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Best Things to do in Cusco (2026)

Beyond the main monuments, the experiences that define a trip to Cusco are mostly day trips. Machu Picchu is the highlight for most visitors, reached by train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and then by bus or on foot. Its visits are organised into official circuits and routes set by the Ministry of Culture, so choose your circuit and buy tickets through the official channels well before you travel. Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca, is a very different outing: a long drive and a short but demanding walk to a striped peak at over 5,000 metres, best left until you are acclimatised and best avoided in the wettest months.

Closer to town, San Pedro Market is the place for an early breakfast of fresh juice or soup among stalls of Andean produce, herbs and crafts. A walk up Hatun Rumiyoc past the Twelve-Angled Stone into the lanes of San Blas shows the city at its most atmospheric. In the Sacred Valley, the Maras salt pans pair naturally with the circular terraces of Moray. Bring cash in small notes, sun protection and warm layers, as conditions change quickly at altitude.

5 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 things to do in Cusco

  1. Machu Picchu Inca citadel day trip or overnight, Machupicchu DistrictThe Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba, about 80 km from Cusco, visited on one of three official circuits reached by train and bus via Aguas Calientes.
  2. Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) High-altitude day hike, Pitumarca and CusipataA striped mountain of coloured minerals at over 5,000 metres south-east of Cusco, reached on a long day trip with a short but very high-altitude walk.
  3. Maras Salt Pans (Salineras de Maras) Inca-era salt terraces, Maras, Sacred ValleyTerraced salt ponds in a canyon below the village of Maras, fed by a salty spring and worked by local families since Inca times.

Thing to do

1. Machu Picchu

Inca citadel day trip or overnightMachupicchu District

The Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba, about 80 km from Cusco, visited on one of three official circuits reached by train and bus via Aguas Calientes.

View details — Machu Picchu