Cusco
Cusco, the former capital of the Inca empire, sits at 3,400 metres in the Peruvian Andes — a city of colonial arcades built directly on Inca stonework, and the gateway to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Done in the right order, the journey from its plaza to the citadel is one of travel's great set pieces.
May–September (Andean dry season)
Mid-range
Typical cost profile for visitors
- 0 highlighted sights
- 0 recommended stays
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Finding Cusco
Reading Cusco
01Cusco at First Light and After Dark: The City Before and After the Tour Groups
Most visitors treat Cusco as a staging post for Machu Picchu. Stay put at dawn and dusk, and the old Inca capital becomes a different city entirely.
02Cusco and Machu Picchu: The Classic Route Done Right
A four-day route that uses the Sacred Valley's lower altitude to acclimatise on the way down — so you reach Machu Picchu breathing easily, on the first bus of the morning.
03Three Days in Cusco: The Complete Route
The former Inca capital deserves more than a stopover on the way to Machu Picchu. Here is how to give Cusco and the Sacred Valley three properly paced days.
04A Market-to-Table Food Day in Cusco
From juice stalls at San Pedro Market to alpaca and pisco sours after dark, this is how to eat your way through the old Inca capital in one glorious day.
Cusco, framed