Cuzco (Cusco)

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The former capital of the Inca Empire

Cuzco (or Cusco), the former Inca capital is the best place to start your trip through the Sacred Valley. It has an airport, railway station, buses operate from here to other locations in the area.

The city itself has many attractions: interesting Inca walls, ancient Catholic churches and there's also the Inti Raymi Festival, a colourful ceremony dedicated to the worship of the Sun God, as the Incas called him, Inti.

Today Cuzco is a large city of over 320.000 inhabitants, a a good place to use as starting point for your trips to more remote areas.

The city has many restaurants, hotels and reaching it is quite easy, it also has an airport.   

Cuzco is used as a departure-base by most tourists who plan to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

If you set off to visit Machu Picchu and also want to explore nearby towns, see other ruins, then the old capital of the Inca Empire should be your central point. Here, one can obtain good accommodation and alimentation services and, if needed, medical care is also there! (Hopefully not needed!)

Explore this page of our site to find out more about Cuzco.  

Attractions in and around Cuzco

Cuzco is full of great places to see, ancient churches, interesting hilly narrow streets, perfect ancient Inca walls and a lot more!

Plaza de Armas

It is the main square of Cuzco. You should start visiting the city from here. You'll see churches, shops, restaurants and bars.

The Inti Raymi festival in late June is partly held here. It can be a great time to visit Cuzco.

The Plaza de Armas is perhaps the best place to take a walk in the first days after arrival, to get a taste of how the local atmosphere.

Previously, the Cuzco Plaza de Armas was called "Huacaypata", which in translation would mean "Square of the Warrior".

In and around this square you'll meet many taxi drivers, people offering cheap accommodation services, locals wanting to be your tourist guide or simply carry your luggage. Be on the lookout for thieves and blackmailers, who lurk on the streets "hunting down" naive foreigners, don't fall into traps that could cost you a lot of money or other valuables. 

Excuse yourself politely and reject the "help", make no concessions or you'll end up with with people stuck to you who follow you trying to sell you things and invite you to various places. 

Of course, the Plaza de Armas is not the only place where things happen so, but it's one of the most frequented part of Cuzco by these individuals on the lookout for easy money. 

Coricancha (Qorikancha) or Museo del Sitio del Coricancha

It is a temple that reflects a combination of ancient Inca and Spanish architecture.

It's the most special attraction within Cuzco, you must not miss it when there!

Initially the Coricancha (meaning Golden Courtyard) was a ceremonial complex of multiple rectangular stone buildings. But, after the Spanish conquest it was torn down and many of its stones were used to create Catholic churches and other structures.

Many of the components were used to put together the Church of Santo Domingo. The large and hard stones served as a solid base for the foundation of the Catholic church. Much of the original parts of the Coricancha were built into the newer Christian church.

The original Coricancha was built in such a way, that on the summer solstice, the Sun light coming through a whole in the wall of one of the buildings, illuminated the spot where the Inca chief was sitting.

At the time of the Inca Empire's height about 4.000 priests and other religious Incas lived in the Coricancha.

The complex also served as an astronomical observatory.

The Coricancha's interior, when the building was intact, was richly decorated with gold objects, among which was a Golden Sun Disk, a sacred object of the Incas. Among other objects were statues made of silver and gold, representing the Sun, llamas, babies, even corn.

Interestingly, parts of the original Coricancha were used by the Spaniards as personal living quarters. These were several buildings that were built into the Santo Domingo Church.

At the time when it was an intact Inca church, the Coricancha was also used as a tomb for Inca rulers.

You will see ancient artifacts, including ceramics, statuettes and even preserved textiles from the Inca period.

Museo de Arte Precolombino  

As you understand from its name, it's a pre-Columbian art museum, which means that you can see lots of artifacts from various cultures that lived in Peru, not just Inca ones.

Museo Historico Regional

The museum is inside the building where Inca historian Garcilaso de la Vega lived. The museum contains many over 300 year-old paintings.

Museo de Arte Popular

A popular art museum for those interested in learning about this type of art.

Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo

An art museum in the Municipal Palace containing contemporary art pieces. You can access it from Plaza Regocijo.  

San Blas District

Part of Cuzco's center, San Blas District is just a short walk away from the Main Square and is home to many artists.

You can buy and admire paintings of various local artists.

The Inca walls and the Stone of Twelve Angles

Very well conserved ancient Inca walls with tightly stuck together stones. Especially around the Plaza de Armas it is interesting. Walk along the walls and fin the Stone of Twelve Angles, a huge puzzle-like component.  

Ajlla Wasi, Santa Catalina Convent

It is also known as the "House of the Virgins of the Sun".

During the Inca period, Ajlla Wasi was a religious building where chosen virgins lived.

The Ajlla Wasi was taken by the Spaniards and transformed into a Catholic convent, called Santa Catalina Convent.

Spanish Colonial Cathedral

An ancient Spanish church, such buildings are somewhat typical in Quito, Lima, Cuzco, Bogotá and other parts of Latin America.

The Colonial Cathedral takes you back in time, to the colonial period of Peru. A beautiful building indeed.

The Inti Raymi Festival

A colourful ceremony held on June 24th every year. Go to our Inti Raymi Festival information page for further details.

Nearby sites: Sacsayhuamán, Tambomachay, Q'enqo

There are hundreds of Inca ruins in the area around Cuzco. Several of them, among which the ruins of fortress Sacsayhuamán are quite close to the city.

Sacsayhuamán is a "must see" when in Cuzco. You can go on foot, it's that close. Spectacular huge rock the size of cars compose the walls of the Inca fortress. Check our Sacsayhuamán page for travel information page for information about it.

Among other Inca sites in the area are Q'enqo (Kenko), Puca Pucara (Puka Pukara), Tambomachay and others.

The ancient Inca aqueducts of Tambomachay are truly interesting for those passionate about this ancient technology. For detailed information, check out Tambomachay section.

You can visit multiple sites around Cuzco, but they're not all very impressive, unless you're truly passionate about archaeology and Inca civilization. Sacsayhuamán and Tambomachay are the most important ones. 

Getting there

The best way to get to Cuzco is from Lima, the Peruvian capital.

Cuzco is accessible by land either by train or road vehicles, but this is the hard and slow way. Not to mention, could be dangerous (due to not very good roads, possible theft, etc.).

By airplane is best: safest, fastest, most comfortable. But less beautiful, you will miss the landscapes between Lima and Cuzco. However, don't worry, you'll fall in love with the Sacred Valley of the Incas, it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

Cuzco is located at 3.500 m, a much higher altitude than Machu Picchu (2.700 m), therefore those of you who are not very used to the altitude conditions, we recommend to stay in this city for at least 7 days to accommodate (get used) to the atmospherical conditions and not only.

Especially if you're planning a hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, then make sure you do this. Otherwise, you won't resist the walks up and down on the mountains that reach over 4.000 m.

When travelling to Cuzco, make sure you rest enough in the first 2-3 days. Short walks in the city for sightseeing are good, but take enough sleep, eat well and strengthen your organism with vitamins and minerals. Don't put your body to physical stress in the first days!