Cusco is a great base for adventures in the Andes and Peru’s Sacred Valley. Importantly, it is also a relaxing place to acclimate to the region’s altitude before hiking the Inca Trail. That is exactly why we spent a few days here, but we could have easily filled more time.
Sacred Valley Day Tour
If you come to Cusco, we highly recommend taking at least a day to explore the Sacred Valley. This historic area has many Incan ruins, beautiful scenery, and plenty of opportunities to learn more about the local culture. There are a ton of different tour operators, but they all offer essentially the same full-day tour (no need to spend too much time deciding like we did). If you decide to do a full-day tour instead of spreading your visit across two days, know that you are in for a super long day. There’s no way around it unfortunately. We do feel though that the full-day tour is the best way to see the Sacred Valley’s top sites with limited time and budget. Below are the stops you can expect.
- Chinchero: In addition to having some nice ruins, this town has an alpaca wool weaving community. Our tour included a demonstration of how the wool is dyed and woven into traditional Incan garments, followed by plenty of time to shop for souvenirs. The goods here were all expensive though, since it is a bit of a tourist trap.
- Maras: This stop was quick but awesome. The Sacred Valley is home to thousands of small ponds created for mining salt, and the view overlooking those ponds is pretty incredible. Here we also stopped at a shop where we bought some of the mined salt and delicious salted chocolates and snacks. The free samples did the trick and completely compelled us to buy the food.
- Moray: Our favorite stop for sure. One of the most interesting things we learned about the Inca Empire was how they used different elevation levels, soil compositions, and humidity levels to study how different plant species grow in different conditions. Moray was essentially an agricultural lab, so it was the best representation we saw of how these techniques were put into practice. On a more superficial level, it is also very pretty.
- Urubamba: We only stopped here for lunch, and it seems like all tours stop here. We don’t remember the name of the restaurant we visited, but it was a buffet lunch with a large selection of Peruvian foods to try. Nothing was spectacular, but we were glad we had a chance to try many local dishes at once.
- Ollantaytambo: Our other favorite stop for sure. It was a bit too crowded here, but that is because this historic Incan town has some really impressive ruins (including the Templo del Sol). This stop also felt the most active, as hiking to the Templo del Sol requires a short, steep climb at altitude. It is well worth it though, as it is incredible to see the size of the stones at the top of hill and learn about how they got there.
- Pisac Ruins: The last major stop of our tour was Pisac, which has beautiful sunset views atop the ruins. Here we got to learn a bit more about Incan culture and wrap up our tour (even though there was one more stop…).
- Pisac Town: The real last stop of our tour was in the town of Pisac, but we wish it had been skipped. All we did here was learn about how harvested silver was made into jewelry before obligatory shopping time. We chose to wait outside rather than in the store to avoid being pressured to buy things we didn’t want. After such a long day (~13 hours), it would have been nice to instead spend this hour back in Cusco with a slightly earlier dinner.
Things to Do in Cusco
- Acclimate to the Altitude: Cusco is high, and you will feel it. While not the most exciting use of vacation time, we recommend you take it easy. Also, it is worth talking to a doctor before coming so that you can get a prescription of Diamox. We did not take this step, and we ended up feeling the effects of altitude sickness way more than people we met who proactively took this medication. If you’d rather not take Diamox, you can also get Sorojchi pills from a local pharmacy to help combat the symptoms. Sorojchi is essentially Aspirin with a hint of caffeine, but it does help some. Aside from that, drink plenty of water, and choose a hotel where you will be comfortable hanging out. You may end up needing to spend a day lounging around like we did.
- Saqsaywaman: If you don’t want to invest a day visiting the Sacred Valley, there are some Incan ruins just outside of Cusco! It is quite a hike to get there though. We started making our way there before the altitude sickness set in, and we unfortunately had to turn around before making it to the top. If you choose to go to Saqsaywaman, make sure you budget enough time for the trek there and back (Google underestimates it).
- Plaza de Armas: The main square of Cusco is very pretty. All of the buildings have nice warm hues and interesting architecture, so it is worth wandering around and visiting the cathedral.
Where to Eat
- Green Point Vegan Restaurant: Everything was good here. The food was great, the service was friendly, the vibes were cool – overall just a really positive experience. We especially liked the tacu tacu and chocolate cake, as well as the different juices on the menu.
- Native Burgers & Salads: This budget-friendly, casual spot has delicious alpaca burgers. If you need a quick bite and are also interested in trying alpaca meat, this restaurant is a great place to visit.
- Kusikay: We enjoyed our lunch here. The menu includes many authentic Peruvian dishes that we did not see elsewhere, and the service was great too. Our favorite dish was the aji de gallina, which is like a yellow curry.
- Chakruna Native Burgers: Another burger place, but also budget-friendly and tasty. All in all, we preferred Native Burgers & Salads, but the beef burger here was good and even more affordable.
Other Tips & Tricks
- Where to Stay: Cusco is very walkable, so you can stay anywhere near the city center and be happy. The San Blas neighborhood is nice but at a higher altitude since it is uphill; this makes it a bit harder to acclimate. That said, we did really like Antigua Casona San Blas. It is a super nice hotel with really friendly service, and the included breakfast is excellent. Unfortunately, we did not like Cabin & Garden as much. The property grounds are cool (they have two alpaca on site!), but it got very cold since it only had a small electric heater. Also the ceiling window turned into spotlight for the moon at night and kept us up. There were also some hot water challenges. Overall, we just wish we had paid a bit more and stayed at Antigua the whole time in Cusco.
- Getting Around: While you can walk everywhere once you are in town, you will need to arrange transportation from the airport. We recommend taking an Uber so that you can track your ride. For day trips (e.g., Sacred Valley, Rainbow Mountain, Humantay Lake, etc.), your tour company should provide transportation and (sometimes) even pick you up from your hotel.
- Currency Exchange: Always take some time to research the exchange rate in advance and compare options in town. We were able to get a good rate at a corner shop on the Plaza de Armas; as long as the shop looks legitimate you should be fine. Also, keep some cash on hand for tipping for tours.
- Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail: Without a doubt, our favorite experience in Peru was Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. Read more about it here!
Happy traveling!
Kitrina & Jordan