Cusco

Why Cusco works

Cusco was the political and religious centre of the Inca Empire, and the city's oldest walls — massive, precisely fitted stone blocks laid without mortar — still form the foundations of colonial-era buildings across the historic centre, most strikingly at Qorikancha, the former Temple of the Sun, where Spanish builders raised a Dominican church directly atop Inca stonework rather than clearing it away. Plaza de Armas, ringed by the baroque Cusco Cathedral and the Church of the Society of Jesus, sits on the site of the Inca's original ceremonial plaza and remains the city's social centre, its arcaded walkways filled with cafes overlooking the square. San Pedro Market trades in everything from alpaca wool and chicha morada to whole roasted guinea pig, a Cusquena speciality worth trying at least once, while San Blas, the artisan quarter on the hillside above the centre, holds workshops, boutique hotels, and the city's steepest, most photogenic cobblestone streets. At 3,399 metres, altitude sickness is a genuine consideration — most itineraries build in a day or two of acclimatisation before heading to Machu Picchu, filled with coca tea and short walks rather than exertion. Sacsayhuaman, an Inca fortress complex on the hill above the city, hosts the Inti Raymi winter solstice festival each June, a reenactment of Inca sun worship rituals performed in full ceremonial dress. Cusco functions as both a destination in its own right and the essential gateway — nearly every rail and trekking route to Machu Picchu begins here, making it one of South America's busiest and best-preserved colonial-Andean cities.

Trip Snapshot

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