Before I visited, I thought Cusco was a cool Peruvian mountain town with a rich cultural history. After spending three weeks in Cusco, I learned it’s also the perfect spot to branch out on all sorts of diverse adventures! From a day hike to an alpine lake to a week in the Amazon Rainforest, these are my top nine things to do from Cusco.
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Top Things to Do from Cusco: Day Trips
Cusco is pretty close to some incredible activities which means there are quite a few things to do from Cusco that will get you back into town the same evening. This is especially useful if you don’t want to figure out different places to stay between overnight trips. However, these will be long days with a lot of driving.
I’ve gone more into detail in my article titled Day Trips from Cusco: My Top 4, but I’ll provide a summary here as well!
Take an Excursion to Rainbow Mountain
This 12 hour excursion will hike you up to 16,466 feet in elevation to what was once a massive glacier that has receded in recent years, leaving behind a geological wonder. The hike to Rainbow Mountain is considered moderate, but acclimatizing in Cusco beforehand is essential.
Hike to Humantay Lake
This turquoise alpine lake sits at 13,780 feet in elevation, just below Humantay Mountain and its magnificent glaciers! The hike only takes a little over an hour and is short and steep, but the view is worth it. This is also a key highlight of the Salkantay Trek (more info below).
Raft the Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley
This activity was completely spontaneous but was one of the most memorable on our three-week Cusco itinerary! We left from Ollantaytambo since we were staying there at the time, but this is the best option from Cusco.
The tour goes from 8:00am to 5:00pm, and the rafting itself lasts roughly two hours and covers seven miles of the Urubamba River! A major highlight of the full day tour is the zip lining, which we unfortunately had to skip due to time constraints on our itinerary. I’d love to return to spend more time on the water.
Sacred Valley Sites: Pisac, Maras, Moray, and Ollantaytambo
Pisac is a small town just below Pisac Archeological Park, which is one of the main attractions in the Sacred Valley. It’s small enough and close enough to visit on a day trip and is included on the Boleto Turistico del Cusco which also includes most of these other notable sites.
Maras is an expansive but still operational historic salt mine. Moray is an old Incan site with sunken terraces most likely used for developing new strains of agriculture.
Ollantaytambo was my favorite site and is worth a few days visit all on its own (see overnight section below) , but for lack of more time you can quickly see it in one day on this combo circuit. This private tour will drop you off or pick you up from anywhere in the Sacred Valley, so you could always choose to combine this tour with an overnight in Ollantaytambo (below).
Things to Do from Cusco: Overnight Trips
Day trips are convenient and fun, but if I have the time, I always opt for overnight trips. If I stay overnight, I find I can really relax and take it all in on my own time instead of feeling ushered around and only seeing the curated highlight reel.Â
I look for unique restaurants, wander through town, and make connections with people who then have local recommendations I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. I personally think the best overnight things to do from Cusco include Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu.
Visit Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo was my favorite Sacred Valley site, and the town had so much character! Obviously Ollantaytambo Archeological Site is pretty spectacular, but so was Pinkuylluna and the view of the sunset over the ruins from the place we ate pizza that night. We even talked in broken Spanish to some teenagers in an alpaca yarn shop and witnessed a town anniversary celebration that lasted at least 48 hours— none of which would have been possible on a quick stop.
I couldn’t recommend an overnight in Ollantaytambo enough. It’s a great lower altitude place to acclimatize straight off the plane (what we did), and there are just so many things to do here!
Visit Machu Picchu + Aguas Calientes
Aguas Calientes is a fun town with lots of nightlife and located directly under Machu Picchu. I’d recommend staying here overnight to get the most out of your experience. I wouldn’t want to feel rushed while visiting one of the coolest ruins in the world!
That being said, getting the earliest bus up to the citadel is important, otherwise the line is heinous. Additionally, the best ticket is circuit 2 which sells out months in advance, so be sure to book your Machu Picchu tickets early in the year!
To get here, you’ll probably need to book a bus transfer to Ollantaytambo, hop on a train to Aguas Calientes where you’ll need to book accommodation for the night, then get in line for the first bus up to Machu Picchu the next morning (it was 6am when I went). Or, you can just sign up for the guided tour below and let the guides do all the booking so you can relax.
Things to Do from Cusco: 4 - 7 Days
This is where Cusco really shines as an incredible adventure hub. Not only can you go on insane treks through the high Andes, passing glaciers and Incan ruins along the way, but you can also drop down the backside of the Andes into the Amazon Basin and have a very different sort of adventure! All of these once-in-a-lifetime adventures are top things to do from Cusco.
Trek to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail (4 Days)
The Inca Trail is definitely the most popular multi-day adventure from Cusco. You’ll walk where the Incas walked, pass countless archeological sites, and end up in Machu Picchu.
It’s popular, but I wouldn’t consider it easy by any means. You will cover 27 miles over four days and crest 13,829 feet in elevation, all while sleeping in tents. Although it’s challenging, the guides pack in all your things, set everything up, and cook all your food which allows you to focus on your adventure!
Complete the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 Days)
The Salkantay Trek is actually longer (five days) and more challenging (49 miles, 15,190 feet max elevation) than the Inca Trail. However, the variation in landscape is remarkable. You’ll trek beside a glacier, then drop into a jungle all in the same day.
On this trek, you’ll actually get to stay in really nice dome accommodation. I was surprised how luxurious it all felt for being in such an isolated location in Peru. We aren’t used to traveling like that because it’s usually so far out of our price range.
Despite feeling fancy, the trek itself was honestly very challenging, even for us, and we backpack at high elevation pretty frequently in California. You can read more about our experience on the Salkantay Trek here, or trek with us in the video below!
Join an Expedition to the Amazon
I might have saved the best for last. Most people don’t think “Amazon” when they think of Cusco, but our six-day Amazon expedition was a major highlight of our three-week trip to Peru.
We booked with Amazon Wildlife Peru and had an incredible experience. Expeditions range from four days (cultural zone) to nine days (reserve zone). We chose the six day expedition into the reserve zone which I’d highly recommend.
This is the shortest trip offered in the reserve zone because it took something like 12 hours in a van and even more on a boat to get there. The reserve zone is past human civilization, so this is where you have the strongest chance of seeing megafauna like giant river otters, jaguars, and capybaras.
If you stay within the cultural zone, you’d still have a good time, but it wouldn’t be the same. If you’re making the trek all the way into the Amazon, just add a couple days and do it right!
Planning a Trip to Cusco, Peru?
You know what to do, now go do it!
For more information and recommendations for planning a trip to Cusco, check out these helpful articles:
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