Cuzco

Cuzco (also "Cusco", or "Qosqo" in Quechua style), located in the Southern Sierras is a fascinating city that was the capitol of the Incan Empire. Cuzco is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is one of Peru's most visited cities.

Understand

Information

Dircetur, Portal Blankets 117 (close to the Plaza de Armas), 222032, is the official tourist office. The friendly people can give useful, independent information as well as badly translated brochures.

Get in

By Plane

The airport is at the edge of the city (taxi ride). There are daily internal flights to and from Lima, Arequipa and small jungle airstrips in the Amazon basin. The closest main international airport is Lima. The cheapest one way flights to Lima cost around USD 70. Frequently, bad weather conditions can cause flights to be cancelled, often up to two days on end. If you are flying straight into Cuzco, beware of altitude sickness for the first couple of days.

By Bus

Long Distance

The Terminal Terrestre is about a 20 minute walk down the Av. Sol. You can also take a taxi for a few soles.

Buses are plentiful from other Peruvian cities like Lima, Puno (6~8 hours), Arequipa, Nazca (14~16 hours) etc, but are quite long and slow, although the views can compensate. The main roads are quite good, but some can be bad, making trips take longer than expected.

Around the Sacred Valley

There are several smaller bus terminals to transport you around the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Av. Grau 525 -- Cuzco - Chinchero - Urubamba
Calle Puputi 208 --- Cuzco - Pisac - Yucay - Urubamba
Av. Tullumayo 207 --- Cuzco - Pisac - Calca
Av. De La Cultura 1320 --- Cuzco - Urcos ( Tipon - Piquillacta - Andahuaylilas )

By Rail

There are some, limited rail connections from Cuzco, though they're mostly just for more upmarket tourists who want a bit of comfort and class.

Cuzco - Lake Titicaca

PeruRail => connects Cuzco to Juliaca and Puno ($16.66 Tourist/Backpacker class, $119 Andean Explorer class, both one-way), and the journey is one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world, passing both through amazing scenery and the middle of small towns.

Having said that, there are two distinct disadvantages to taking the train:

The price (it's significantly cheaper by bus)
The journey time (it's also significantly shorter by bus)

The journey should take 10 hours, but there are often delays. The 'scenic stop' included at La Raya is a bit of a waste of time, though it's included anyway.

Cuzco - Machu Picchu

It's certainly worth walking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and there are numerous tour companies through which you can do this. However on the way back instead of taking the bus, you could also take the train (though, as stated above, it's more expensive and a longer journey time). A one-way trip on PeruRail => will set you back $59.50 Vistadome class, $41.65 Backpacker class. This journey takes about 4 hours if you go the whole way, but most people coming back from Machu Picchu get off at Poroy from where they take a connecting bus. This will save you a considerable amount of time (around 45 minutes) as shortly after this station the train does some strange backwards/forwards maneuvers to cross up/down a steep slope.

Get Around

The centre of Cuzco is small enough to walk around, although you will probably need to catch a bus or taxi to the bus station, Sacasyhuaman or airport. Beware about walking around at night alone and/or drunk, robberies have often been reported.

Taxis are very common in Cuzco. Officially they cost 2-4 soles depending on distance. Call Alo Cusco Taxis http://www.alocusco.com Often many drivers are not locals. Beware when using taxis at night; robberies have been reported in collusion with taxi cab drivers, at certain times radio taxis may be the safest option.

See

For some of the sights in and around Cuzco you need a boleto turistico. It can be bought at the Oficina Ejecutiva del Comité (OFEC), Av Sol 103, tel: 227037. There are three different kind of tickets: A full ticket valid for ten days and for all sites, which costs 70 soles; a student ticket for students with an ISIC sudentcard, which cost only 35 soles; and a partial ticket, only valid for one day and a limited number of sites, which cost 40. The ticket gives access to the following sites in Cuzco: Santa Cataline Monastry, Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo, Museo Historico Regional, Museo del Sitio del Qoricancha, Museo de Arte Popular, Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo Danzas Folklórico and Monumento Pachacuteq. And around Cuzco: Sacsayhuamán, Qénqo, Pukapukara, Tambomachay, Chinchero, the ruins of Pisac, the ruins of Ollantaytambo, Tipón and Pikillacta.

Museums

Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo, located in the Municipal Palace at Plaza Regocijo. Has exhibitions of contemporary art. Admission with the boleto turistico
Museo Historico Regional, located in the home of the Inca historian Garcilaso de la Vargas. Many paintings from the 17th and 18h century.
Museo del Sitio del Qoricancha, Av Sol. With information about the different pre-Columbian cultures and fragments of ceramics and textiles of the Inca culture.
Museo de Arte Popular, located in the basement of the OFEC office. Displays a collection of popular art.

Old Stuff

Visit nearby ruins. The largest of these ruins is the amazing Inca Sacsayhuaman (sometimes called Saqsaywaman and Sexy Woman) ruins high above Cuzco. Be careful, as robberies have been reported in mornings and evenings. Other ruins up the road from Sacsayhuaman include Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. All are accessible with the boleto turistico.
Walk around the Plaza de Armas; the square has churches, shops, restaurants and bars backing on to it and is a great place to spend an afternoon.
Santa Catalina Convent, also a collection of religious art. Admission with the boleto turistico.

Other

Visit the local markets; great bargains are available to tourists willing to haggle with friendly locals.
Galleries; the stunning scenery of the Cuzco area are often very well depicted by local artists. You can find cheap prints that are of surprisingly good quality if you shop about.
Monumento Pachacuteq, down Av. Sol, is a statue of the Inca warrior king Pachacuteq. The statue is placed on a cylindrical base and the total monument is over 22 metres high. The cylindrical base can be climbed, but views are disappointing because the monument is located at a lower part of town. Admission with the boleto turistico.

Buy

There is a market called Molino, which is in Wanchanq, close to the national bus terminal where things are a bit cheaper. But when it´s crowded, keep your bags in front of you and if you feel anything like a pick pocket, react quickly.

If you want cheap cheap touristy stuff, go to one of the two Saturday and Sunday morning markets in Juliaca, Puno. They are about 1/3 the price of Cuzco.

Also in Aguas Calientes and Machu Pichu prices can be the double of what they are in Cusco.

The further away you get from the main square, they cheaper things become, although there is a mini-mart next to the big church in the main square that is cheaper than in my hotel, then there is the San-Pedro market where bread is s/0.10 and a glass of combination juices is s/1.50 and they give you like 2-4 refills. Don´t go too far from the main square at night though, it can be dangerous.

When you go on the "Sacred Valley" (Vallé Sagrado), there is lots of touristy stuff to buy, you can barter, but the prices won´t go down much.

There is another market called Molina, you have to take a taxi and it costs s/4 to get there. In this market you can buy heaps of illegal merchandise, DVDs, CDs etc. A good quality copy DVD is s/8, or you can by 5 VCDs for s/10.

Eat

The Cuzco area has some extremely good international food with tasty options for all budgets. Best pizza ever at the end of the Av. Cultura. There's no need going to the expensive restaurants (which often only serve foreign food anyway), go to the restaurants that serve local food. Be sure to try an alpaca steak (don't forget a llama/alpaca is normally kept and used for it's wool - so only old animals will be slaughtered. But cuy (guinea pig) is the absolute traditional holiday food of the region. A must when visiting a market is to enjoy, in the cold season, "once frozen" / cooked potatoes.

Food quality on the whole is good in Cuzco; hygiene can however be rather lacking in places. Be wary of food like burgers - although cheap, this is not a local speciality.

There are huge and cheap breakfasts at Yaku Mama at the end of the Gringo Alley.
The sister restaurant Yaku Mama Grill on Plaza de Armas has some really good dinners, and a cheerful English-speaking waitress called Yolanda, but is a bit short on the alpacas.
Joe's Cafe by the South American Explorers clubhouse at Choquechaca 188 (on the corner) serves fantastic food.
The absolute place though is MAMA Amerika (former Mama Africa) which actually is everything on 3 levels: snack, cafe (rooftop), restaurant (with a good cheap menu), 2 discos, the latest movies on DVD. Some of the decorations and paintings are by the owner/artist.
The Crossed Keys Pub looking onto the central square is a pub serving European food to tourists.

Drink

There are many pubs in cuzco, and there are always people handing out flyers around the Plaza de Armas. These usually include free drinks. The "hot-spots" change nightly; ask around and you will quickly find the crowds of travellers.

Mama America, this is a popular place in Cuzco, a lot of people, good music, good atmosphere and free salsa lessons

Sleep

San Blas - the area 4 blocks from Plaza de Armas - where very many new hospedajes/hostales have opened.

Hostels

Hospedaje Estrellita, Av. Tullumayo 445, shared double rooms surround a large concrete courtyard. There is a kitchen with a sociable commonroom with cable TV. A night cost 12 soles and includes a small breakfast. It's popular with gringos.
LOKI Backpackers Hostel, a new hostel set up by 4 backpackers in a 450 years old Peruvian national monument. Much more information about the hostel and cusco in www.lokihostel.com.

Budget

Hospedaje Corona Real, Av Huascar 226, 808111. Quiet and cheap option about 15 minutes walk from the city center. Rooms are spacious and have private bathroom and local television and cost 15 soles pppn.

Mid-range

Hostal Familiar, Calle Saphi 661, three blocks from Plaza de Armas. Singles go for $8.00 @ night with private bathroom + hot water.
Hotel El Balcon, a short distance from Plaza de Armas, awesome interior design, delicious breakfast and moderate prices.
Orquidea Real, Calle Alabado 520, www.orquidea.net.The colonial building has original Inca walls and exposed wood beams, and the rustic accommodations are simply decorated in a cozy mountain lodge aesthetic. All rooms are oriented toward Cusco below, offering panoramic views.
Gran Hostal Machu Picchu

Stay Safe

Drugs - Drugs are very cheap in Peru, but you must consider that the law is very severe in Peru - that is, years in prison and no pleasure. Consider that many "long resident tourists" are part of the scene. It is already a felony that you "consider to maybe accept" an offer to buy.

Water Rafting - Although the water is of dubious health value, the trips offered are very tame and certainly don't offer tourists good value for money. Cuzco, full of Incan history, has much more to offer than this and one would be well advised not to bother with it.

Get Out

Visit the colourful market and climb to the castle ruins in Pisac.
Visit Ollantaytambo and it's fortress.
See Machu Picchu - the atmospheric ruin perched below the Andes and above the jungle. Even better, walk there on the Inca Trail.

The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, MarkBrough, Paul N. Richter, Tom, Wikitravel user Tarich and the following WikiTravel users: Bletch, Cjensen, Hansm, Kjetil, Maj, Nzpcmad, Rmx, Ronald, DanielC. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/Cuzco.