Cusco · boutique
A boutique house in old Cusco
Built on an original Inca wall two blocks from the main square, with oxygen-enriched rooms and coca tea on arrival.
Cusco & the Sacred Valley
Cusco
Inca walls under colonial balconies, at about 3,400 metres
- Altitude
- ~3,400 m (11,155 ft)verify
- Altitude band
- High
- Time needed
- 2–3 nights
Cusco sits at about 3,400 metres. Your lungs will notice before you do. That's why we usually start lower in the Sacred Valley and come up to Cusco later, when your body has caught up. Then the city is all yours: Inca stonework you can't slide a knife into, San Pedro market and steep lanes up to San Blas.
Most people notice it at first. Take the first day easy and drink plenty of water. Altitude, explained
Highlights
- Qorikancha and the Twelve-Angled Stone
- Sacsayhuamán
- San Pedro market
- The San Blas neighbourhood
What to eat here
Native potatoes
Peru grows thousands of potato varieties: purple, yellow, knobbly, striped. Ask for papas nativas and see how many you can tell apart.
Cuy
Guinea pig, roasted or fried. A festive dish in Andean homes, and the star of a famous Cusco cathedral painting of the Last Supper.
Chicha morada
A sweet, spiced drink made from purple corn, pineapple and cinnamon. Non-alcoholic and very popular with kids.
Mate de coca
Coca-leaf tea, offered on arrival at many Andean hotels. A traditional mild remedy for the altitude, though not a substitute for acclimatising.
Alpaca
Lean and mild, often grilled as a steak. On the altiplano, alpaca herds are a family's savings.
Market tour
San Pedro market in Cusco: fruit juice stalls, cheese, bread from Oropesa, and more potatoes than you thought possible.
Cooking class
Cook with Andean ingredients in a farm kitchen or a Cusco home, then eat the results.
Chocolate workshop
Roast, crack, grind and temper your own bar from bean to chocolate. Good for a rainy afternoon in Cusco.
Accommodation
Where to stay in Cusco
Journeys
Journeys that go here
10 daysFirst Peru, Done Right
Lima's tables, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco, in the order your lungs would choose.
From US$4,200 pp
8 daysThe Classic Inca Trail
Two nights acclimatising first, then four days on original stone paths to the Sun Gate.
From US$3,600 pp
9 daysSalkantay to Machu Picchu
A wild, permit-free trek from a glacier pass down through coffee country to the citadel.
From US$3,900 pp
14 daysAndes & Amazon
The Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco, then down into the rainforest, and a last night by the Pacific.
From US$6,800 pp
10 daysPeru for Food Lovers
Lima's tables, Sacred Valley farms, Cusco's markets and Arequipa's picanterías.
From US$4,800 pp
11 daysPeru with Kids
Sea lions, Inca ruins, a train through the gorge and three days in the rainforest, at a family pace.
From US$4,600 pp
Cusco & the Sacred Valley
Nearby too
The Sacred Valley: lower, greener and the best place to start
Machu Picchu
~2,430 mThe citadel itself, and everything you need to get the timing right
The Inca Trail & Salkantay
~4,215 mTwo great walks to Machu Picchu, each with its own rules
Rainbow Mountain
~5,000 mStriped mineral slopes at about 5,000 metres. Only once you're acclimatised
Add Cusco to your trip
Tell us when you'd like to go and what you'd love to see. Your Peru Specialist will come back with ideas, honest advice on altitude and timing, and a clear price.