Cusco
The old Inca capital, its colonial churches raised on Inca stonework, the artisans' lanes of San Blas climbing the hill, and Sacsayhuamán just above the rooftops.
- Arrival
- Alejandro Velasco Astete · CUZ
- To the city
- About 5 km from the historic centre
- Private jets
- Daytime hours at CUZ, 3,310 m
- Best time
- April to October
The city
Inca walls under Spanish roofs.
Cusco ruled the Inca Empire, and the Spanish city was built straight onto what they found. Santo Domingo stands on the Coricancha, the empire's main sanctuary; a street of polished masonry keeps the twelve-angled stone from the palace of Inca Roca. The historic centre has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1983, and the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas still holds its silver and its canvases of the Cusco School.
The city sits at about 3,400 metres, so the first afternoon is best spent slowly, in a courtyard or a museum. From April to October the sky is clear and the sun strong by day, with sharp cold after dark; the rains run from November to March. Beyond Cusco lie the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
- Coricancha The Inca temple of the sun, built under Pachacutec, with a Dominican convent set on its walls.
- Sacsayhuamán Massive stone ramparts two kilometres above the city, and the stage for the Inti Raymi festival.
- San Blas Steep cobbled lanes of workshops a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas, around the oldest church in Cusco.
Arriving
An airport within the city.
Velasco Astete lies about 5 km south-east of the centre, at 3,310 m, with a single runway of some 3,400 m. Most journeys connect through Lima, an hour and a quarter away. A new airport at Chinchero is being built but will not open before late 2027.
- Lima 1 h 05
- Bogotá 3 h 00
- Buenos Aires 3 h 50
- Punta Cana 5 h 00
- Cape Town 12 h 10 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Altitude keeps afternoons between 17 and 19 °C in every month, so the calendar is set by rain. May to August see under 10 mm a month and bright skies; from December to March the totals pass 115 mm. PromPerú recommends April to October.
- 17° J 153
- 17° F 136
- 17° M 120
- 18° A 46
- 18° M 8
- 18° J 2
- 17° J 4
- 18° A 8
- 18° S 23
- 19° O 40
- 19° N 68
- 18° D 116
Where to stay
Convents, palaces and colonial houses.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Inkaterra La Casona Eleven rooms in a restored colonial house, with carved doors, stone fireplaces and heated floors.
- Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel A former convent and palace with an outdoor pool, a lounge in the old chapel and Inca walls beneath a glass floor in the spa.
- Monasterio, A Belmond Hotel A sixteenth-century seminary of 117 rooms, with one restaurant by the main courtyard and another in the old refectory.
- Antigua Casona San Blas An eighteenth-century house of thick adobe and carved balconies, restored in 2016, with fire pits in the courtyard.
Where to dine
Andean produce, cooked with ambition.
No MICHELIN guide covers Peru; tables recognised by Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, the Premios Somos 2025 and Fodor’s.
- Mil Latin America's 50 Best, No. 49 Contemporary Peruvian Moray, in the Sacred Valley outside Cusco
- Mauka Premios Somos 2025, shortlist Contemporary Palacio Nazarenas, Plazoleta Nazarenas
- OQRE Fodor’s Choice Haute Peruvian $$$$ Monasterio, Plazoleta Nazarenas
Elsewhere in Peru
More reasons to come.
- Lima Clifftop Miraflores, and some of the most celebrated kitchens in South America.
- Sacred Valley Lower and milder than Cusco, the place to sleep before Machu Picchu.
- Machu Picchu The citadel on its ridge, reached by train along the Urubamba.
- Arequipa The white city, built of volcanic stone, near the Colca canyon.
- Paracas Where the desert meets the ocean, with sea lions on the Ballestas islands.
Flying to Cusco?
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