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Peru,  South America,  Travel

22 Must do’s in Cusco | Peru

Cusco, the ‘Navel of the World’ and former Inca capital, is a city with a mixture of colonial Spanish, and pre-Columbian charm with some Incan foundations in many streets. Cusco is the perfect base to visit Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Spend 5 to 6 full days with the following things to do in Cusco, Peru.

Following my travels live on instagram!

Cusco is situated at an altitude of 3,200 meters. During your first one or two days, take it slow and give your body the time to get used to it (unless you already did Arequipa and Puno, then you’re normally good to go like us!)

1) Machu Picchu & Huayna Picchu

Machu Picchu is an ancient city that lies on the top of a mountain. We did Machu Picchu in 2 days. Too much to say about Machu Picchu so that will be a separate blog article!

Read more about my Machu Picchu Travel Guide in this special blog post!
» Machu Picchu Travel Guide | Peru «

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2) Historic center

Go to the Plaza de Armas and the colonial cathedral of Cusco but remember you can’t take photos inside the cathedral! You will see a lot of buildings in Cusco that have like two layers in their facade. The bottom layer is made out of the original Inca building. The Spaniards just built on top of the Inca buildings.

3) San Blas District

San Blas is a pleasant neighborhood with many nice restaurants, shops, and cafes. It’s the artistic neighborhood of Cusco and gives the same vibe as Barranco in Lima. Loved the vibe here and wished I could stay here forever (or am I aiming at Peru in general?). Go to Aura Bar/Restaurant for good music, food and view on Cusco.

4) Qoricancha Temple in Cusco

Qoricancha (or Koricancha or Corikancha) was a holy temple of the sun covered in pure gold of the Inca people. The Spanish forced the Incas to change religion and built a Christian monastery on top of the Qoricancha temple. You can still visit the remains in the monastery.

5) Street art

Near Coricancha you can find some cool street art paintings or the Cusco Mural, the largest mural in South America! It depicts the history of Cusco with the pre-Incas, Incas, the Spaniards, and modern-time Cusco.

Inca Ruins in Cusco

6) Sacsayhuaman

A 30-minute walk from Cusco is Sacsayhuamán, Sacsahuaman, or Saqsaywaman (UNESCO),  a large wall Inca site (pronounced as ‘sexy human’). Each stone in the wall weighs around 300 tons! 

7) Q’enko

Q’enqoQenko, Kenko, or Quenco is one of the largest holy places in the Cusco Region. Walk through the labyrinth and find the chamber where there was once a mummy as the case is as cool as a fridge!

8) Tambomachay

Tambomachay consists of a series of aqueducts, canals, and waterfalls that run through the terraced rocks. From the spring Timpuc Puquiu flows three waterfalls that still flow today. Some say the water has healing abilities like eternal youth.

9) Puca Pucara

Puka Pukara is a site of military ruins and was part of the defense of Cusco. It was also the station for the Inca runners who could run really fast. They could get a message from Cusco to Lima in one day by a human chain of runners!

10) Rainbow Mountain

The rainbow mountains used to be under ice till 2015, but due to climate change, they are now visible in the right season. It attracts over 1000 (or 7000 in the high season) visitors each day and all have to hike a path for 3 hours to 5.063 meters

You leave Cusco at 4 AM to start your hike at 8 AM (breakfast stop included). At around 10-10.30 AM you arrive at the top of Rainbow Mountain. Another 30 minutes are needed to get back to your starting point. Total route of 4.5km, climbing 300 meters.

Discover the Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley holds some of the best-preserved Inca architecture in Peru. 

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Moray and Maras in the Sacred Valley is a must for the eyes! In Moray you’ll find the Inca ruins of an old irrigation system that allowed Incas to grow 2000+ species of potatoes. In Maras, you’ll find the oldest salt mine of pre-inca time in Cusco. Don’t forget to taste the different kind of salts as well (white and pink) or to use the grey salt for wellness purposes 🙌 I bought myself some pink salt for my margaritas 😋 #moray #maras #cusco #cuzco #moraycusco #morayperu #marasperu #marascusco #salineras #salinerasdemaras #cuscoperu🇵🇪 #cuscoperu #peru #perú #perutravel #lifeofapassion

♬ original sound – LEO ORLANDO – TERENOVA ORLANDO
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The Sacred Valley of the Incas – named after the agreeable climate for agriculture which you can see in Pisaq (Písac). Pisaq’s Incan terraces are 400m high and 1km long. Ollantaytambo used to be an Incan summer palace and stronghold for the Incan resistance against the Spanish. #pisaq #písac #pisac #pisać #ollantaytambo #ollantaytamboperu #peru #perou #perú #sacredvalley #sacredvalleyperu #sacredvalleyoftheincas #theincas #inca #incas #incaempire #lifeofapassion #cusco #cuzco #machupicchu #vallesagradodelosincas #vallesagrado #losincas

♬ Cancion del Mariachi – Inca empire

11) Moray

These man-made terraces in an amphitheater shape were an Inca agricultural laboratory. The Incas could experiment with different lighting, heights, soils, and temperature conditions for growing crops. Moray is one of the reasons Peru has over 2000 species of potatoes today.

12) Maras Salt Mines

Thousands of salt pans that have been in use since Inca times can be seen here. Large basins collect the saltwater that flows from within the mountain and then dries in the sun. The salt is collected and sold on the local market and is considered one of the most expensive salts in Peru. Of course, I also bought some salt after a tasty tasting!

13) Pisac Ruins

Machu Picchu’s little brother, the Pisac Ruins. It overlooks the entire Urubamba Valley, and the terraces are still used today. The Inca terraces (called Andenes) of Pisaq are 1km broad and 400m high(or deep depending on where you’re standing). Quite incredible to walk on these terraces with the walls being 5 meters high! We were a bit rushed by our guide and couldn’t explore the whole site. If you have the time, you can spend 8 hours in this complex! Don’t forget to visit the town of Pisac as well. Lovely town with a colonial church, and beautiful streets!

14) Ollantaytambo

We visited the picturesque old town and ruins of Ollantaytambo on our way to Machu Picchu as the train station is located there. Ollantaytambo was the second last Inca city after Cusco fell in the hands of the Spaniards. It’s surrounded by the valley and water, giving it a perfect place to strengthen the fort. But in the end, even Ollantaytambo fell into the hands of the Spaniards and the Inca hid away in their last Inca capital in the jungle.

15) Chocolate Museum 

Peru is one of the world’s biggest cacao producers. Go to a chocolate museum or follow a chocolate-making workshop. We had so much fun following a chocolate workshop (and eating our works of course).

16) Cusco Viewpoints

The best view from Cusco is from the top. Some of the best viewpoints in Cusco are Plaza San Cristobal, Desde el Cristo Blanco, and Mirador de San Blas. Just be prepared to walk (but it’s worth it!).

17) San Pedro Market

Shop fruits, veggies, cheese, meat, fish, souvenirs, and so much more at the San Pedro Market. We bought our souvenirs here on our last day (much cheaper). For example 30 soles for a sweater instead of 120 or 60. Oh and real alpaca wool is something you can feel and will notice.

18) Horseriding

You can also do some horse riding in Cusco if you like! Enjoy nature and discover some caves (yes you will climb them as well)!

19) Taste the best restaurants in Cusco

Cusco is a paradise for foodies! Go eat some Italian, Japanese, Vegan, and Peruvian food! Go to Mistura Grill Cusco (and also a rooftop bar!), Chicha restaurant, Huaraca Grill, and Aura resto-bar (with rooftop bar + really good music!).

20) Humantay Lake Tour

A 2-hour hike to Humantay Lake at an altitude of 4,200 meters is also a must do.  We chose Rainbow Mountain over this one but if I had the time I would for sure do this hike!

21) Alpaca wool sweater

One you can’t miss is to learn how Peruvians make (real) Alpaca wool sweaters. Fascinating to learn how they get these vibrant colors from herbs or plants! And yes you will feel the difference between Alpaca wool and sheep wool.

22) Sightings bus drive from Puno to Cusco

On your bus drive from Puno to Cusco you can see these amazing places!

Where to Stay in Cusco

We stayed at the Sacha Centric Hotel. Close to the historic center and San Blas district! Perfect location and close to everything in the city.

Book a Bus/Train/Transfer via 12Go
Get your travel equipment via Amazon
Book Tours & Attractions via GetYourGuide
Get your travel equipment via Bol.com (Belgium/Netherlands)

Life of a Passion

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