Festival of the Sun
Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.2 miles]
Colourful parades and ancient Inca ceremonies are re-enacted at this world-famous winter solstice festival.
Best for ages: 8+ | Free | 5 hours
Best places to stay:
This 16th Century Spanish-colonial mansion overlooking a plaza in arty, boho San Blas, is so steeped in history you can imagine a conquistador stepping out of the front door, sword in hand.
The house was built over the training ground for Inca officers; Diego de Almagro (the conqueror of Chile) and Simón Bolívar – liberator of Spanish South America – are previous guests.
The original colonial brick masonry has been fully restored, baroque art adorns the walls, statues of saints sit on plinths next to modern sofas-to-sink-into in the lounge. The best rooms are the upper floor balcony suites overlooking the central atrium, with faux-antique furnishings and chunky wooden beds.
The spa is modest, but offers excellent massage treatments for guests who are feeling the altitude.
It’s a perfect Cusco location, on a quiet square behind the cathedral. Arty San Blas – with its restaurants, art galleries and wonderful views – is a few blocks up the adjacent Calle Pumacurco. The Plaza de Armas is a block away.
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Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.2 miles]
Colourful parades and ancient Inca ceremonies are re-enacted at this world-famous winter solstice festival.
Best for ages: 8+ | Free | 5 hours
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
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
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
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Cusco, Cusco Region, Peru[0.1 miles]
Located on top of an old Inca palace, this towering 16th-century baroque cathedral took a century to build and is stuffed with countless treasures, including key works from the Cuzco School of art.
Best for ages: Any | £5
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
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
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
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
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.