Cusco
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Cusco is built in layers, but none of them has vanished. The walls of the Inca city still follow the streets, colonial churches fill the squares, and today’s city moves through the same spaces with markets, schools, processions, restaurants and everyday life.
What is most striking is how close everything lies. From Plaza de Armas it is only a few minutes’ walk to the finely worked walls along Calle Loreto and Hatun Rumiyoc. Qorikancha sits just below the centre, while Sacsayhuamán’s huge stonework overlooks the city from above.
History is present, but Cusco is not a museum. At San Pedro Market people buy the day’s ingredients, in San Blas artists and craftspeople work, and during major festivals local brotherhoods, dancers and musicians fill the streets. Quechua and Spanish coexist, as do Catholic and Andean beliefs.
A good stay begins slowly. The altitude is noticeable, but it also gives the city its clear light and cool evenings. After a few days Cusco feels less like the arrival point before the Sacred Valley and more like the natural centre of the entire journey through the Peruvian Andes.
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We help you combine the right hotels, transport and experiences into a well-planned journey.
Plaza de Armas and the colonial city
Plaza de Armas occupies a place that already formed part of the city’s ceremonial centre during Inca times. The present square is smaller than the older open space but has retained its role as Cusco’s political, religious and social heart.
Read more Show less Qorikancha and the Inca city’s finest stonework
The cathedral consists of several connected churches and contains art from the so-called Cusco School, in which European subjects acquired Andean colours, plants, animals and symbols. Across the square, Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús has an elaborately decorated façade and a history shaped by rivalry between religious orders.
The square changes through the day. Mornings are calm, afternoons fill with people, and in the evening the arcades and church façades stand out under illumination. It is a good place to begin, but also to return to once the city has gained more context.
Qorikancha and the Inca city’s finest stonework
Qorikancha was the Temple of the Sun and one of Tawantinsuyu’s most important religious centres. Its inner rooms and walls were connected with solar worship, imperial power and the ceremonial calendar.
After the conquest, the Monastery of Santo Domingo was built over the temple complex. Earthquakes have damaged the colonial building several times, while parts of the older Inca walls have remained standing with their tight joints and slight inward incline.
The visit shows the difference between ordinary and ceremonial Inca masonry. The stones are finely cut, regular and set with great precision. Outside, the same craftsmanship continues along Calle Loreto and in several of the city’s older quarters.
Sacsayhuamán and the heights above Cusco
Sacsayhuamán stands on high ground above the historic city. Its three zigzag terraces consist of enormous blocks, some so heavy that the transport and shaping alone are difficult to imagine.
Read more Show less San Pedro, San Blas and everyday city life
The complex had both ceremonial and defensive functions and was connected to Cusco’s religious and urban structure. Today the open spaces are used for the major Inti Raymi performance in June.
The whole valley is visible from the site. The walk or drive uphill also gives access to Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay, smaller sites with different functions around the old capital. They are best understood as a connected landscape rather than a sequence of isolated ruins.
San Pedro, San Blas and everyday city life
San Pedro Market is filled with maize, potatoes, quinoa, cheese, bread, fruit, herbs and simple lunch stalls. A visit gives a direct picture of produce from Cusco’s valleys and highlands and shows how regional food still organises everyday life.
San Blas lies higher up, with narrow lanes, workshops and a small square. The district has long been associated with craftspeople, particularly woodcarvers and image makers, and several families continue traditions across generations.
Between the centre and the neighbourhoods are cafés, bookshops, small museums and restaurants. Cusco has become international, but its strongest impression still comes from local life continuing among the historic buildings.
Journeys including Cusco
Inti Raymi, Corpus Christi and the year’s major festivals
Corpus Christi fills Cusco with processions in which images of saints are carried from different churches to the cathedral. The festival is Catholic, but over centuries it has been shaped by local brotherhoods, music, food and Andean traditions.
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Inti Raymi on 24 June is a modern staging of the Inca sun festival. The performance begins in the city and ends at Sacsayhuamán with large groups of actors, musicians and dancers.
The festivals show how Cusco’s historical identities continue to be used and reinterpreted. They are not reconstructions of an unchanging ancient past, but living expressions of how the city understands itself today.
Museums, food and evenings at altitude
Museo de Arte Precolombino, Museo Inka and several smaller collections provide background to the cultures that shaped the region before and during the Inca Empire. A museum early in the stay makes the archaeological sites far easier to understand.
Cusco’s restaurants work with ingredients from both highlands and valleys. Maize, potatoes, quinoa, alpaca, herbs and chillies appear in everything from simple lunches to modern Peruvian menus. Chicha and local beers offer further routes into the food culture.
Evenings are cool, and the city centre is well suited to walking between dinner, music and illuminated squares. After a day of altitude and history, the pace is often calmer than the wide choice of nightlife might suggest.
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The Sacred Valley as the next chapter
The Sacred Valley lies lower than Cusco and follows the Urubamba River through terraces, villages and archaeological sites. Pisac, Chinchero, Maras, Moray and Ollantaytambo reveal different aspects of Inca agriculture, administration and road networks.
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One or two nights in the valley provide gentler acclimatisation and reduce the need for long day trips from Cusco. Ollantaytambo is also one of the main stations for trains towards Machu Picchu.
Cusco and the valley do not compete for time. They explain one another. The city shows the imperial centre, while the valley shows how food, water, roads and local communities made that centre possible.
Routes towards Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu can be reached by train through the Urubamba Valley or on foot along the classic Inca Trail and several alternative treks. The best solution depends on time, fitness and which part of the landscape should take centre stage.
The classic Inca Trail combines mountain passes, cloud forest and archaeological sites with arrival through Inti Punku. Salkantay brings larger glaciated mountains and greater altitude variation, while Lares passes through inhabited valleys. The short trail from KM 104 gives a full hiking day and an arrival at Machu Picchu without several nights in tents.
Cusco is the base where the journey comes together before and after these routes. Guides, equipment, restaurants and time here allow the trek to become part of a larger historical landscape.
See trips to Cusco
Flights and hotels
Flights and hotels for Cusco can be booked as one coordinated arrangement, with trip length, budget and standard considered together from the outset.
We match the flights to your hotel location and travel dates rather than selecting each element in isolation. This makes planning easier and reduces the risk of poor connections or impractical arrival times.
Where useful, we can also add transfers, extra nights or other practical elements that make the journey smoother.
Book flights and hotels for Cusco as one coordinated arrangement. We match the flights with accommodation that suits your budget, preferred location and trip length. Transfers can also be added.
Flights
For flights to Cusco, we look at more than the lowest fare. Journey times, connections, ticket rules and arrival times often affect the trip more than they first appear to.
This may be a straightforward return journey, but it can also involve flying into one city and home from another or adding stops along the way. For more complex itineraries, we can also assess air-pass and multi-flight options.
A good choice when accommodation is already arranged or when you plan the rest of the journey independently.
We help you find the right flights to Cusco, for both straightforward journeys and more flexible itineraries. A good choice if you want to arrange the rest of the trip yourself.
Hotels
Hotels in Cusco should be chosen on more than price and star rating. Location, neighbourhood, standard and the purpose of the journey often determine whether a property actually works well.
In some places a central hotel is best; elsewhere quiet surroundings, views or character matter more. We therefore suggest options that fit the way the journey is planned.
That can mean good-value mid-range hotels or more distinctive properties where the accommodation becomes part of the experience.
We help you book hotels in Cusco according to neighbourhood, standard and budget. Whether you want to stay centrally or somewhere quieter, we find an option that fits.
Guided tours
Guided tours in Cusco work best when the subject, pace and level of detail reflect what you genuinely want to see and understand. Your focus might be a city, wildlife, culture or a particular practical excursion.
A good guide does more than identify landmarks. They provide context, explain telling details and draw attention to things that are easy to miss when exploring independently.
We help you choose the type and format of tour that best suits your interests.
Discover Cusco with a private tour shaped around your interests. We help choose the right guide, content and format.
Images from Cusco
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10 quick facts about Cusco
- Cusco was the political and religious centre of Tawantinsuyu, the vast Inca Empire.
- The city lies around 3,400 metres above sea level in a valley between high Andean mountains.
- Cusco’s historic centre was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1983.
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- Many colonial palaces and churches were built directly on older Inca walls.
- Qorikancha was the principal Temple of the Sun; after the conquest, the Monastery of Santo Domingo was built over parts of the temple complex.
- The largest blocks at Sacsayhuamán weigh many tens of tonnes and were fitted without mortar.
- The famous twelve-angled stone is set into a wall along Calle Hatun Rumiyoc.
- Quechua remains a living language in the Cusco region and is heard daily in the city.
- Inti Raymi is celebrated on 24 June and is a modern theatrical interpretation of an older sun festival.
- Art of the Cusco School combined European Christian iconography with Andean colours, plants, animals and symbols.