Cusco
Introduction
Cusco, also spelled Cuzco, sits in southeastern Peru near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range, where the Huatanay and Urubamba rivers run. It is the capital and largest city of both the eponymous Cusco Province and the Cusco Department.
Historically, the city has been one of Peru's largest cultural, economic and political centers, and that standing still shapes what you find there today.
Before you go
Cuzco sits high in the Andes at altitude, so plan for altitude sickness (soroche) before you arrive. It tends to sneak up on you: symptoms may not be apparent at first, but the condition has the potential to develop into something extremely dangerous. Read up on the Stay healthy advice in advance rather than improvising once you are there.
- Seasons: the dry season runs from April to October, with abundant sunshine; the wet season runs from November to March, and in February the Inca Trail is closed.
- Spellings: places and landmarks around Cuzco often have both a Spanish and a Quechua spelling, sometimes two or three of each. Even the city itself appears as "Cuzco", "Cusco" or "Qosqo" depending on where you look, so expect confusion and extra searching, especially online.
- Costs: Machu Picchu is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Latin America, and prices are rising every year.
- Safety: Cuzco is generally relatively safe, but muggings and petty thefts do occur, and pickpocketing, especially by children, is a major problem. Don't wander alone away from the Plaza de Armas late at night, don't flaunt valuables, and stay in well-lit areas after dark. Markets, the bus station and other crowded areas are the epicentres for these activities, and thieves often work in pairs, one distracting you with a strange scene, a dispute or a long sales pitch while another robs you. Take only well-marked taxis; if you ride alone at night, note the number and call or pretend to call a friend so the driver hears you say you are coming home in taxi #... Avoid setting yourself apart as a clueless tourist by wearing expensive, flashy or revealing clothing in this conservative region, where locals do not wear shorts and tank-tops around.
- Drugs: law enforcement related to drugs is very severe in Peru, meaning years in prison. It is already a felony to consider accepting an offer to buy.
- Dogs and beggars: feral dogs hit the streets at night rummaging through trash; most are friendly, so use common sense and project confidence. If you feel threatened, let the dogs see you pick up a rock, or act as if you did, and they will slowly back off. Beggars, most of them children, are common; giving is a moral decision each individual makes, and a stern "no" will suffice if you don't want to be followed.
Getting there
Most travellers reach Cusco by air, connecting through Lima. Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport sits about 5 km east of the Centro Histórico, roughly 16–20 minutes away by taxi. The airport is small, with only a handful of gates, but it has restaurants, shops, massage facilities, communication services and a few ATMs in the check-in area. Airlines serving it include Avianca, Latam, JetSmart and Sky Peru, with domestic routes plus limited international connections. A larger airport is under construction at Chinchero, northwest of the city, which will add international flights. There is no car rental inside the terminal; rental companies such as Europcar, Hertz, Sixt and Thrifty have offices around the airport perimeter and in Cusco, and meet-and-greets can be arranged. To reach the Centro Histórico, walk out the main gate to the street in front of the airport and head right for about 50 m to the taxi stand, where unofficial cabs are the better bet; official airport taxis may try to overcharge. Plenty of buses also pass the main gate during daylight hours and take 30–45 minutes to the old town depending on traffic. If you fly in from Lima, sit on the left side of the plane for views of the city and mountains on final approach, as flights overshoot and double back through a gap in the peaks. By land, the Terminal Terrestre is on Avenida Vía de Evitamiento, a 40-minute walk southeast of the Centro Histórico along Avenida El Sol and San Martin, or a short taxi ride. Long-distance buses connect Cusco with other Peruvian and Bolivian cities including Lima, Puno, Arequipa, Nasca, Copacabana and La Paz, but journeys are long and slow, and while the main roads are mostly good, some are poor enough to delay you further. Bus standards vary: cheaper services can involve long driver hours and poor maintenance, so stick with more upmarket companies if you are nervous, and check before buying that your bus has a bathroom or stops regularly. Peru Hop runs high-end tourist-oriented buses with sightseeing stops. Expreso Los Chankas is one of the few companies offering direct service from Ayacucho. Cusco is also linked by rail to Machu Picchu and Puno, operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail, with trains to Machu Picchu generally leaving from Poroy station; service to Arequipa has been discontinued.Getting around
Cusco's historic center is compact and largely walkable, and walking is the best way to experience the historic core. For anything beyond it — the bus terminals, the airport, or the archaeological site of Sacsayhuamán above the city — you'll want a bus or a taxi. Take normal precautions after dark: robberies have been reported, particularly when walking alone or intoxicated at night.
Public transport is built around buses and combis — small vans and minibuses, often with names like Imperial, Batman, or Zorro. They're a cheap and reliable way to get around if you're staying a while, you pay on board, and they generally run until around 10PM. If you're unsure whether a combi goes where you want, just ask; drivers call out stops as they go, and to get off you shout "¡Bajo!" They tend to be crowded, so carry your backpack in front of you rather than on your back. For the Sacred Valley, several smaller terminals serve different destinations: Av. Grau 525 for Chinchero and Urubamba; Calle Puputi 208 for Pisac, Yucay, and Urubamba; Av. Tullumayo 207 for Pisac and Calca; and Av. De La Cultura 1320 for Urcos, with stops at Tipón, Piquillacta, and Andahuaylillas. Larger groups can arrange a tourist bus through one of the many local travel agencies to reach places like Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Long-distance buses use the Terminal Terrestre on Avenida Vía de Evitamiento — a walkable but long trek from the center, or a short taxi ride.
- By taxi: Taxis are very common and the easiest way to cover short hops. Agree on the price before you get in, or you may be quoted an inflated sum. Drivers are often not locals. Do not get into a taxi that already has a passenger, and do not hail a street taxi at night — order one by telephone instead, as robberies have been reported in collusion with taxi drivers and radio taxis may be the safest option at certain times. Uber is also available through the global app, with prices comparable to taxis and often slightly higher.
- By car: Renting a car gives you flexibility to explore the region without depending on public transit or fixed train schedules, but driving in and around Cusco is genuinely daunting — many find it harder than driving in Lima. Road quality is uneven even downtown, with significant construction in areas such as around the airport. Historic-center streets are often narrow and cobblestoned and become slippery in wet weather, and roads can be winding and steep, with high gradients common toward sites like Sacsayhuamán. Highways are often just two lanes, drivers commonly speed up to overtake slow trucks, and landslides are a risk during the rainy season. Parking is available at major shopping areas like PlazaVea and big supermarkets, and at many sites outside the city, but it's rare in the historic center; limited paid street parking (the Zona Azul) operates in the center during the day, except on Sundays when it's free, with an attendant issuing a ticket that must be paid in advance. There are no car rental facilities inside the airport itself — rental companies are found around the airport perimeter, and meet-and-greet pickups can be arranged.
- By rail: There is no metro or tram network. Rail exists mainly for reaching Machu Picchu, operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail, with trains to Aguas Calientes and to Puno; service to Arequipa has been discontinued. Trains to Machu Picchu generally depart from Poroy railway station, northwest of the city and roughly a 20-minute taxi ride from downtown. San Pedro railway station is the other rail station in the city.
Where to stay
Cuzco has accommodation to suit every budget, and most places don't need to be booked in advance. San Blas, a few blocks up the hill from the Plaza de Armas, is the neighbourhood where many of the newer hospedajes and hostales have opened, and it's a good place to start your search.
- San Blas is dense with budget options: quiet hospedajes with private bathrooms, hot showers and wi-fi, hostales overlooking the city, and dormitory beds in relaxed, friendly places with gardens and fireplaces. You'll also find guesthouses near the Plaza de San Francisco and hostels a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas with breakfast, cable TV and shared kitchens.
- If you want a livelier scene, there are party hostels in the Centro Histórico with bars, game tables and movies, and a large hostel set in a historic building with views over the city.
- Mid-range choices cluster around San Blas and the streets just off the Plaza de Armas, offering private or shared bathrooms, TV and breakfast, with rooms ranging from simple doubles to places with striking interior design.
Food & drink
Cuzco has excellent international food across all budgets, with a strong cluster of options at the end of Av. La Cultura. For authentic regional cooking, head to the markets, where vendors sell traditional Inca foods and prepared meals that are often among the cheapest places to eat in the city. The soups are a highlight — try sopa de zapallo, a pumpkin soup. Traditional Peruvian dishes to seek out include lomo saltado (beef tips stir-fried with tomatoes, onions and spices over French fries and rice), aji de gallina (chicken in yellow pepper sauce with olives and hard-boiled eggs) and papa rellena (stuffed potato with beef, olives, hard-boiled egg, vegetables and spices). Cuy (guinea pig) is the region's traditional holiday food; whole cooked cuy is available in restaurants around Plaza de Armas, and dedicated cuyerias serve it more cheaply. Alpaca steak is worth trying, and alpaca pizza is available too — note that alpaca and llama are normally kept for their wool, so only old animals are slaughtered. Chifa, the Peruvian take on Chinese food, is well represented in the Wanchaq neighbourhood.
For drinks, try Inca Kola, a yellow soda with a bubble gum and tutti-frutti flavour, and chicha morada, a spiced non-alcoholic drink made from purple corn. Vegetarian and vegan options are plentiful: El Encuentro near Plaza de Armas serves good portions and does soy meat well, Chia Vegan Kitchen near the intersection of Calle Tecsicocha and Calle Tigre offers a lunchtime deal with drink and salad buffet, and Green Point on Calle Carmen Bajo serves international and Peruvian dishes with gluten-free and raw options. For cheap set meals, El Fogon just off Plaza de Armas offers a plate from the salad bar, soup, a main, dessert and a beverage, while Victor Victoria off Calle Tigre includes a salad bar buffet with all mains and does a notable garlic trout at lunch. Jack's Cafe near the South American Explorers clubhouse is popular for big breakfasts and thick shakes, with an empanada stand outside selling rocoto salsa. Bagdad Cafe left of the cathedral produces its own local food and hosts small performance groups in the evening. For a splurge, Inka Grill on Plaza de Armas serves cuy and alpaca along with a tiradito de trucha appetiser, Restaurant Inkazuela specialises in stews, and Morena Peruvian Kitchen offers Peruvian classics in an upscale setting on the plaza. Emperador on Granada has a wide-ranging international menu and a tall pisco sour. When leaving Cuzco, Boing Appetit in front of the airport is the only place providing free internet there.
What to see and do
The historic centre rewards slow wandering, and much of it is walkable from the Plaza de Armas, the square ringed by churches, shops, restaurants and bars where vendors sell cheap paintings and souvenirs. The stone walls you pass are Inca, especially near the plaza, and are recognisable by their tightly fitted stones with no mortar; look for the Twelve-angle stone on Hatun Rumiyoc, a single block with twelve sides that has become a symbol of Inca stonework. Qoricancha, the Inca sun temple, sits a few blocks down Avenida El Sol, its lower walls preserved beneath the colonial church of Santo Domingo, and it is the starting point for the yearly Inti Raymi processions that climb to Saxayhuamán. You can also walk around the ruins of the Inca palace at Kusikancha, and climb the cylindrical base of the Pachacuteq monument, though the views disappoint. The cathedral, the largest church in the city, faces the plaza and holds colonial-era religious paintings. For museums, the Machu Picchu Museum in the Casa Concha houses the largest collection of artifacts from the site, while the Museo Inka covers pre-Inca, Inca and colonial material and the Museo Histórico Regional, in the home of the Inca historian Garcilaso de la Vega, displays 17th- and 18th-century paintings alongside the story of the conquest. The Qoricancha site museum is small but shows Inca ceramics, textiles and mummies. Several of these, along with the Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo, the Museo de Arte Popular and the Santa Catalina Convent with its religious art, are covered by the boleto turistico. The Museo del Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco is free and explains Quechuan and Andean weaving, with proceeds going largely to the women who produce the textiles. ChocoMuseo covers the history of cacao and runs chocolate workshops and farm tours. Beyond museums, you can take a salsa class, play sapo — a traditional bar game of tossing coins at a table with a bronze toad — while drinking chicha in a chicharía, browse the traditional market by Plaza de San Francisco, or, once acclimatised to the altitude, go for a jog east or south of the plaza.When to go
Cusco's year splits into a sunny dry season and a wet season, and the choice between them shapes what you can do. The dry season brings abundant sunshine and is the most reliable time for trekking and sightseeing, with clear days across the region. It also draws the heaviest visitor numbers, so expect prices and trail permits to be at their most competitive.
The wet season brings rain, which can leave trails and ruins muddy and views clouded. If the Inca Trail is on your itinerary, note that it closes in February, ruling out that trek for anyone visiting then.
Three days in Cusco
Day one: Start in Cusco itself, the city in the Andes that was historically the capital of the Inca Empire and is still called Qosqo in Quechua. Begin at the Plaza de Armas, the main square, and get your bearings in the streets around it. Note that the city sits in Cusco Province, within Cusco Department, and that you will see several spellings of its name, including Cuzco and Qosqo, as well as the Spanish and Quechua forms. Take it easy on your first day to adjust to the altitude, and spend the afternoon wandering the markets rather than rushing between sights.
- Plaza de Armas
- Markets
- Qosqo / Cuzco / Cusco spellings
Day two: Head into the Sacred Valley, following the Urubamba river through the Andes. The valley is the natural next step from Cusco and gives you a full day among Inca sites and Andean scenery. If you are considering the Inca Trail, use this time to organise it, and remember that the trail is usually open from March through to January, with April, October and November among the months most often chosen. Costs vary, so compare what is included before you commit.
- Sacred Valley
- Urubamba
- Inca Trail
- April, October, November, March, February
Day three: Give the day to Machu Picchu, the Inca site that draws most visitors to this part of Latin America. It is reached from Cusco via the Sacred Valley and the Urubamba, and it is the highlight of most three-day stays. On your return, or if you have time before you leave, walk along the Huatanay, the river that runs through the city. Stay aware of your surroundings: take care with safety, avoid drugs, and be cautious around dogs and beggars, who are most common in the busier parts of town.
- Machu Picchu
- Huatanay
- Safety, drugs, dogs, beggars