Cusco will mess with your plans in the best way possible. You might show up thinking you’ll tick off a list of ruins and move on, but something about this city makes you want to stay longer than you meant to. But to somehow make your time off more meaningful, and organized, we’ve arranged a few things you might to do while in Cusco.
Go to the Sacred Valley First
Begin with the Sacred Valley before working your way through the Cusco region. Pisac and Ollantaytambo are living villages, and this makes them far more compelling than anywhere that exists for the benefit of tourism.
The market at Pisac on Sundays is both glory and madness, but in a good way. Yes, there are vendor tables with alpaca keychains exactly like all the others, but beyond those, there is the area where locals are haggling for veggies. There may be an old woman peddling herbs you’ve never even heard of, and another hawking Franken-corns.
Ollantaytambo is where you should spend an afternoon just getting lost. The stone streets are original Incan construction. The steps going up the mountain is breathtaking. But honestly, the most wonderful aspect is the exploration of the side streets where laundry is strung between very old walls and children dash past you to get back to school.
Take Your Time Adjusting to Altitude
When you get to Cusco proper, the Cusco height may cause altitude sickness. At 3,400 meters above sea level, even walking up a slight incline can leave you winded. Your body needs time to figure out what to do with less oxygen.
Drink the coca tea made from coca leaves. The taste may not sit well for many because they taste like grass clippings, but it helps. On your first day, take it easy exploring San Blas, an artsy part of town where art studios and galleries fill up spaces in what is part colonial, part Inca. The roads in this area provide ample opportunity to take it easy by offering steep and tight lanes.
Plaza de Armas is the central point of all the action, and you’ll find yourself there several times. It’s best to head over to the plaza when the sunset takes place and the lighting of the Cusco Cathedral begins. Street performers also come out during these times.
The cathedral, alongside the Church of Triumph and Santo Domingo Church, showcases stunning colonial art that reflects centuries of history.
Skip the Crowds at Lesser-Known Sites
Machu Picchu is so famous for a reason, and many visitors reach it via the classic Inca Trail or the more challenging Salkantay Trek. But Cusco has a slew of other archaeological sites that hardly get a second thought—and some of these are equally incredible.
Sacsayhuamán is a twenty-minute walk uphill from the city center, and those massive stone walls—some boulders weigh over 100 tons—fit together so precisely you can’t slide a piece of paper between them.
The scale is genuinely disorienting. It’s best to go late in the afternoon after the tour groups have left. Bring some water and perhaps a book to read. The stones are warm from the heat of the day, and it’s a positively earthy sensation just to sit there.
Nearby, you’ll also find Puka Pukara, another fortress worth exploring, and Cristo Blanco, a Jesus statue offering panoramic views of the city.
Moray is like crop circles created by mathematicians. The Inca Empire constructed these circular platforms as an experimental farm, each tier supporting a different microclimate.
The difference in temperature from top to bottom may vary by as much as 15°C. To stand in this site is to find oneself in what feels like an ancient science-fiction landscape.
Socialize with Everyone
The homestay experiences in villages around Cusco aren’t some Disneyfied cultural show. There’s a sense of reality to them that makes them more valuable.
You might end up in someone’s kitchen learning to make chicha (corn beer that tastes like absolutely nothing you’ve had before). Or helping dye wool with plants you didn’t know could be used as dye. The family might speak limited Spanish, and you might speak even less, so there’s a lot of smiling and gesturing.
You can take a cooking class that starts at San Pedro Market. Not the ones advertised in hotel lobbies, but the ones run by families who cook this food every day. You’ll bargain for ingredients, argue about which potatoes to buy because there are over 3,000 varieties in Peru, and learn that every grandmother makes causa differently.
Let the City Set the Pace
The thing about meaningful travel is it usually happens in the margins. Between the planned activities when you’re not trying.
Maybe you sit in a café longer than you meant to because the owner starts telling you stories about the building’s history. Or you spend an hour watching dye masters work in Chinchero and realize you’ve completely lost track of time.
Cusco operates on a different rhythm than wherever you came from. Shops close for lunch. And we’re talking about actual lunch, not a fifteen-minute break.
People stop to chat in the street and nobody’s in the aggressive hurry you might be used to. The altitude makes you slow down physically anyway, so you might as well embrace it mentally too.
If you’re visiting during June, the Inti Raymi festival celebrates the Incan sun god with elaborate ceremonies. The Corpus Christi Festival is another vibrant cultural celebration worth experiencing.
For astronomy enthusiasts, the Cusco Planetarium (Planetarium Cusco) offers fascinating insights into Inca constellations and how the Incan empire understood the night sky.
Leave with More Than Luggage
Before you leave, think about what you want to take back with you besides the souvenir. A piece of cloth from a weaver whose face you’ll remember, or a recipe that you will butcher when you attempt to recreate it in your own kitchen.
The city has survived five centuries of colonization, multiple earthquakes, and an endless parade of travelers taking photos. It’s not fragile. But it is generous if you pay attention. What you get from Cusco largely depends on what you’re willing to notice—and that’s true of most places worth visiting, but especially true here.
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