Known for
The former capital of the Inca Empire, at 3,400m in the Andes
UNESCO World Heritage in 1983
Historic centre of Cusco, for its fusion of Inca and Spanish architecture
Must-see landmarks
Plaza de Armas, Sacsayhuamán, Qorikancha and San Blas
Best time to visit
May to September, the driest months in the Andes
Cusco's covered produce market opened on 7 June 1925, commissioned by mayor Manuel Silvestre Frisancho to move trading out of the city's plazas and into one iron-framed hall. Stalls sell fruit, cheese, bread and juice side by side. The walk to Plaza de Armas climbs gently for about 10 minutes.
Known to the Inca as Haucaypata, the city's central plaza sits at 3,400m and is framed by the Cathedral and the Compañía de Jesús, both facing the square from colonial arcades built over Inca foundations. It is also a good moment to slow the pace and let the altitude settle. The Cathedral is a 2 minute walk across the square.
The Diocese of Cusco was established in 1537, and its cathedral rose on the Plaza de Armas over the following century; Pope Pius XI made it a Minor Basilica in 1928. Inside, Marcos Zapata's Cusco School painting of the Last Supper shows the disciples sharing roasted guinea pig. The Compañía de Jesús faces it across the square, a 3 minute walk.
The Jesuit order raised this baroque church in the late 16th century on Amarucancha, once the palace of the Inca ruler Huayna Cápac. Its carved, gilded main altarpiece and paintings from the Cusco School fill an interior as ornate as the cathedral it faces. Qorikancha is a 7 minute walk south down Avenida El Sol.
Qorikancha was the Inca empire's principal sun temple, dedicated to the god Inti; UNESCO cites its stonework for exceptional aesthetic and structural properties. The Dominican order built the Convento de Santo Domingo on its foundations; its cloister frames curved Inca walls. The walk uphill to the Twelve-Angled Stone takes about 9 minutes.
Set into a wall on Hatun Rumiyoc street, this precisely cut block is said to come from the palace of the Inca ruler Roca, its twelve corners fitted against the surrounding stones without mortar. The wall today forms part of the Archbishop's Palace. San Blas is a 4 minute walk further uphill.
Cusco's traditional artisan quarter climbs the hillside above the centre in steep, narrow streets lined with workshops and galleries. Its parish church, the Templo de San Blas, reopened after restoration. Sacsayhuamán continues the walk uphill, a further 43 minutes gaining about 226 metres, though many visitors take a short taxi instead.
Sacsayhuamán's zigzag walls of massive limestone blocks were declared a national heritage site in 1982, managed under a master plan the Ministry of Culture updated through 2030. It is one stop on the Boleto Turístico del Cusco, which also covers other sites and museums nearby. Its Chukipampa esplanade stages the Inti Raymi festival every 24 June.
The heart of the historic centre is free to walk through at any hour, its arcades and gardens open to everyone; the Cathedral and the Compañía de Jesús, the two churches facing onto it, are what charge admission to step inside.
Wandering Cusco's artisan quarter costs nothing beyond the climb itself: its cobbled streets, viewpoints and workshops are open to browse, and only the pieces a visitor chooses to buy carry a price.
Cusco's 1925 covered market is free to walk through, its aisles of produce, cheese and juice stalls open to anyone; individual vendors set their own prices for what they sell.
The famous stonework on Hatun Rumiyoc street sits in a public wall, visible and free to admire at any time of day without a ticket or a queue.
This chocolate museum near the Plaza de Armas has free entry, according to the operator, with exhibits on cacao's history and free tastings; the hands-on workshops are what carry a separate charge.
The hilltop statue above San Blas is free to visit at any time, its viewpoint looking out over the whole historic centre without needing the Boleto Turístico that covers Sacsayhuamán just below it.
Cusco was reshaped as the capital of the Inca Empire under the ruler Pachacuteq in the 15th century, and UNESCO lists its historic centre as a World Heritage Site for the way Inca stonework and Spanish colonial churches sit layered on the same streets. The city sits at 3,400m in a fertile Andean valley, a base both for its own museums and churches and for day trips into the Sacred Valley and to Machu Picchu.
The centre around the Plaza de Armas holds the Cathedral, the Compañía de Jesús and the arcades built over Inca foundations. San Blas climbs the hillside above it in steep artisan streets, while the area around the Mercado Central de San Pedro, west of the plaza, keeps the everyday trading life of the city. Sacsayhuamán and Cristo Blanco sit further up the same hillside, above San Blas.
Cusco's altitude is a real part of any visit: Peru's Ministry of Health recommends resting on arrival above 2,500m, staying hydrated, eating lightly and avoiding intense exertion in the first hours. May to September brings the driest weather to the Andes, while nights stay cold at this altitude in any month. Cusco also marks Inti Raymi, its Inca festival of the sun, every 24 June, with staged ceremonies at Qorikancha, the Plaza de Armas and Sacsayhuamán.
Machu Picchu is not in Cusco itself: reaching it means a drive through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo and a train onward to Aguas Calientes, a journey the operator IncaRail puts at around 43 kilometres and roughly 1 hour 30 minutes by rail alone. The same valley holds Pisac, Chinchero and the terraces of Moray, while Rainbow Mountain and Laguna Humantay add two more demanding, high-altitude day trips for hikers with time to spare. Machu Picchu heads almost every list of what to see in South America, with Lake Titicaca and the Colca Canyon a day's travel further south.
The historic centre is compact and walkable, though its slopes and altitude make a gentler pace worthwhile, especially on the first day. Cusco's airport sits a short taxi ride from the centre, and taxis and organised transport cover the roads out to the Sacred Valley and the trailheads beyond it.