← CUSCO TRAVEL GUIDE🏔️
SOUTH AMERICA · PERU
The 6 Best Things to Do in Cusco
Inca capital, Sacred Valley, and the lost city
Cusco is the gateway to the Inca world — a beautiful colonial-on-Inca city, the terraced Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu itself, the lost citadel high in the cloud forest.
BEST TIME
May–September (dry season)
TYPICAL BUDGET
$1,100–$2,400 per person for a week
6 best things to do in Cusco
2
Cusco’s San Blas and Plaza de Armas
3
Sacred Valley (Pisac, Ollantaytambo)
6
Peruvian food and pisco sours
How to fit it into a day
Machu Picchu
Spend the morning on the highlight, then in the afternoon or evening: cusco’s san blas and plaza de armas.
See it laid out day by day: the 4-day Cusco itinerary →
LOCAL TIP
Spend two days in Cusco first to acclimatize to 11,000 ft before Machu Picchu.
Turn this list into a real trip
ShowUp builds a personalized Cusco plan around these — real hotels, restaurants, and live prices, booked piece by piece, with one honest all-in total. Free.
Build my Cusco trip — free →Cusco itineraries by length
Things to do elsewhere