Things to Do in Cusco: 12 Worth Your Time
Twelve things in Cusco worth your hours: Qorikancha, Sacsayhuamán, the cathedral, San Pedro market, San Blas, the twelve-angled stone, the Inca sites above the city, two museums, the San Cristóbal viewpoint and the South Valley. Plan three nights, with the first afternoon slow for the altitude, and buy the Boleto Turístico only if you will use the Sacred Valley sites too.
In this guide
Short answer: Cusco rewards three nights. Day 1, at a slow pace for the altitude, is Qorikancha, the cathedral and the plaza. Day 2 is Sacsayhuamán and the three Inca sites above the city, then San Blas. Day 3 is San Pedro market, the twelve-angled stone, a museum and the San Cristóbal viewpoint, or the South Valley. The twelve below are the ones we send our own guests to, with what each costs, how long it takes and which ticket covers it.
How the tickets work
Most of Cusco's sites are on one of two tickets, and knowing which saves money and queues. The Boleto Turístico, sold by COSITUC, covers Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay above the city, four municipal museums, and the Sacred Valley and South Valley sites of Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Moray, Tipón and Pikillacta. The general ticket is valid ten days and the partial tickets cover one circuit for one or two days. Travel guides updated in 2026 list the general ticket at S/130 for foreign adults and the partial at S/70, which we could not confirm on COSITUC's own page, so treat those as last-checked figures. Qorikancha and the cathedral are not on it: each sells its own ticket at the door.
Our Cusco city tour includes the Qorikancha entrance and the partial ticket for the four sites above the city, so if you book it you need no ticket for the first two days. Buy the general ticket only if you are also going to the Sacred Valley on your own.
The twelve, with cost and time
| Sight | Ticket | Time | Best day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qorikancha | Own ticket | 1 hour | Day 1, afternoon |
| Cathedral and plaza | Own ticket | 1 hour | Day 1, afternoon |
| Sacsayhuamán | Boleto Turístico | 90 minutes | Day 2 or later |
| Qenqo | Boleto Turístico | 30 minutes | Day 2, with the city tour |
| Puca Pucara and Tambomachay | Boleto Turístico | 45 minutes | Day 2, with the city tour |
| San Pedro market | Free | 1 hour | Any morning |
| San Blas | Free | 2 hours | Day 2 or 3, late afternoon |
| Twelve-angled stone | Free | 5 minutes | On the way to San Blas |
| Museo de Arte Precolombino | Own ticket | 90 minutes | Day 3 |
| Casa Concha | Own ticket | 1 hour | Before Machu Picchu |
| San Cristóbal viewpoint | Free | 30 minutes | Sunset, day 2 or 3 |
| South Valley | Boleto Turístico plus the church | Full or half day | Day 2 or 3 |
1. Qorikancha and Santo Domingo
The Inca temple of the sun, whose curved wall of fitted stone survives under the Dominican convent built on top of it. The finest Inca stonework in the city is here, in rooms that held the gold the Spanish melted. Own ticket at the door (travel guides report S/15 to S/20 as of 2026, confirm on site). Allow one hour. Two blocks downhill from the plaza, flat, so it suits the first afternoon.
2. The cathedral and the Plaza de Armas
The cathedral sits on the foundations of the palace of Wiracocha and holds the Cusco school paintings, including the Last Supper with a roast guinea pig on the table, and the blackened Christ of the Earthquakes. The Jesuit church next door (La Compañía) competes with it for the best facade. Own ticket at the door, part of a combined church ticket. Allow an hour for the cathedral and twenty minutes on the plaza benches, which is the best place in Cusco to do nothing.
3. Sacsayhuamán
The fortress and ceremonial site above the city, with three tiers of zigzag walls built from boulders the size of trucks, fitted without mortar. It is the place to understand Inca engineering and the place for the view over the red roofs. Covered by the Boleto Turístico. Allow 90 minutes, two hours with the walk up from the plaza, which is 30 minutes uphill at about 3,700 m (12,139 ft). Go on day 2 or later, not the day you land.
4. Qenqo
A carved limestone outcrop with channels, steps and an underground chamber, ten minutes from Sacsayhuamán by road. Small and strange, best with a guide who explains what the channels were for. Covered by the Boleto Turístico. Allow 30 minutes.
5. Puca Pucara and Tambomachay
Two sites together at the top of the road out of the city: a small red-stone fort beside the highway and, five minutes' walk away, a set of stone fountains still running with spring water. Both covered by the Boleto Turístico, both at about 3,800 m (12,470 ft), the highest stop of the city tour. Allow 45 minutes for the pair. Our half-day city tour does items 1, 3, 4 and 5 in five and a half hours for US$87 with the entries.
6. San Pedro market
The central market, a covered hall with fruit juice counters, cheese stalls, bread from Oropesa, rows of lunch cooks and a section of medicinal herbs and offerings. Free. Allow an hour, in the morning when it is busiest. Watch your bag, and buy a juice: the stall will refill your glass with what is left in the blender.
7. San Blas
The artists' quarter up the steep streets behind the cathedral, with workshops, small galleries, a plaza with a carved pulpit in its church and the best cafés in town. Free to walk. Allow two hours in the late afternoon, when the light hits the hill. The climb is short and steep, so take it on day 2 or 3.
8. The twelve-angled stone and Hatunrumiyoc
A single block with twelve angles fitted into the wall of the archbishop's palace on the street of Hatunrumiyoc, with the rest of the wall almost as good. Free, five minutes, on the way to San Blas. There is often a man in Inca costume beside it who expects a tip for photos, which is fine if you want the photo. Our Cusco walking tour links the market, this street, San Blas and the San Cristóbal viewpoint in a half day for US$27.
9. Museo de Arte Precolombino
The pre-Columbian art museum on Plaza Nazarenas, a colonial house with ceramics, gold and wood from the cultures before the Incas, lit and labeled like a museum in Washington. Own ticket. Allow 90 minutes. The one museum we send people to when they have time for only one.
10. Casa Concha, the Machu Picchu museum
The museum that holds the objects Hiram Bingham took to Yale in 1912 and that Yale returned to Peru a century later, in a colonial mansion on Calle Santa Catalina. Own ticket. Allow an hour, and do it before your Machu Picchu day rather than after, because it explains what you are about to see.
11. San Cristóbal viewpoint
The terrace in front of the San Cristóbal church, a fifteen-minute climb above San Blas, with the whole city below and Ausangate on the horizon on a clear morning. Free. Allow 30 minutes, best at the end of the walking tour or at sunset. Sacsayhuamán is another twenty minutes up the same road.
12. The South Valley: Tipón, Pikillacta and Andahuaylillas
A half day out of the city on the Puno road: the water terraces of Tipón, the pre-Inca walled city of Pikillacta and the painted church of Andahuaylillas. Tipón and Pikillacta are on the Boleto Turístico, the church has its own ticket. Our South Valley tour does all three with lunch for US$127. Allow the day, with little climbing, which makes it a good day 2 for people who want to save Sacsayhuamán for day 3.
How many days in Cusco
Three nights for the city alone, and five to seven if Machu Picchu and one day trip are part of it, which they should be. The altitude sets the pace: Cusco is at 3,400 m (11,150 ft), and the US CDC puts the risk of altitude illness at sleeping altitudes above 2,450 m (8,000 ft), so the first afternoon is Qorikancha and the plaza at walking pace and nothing else. By day 3 the hills above the city are fine, and by day 4 the day trips from Cusco to Rainbow Mountain or Humantay Lake open up. Our Cusco altitude guide explains the order, and our Cusco hotel guide rates the neighborhoods by the walk to the plaza, which matters more here than in any flat city.
A sample three days: day 1 land, lunch, Qorikancha, cathedral, early night. Day 2 city tour in the morning (Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, Puca Pucara, Tambomachay), San Blas and the viewpoint in the afternoon. Day 3 San Pedro market, the twelve-angled stone, the pre-Columbian museum, and Casa Concha before an early night for the Machu Picchu train.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 3,400 m (11,150 ft) in the center, about 3,700 m (12,139 ft) at Sacsayhuamán, about 3,800 m (12,470 ft) at Tambomachay | |
| Boleto Turístico | general S/130 (10 days), partial S/70 per circuit, foreign adults, per travel guides updated 2026, to confirm with COSITUC | theonlyperuguide.com |
| Sites on the Boleto Turístico | Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, Puca Pucara, Tambomachay, four city museums, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Moray, Tipón, Pikillacta | theonlyperuguide.com |
| Own ticket at the door | Qorikancha, the cathedral, Museo de Arte Precolombino, Casa Concha, Andahuaylillas church | |
| Our city tour | US$87, five and a half hours, Qorikancha and the four sites above the city, entries included | |
| Our walking tour | US$27, half day, San Pedro market, twelve-angled stone, San Blas, San Cristóbal viewpoint, no entries needed | |
| Nights to plan | 3 for the city, 5 to 7 with Machu Picchu and a day trip |
Sources
Questions people ask
How many days do you need in Cusco?
Three nights for the city itself, and five to seven if Machu Picchu and a day trip are included. The altitude of 3,400 m (11,150 ft) makes the first afternoon slow, so the sights spread over three days rather than two: Qorikancha and the plaza on day 1, the sites above the city and San Blas on day 2, the market, museums and viewpoint on day 3.
Is the Boleto Turístico worth buying?
Yes if you will visit the Sacred Valley sites (Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Moray) on your own as well as Sacsayhuamán, since the general ticket covers all of them for ten days. If you only do the city, the partial ticket for the four sites above Cusco is enough, and our city tour includes it. Qorikancha and the cathedral are never on it.
What is the one thing to see in Cusco?
Qorikancha, in our opinion. The curved Inca wall under the Santo Domingo convent is the finest stonework in the city and the clearest picture of what the Spanish built on top of. It is flat, two blocks from the plaza and takes an hour, which makes it the right first stop at altitude. Sacsayhuamán is second, once you can manage the hill.
Can I walk to Sacsayhuamán from the Plaza de Armas?
Yes, about 30 minutes uphill through San Blas and past the San Cristóbal church, ending at about 3,700 m (12,139 ft). Do it from day 2, not on arrival. A taxi takes ten minutes if the climb worries you, and our half-day city tour drives the whole loop of Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay with a guide.
Is San Pedro market safe to visit?
Yes, and it is one of the best hours in Cusco, with juice counters, cheese, bread and lunch stalls. It is also the place where wallets go missing, so carry your bag in front, leave the passport in the hotel and keep the phone in a zipped pocket. Go in the morning when the stalls are full, and eat what is cooked in front of you.
What can I do in Cusco on my first afternoon?
Flat and slow. Walk two blocks downhill to Qorikancha, sit on the plaza, visit the cathedral, drink coca tea and eat a light dinner. Skip the hills, the market crowds and alcohol until day 2. Most people feel a headache and short breath the first afternoon at 3,400 m, and an easy day is the difference between a good trip and a sick one.
This guide was last reviewed in October 2026. Prices, rules and timetables are quoted with the date we checked them.