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Bucket list experience:

Cusco Cathedral exterior on a clear day

Last updated: 29 May, 2023
Expert travel writer: Alex Robinson

Built on the site of a royal Inca palace razed to the ground by Pizarro, this hulking 16th-century baroque church houses some impressive Cusqueno art, which mixes indigenous and Spanish styles, including a Last Supper showing Christ eating guinea pig. 

The Inca-made reredos behind the solid silver altar is covered in intricate carving and the north tower houses the 6 tonne Maria Angola Bell, named after a freed slave who threw a handful of gold into the crucible when the bell was cast in 1659.

Price from: £5
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: +
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

Pick up the free audio guide for commentary on the artwork inside. Note – the cathedral is included on the multi-attraction Boleto General ticket covering 16 sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

When to do it

The cathedral is open to visitors all year round, seven days a week.

Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Inkaterra La Casona

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.1 miles]

Luxurious rooms in a beautifully-restored 16th Century Spanish-colonial mansion where Simon Bolivar once stayed.

Official star rating:

Hotel Monasterio

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.2 miles]

A grand, luxury hotel housed in a restored 16th-century monastery and filled with priceless colonial art. Restful and meditative, yet just a few blocks from Cusco’s historic heart. 

Official star rating:

Belmond Palacio Nazarenas

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.2 miles]

A luxuriously-restored convent with a glittering baroque chapel, filled with Cusqueno artworks and home to one of Cusco’s top restaurants.

Official star rating:

El Retablo

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.3 miles]

A tranquil, family-run guesthouse sits in up-and-coming, arty San Blas neighbourhood, with views of central Cusco at every street corner.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Peru

Peru

A land of spectacular deserts, high mountains and rainforests that teem with wildlife, Peru is also home to an array of dramatically situated pre-Colombian ruins, including Machu Picchu.

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Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Festival of the Sun

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.1 miles]

Colourful parades and ancient Inca ceremonies are re-enacted at this world-famous winter solstice festival.

Best for ages: 8+ | Free | 5 hours

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Overview >

Qorikancha

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.5 miles]

The Inca empire’s most elaborate sun temple, covered in gold and silver, is now a colonial church housing stunning Inca stonework.

Best for ages: 18+ | £2

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Overview >

Sacsayhuaman

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.8 miles]

A vast, fortified Inca sun temple that perches over Cusco, housing boulders and masonry astonishingly jigsaw-pieced together, without cement or metal tools.

Best for ages: 18+ | £24

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Overview >

A day in Cusco

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[1.5 miles]

The heart of the old Inca empire has a wealth of Inca ruins, Spanish treasures and historic architecture to explore.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free | 1 day

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Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

A small village on a mountain covered in yellow grasses, with mountains in the background
Experience

Hike from Cusco to Huchuy

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[2.7 miles]

This, the shortest and easiest of alternative Inca trails, takes three days from Cusco and offers wonderful mountain views, little-visited Inca sites and a final day at Machu Picchu itself.

Best for ages: 18+ | £4 | 3 days

Website >
Overview >
Town square and market with small church viewed from across the valley.
Experience

Chinchero village

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[15.7 miles]

This little village in the Sacred Valley near Cusco is a centre for traditional indigenous weaving in Peru. It has a lively market and ancient Inca agricultural terraces.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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Overview >
Salt terraces in the Andes mountain range
Experience

Maras Salt Pans

Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[28 miles]

Looking like bone-white Balinese rice terraces and surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery, these ancient salt pans, cut in Inca times, are still in use today. Accessed from the town of Maras in the Sacred Valley, 40kms from Cusco.

Best for ages: 18+ | £1

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Overview >