also a center of crafts, and as you wander you can peak into workshops making things like ceramics, furniture, and wooden painting frames.
There are plenty of good viewpoints offering jaw-dropping city views as well.
12. Do some shopping (and eating) at San Pedro Market
This a local food market where you’ll find kiosks and vendors selling meals and prepared food, fruit and vegetables, meat, smoothies & juices (beware the tap water), knick knacks, and medicinal plants.
13. Catch a good view from Templo San Blas
This pretty old church is right in San Blas’ main square. Theres’ not much to see, but it has an exquisitely carved wooden pulpit and you can climb the bell tower for a great view.
14. Day trip to Pisac
My favourite day trip from Cusco is to this spectacular Inca fortress perched high above the Sacred Valley. It’s a 40-minute drive from the city. Most visitors are dropped off at the rear of the site, near the summit, with its stunning views of the valley below, including the Inca agricultural terraces.
But if you are acclimatized and feeling energetic (very!), you can take the steep, lung-bursting 500-meter climb from Pisac village square below, all the way to the top. Doing so will give you a visceral appreciation of the Incas’ mastery of their vertical world.
15. Visit Pikillacta
The crumbling remains of the mysterious capital of the once-great Wari empire, which preceded the Incas by nearly a millennium, can be found a 30-minute drive from Cusco, in the opposite direction from the Sacred Valley, and attracting just a fraction of the tourist footfall.
The remains of this stone and adobe city, one of the largest settlements in the Americas in its heyday some 1500 years ago, are well worth an afternoon of exploration.
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