Why Honeymoon in Cusco
Cusco offers what the Sacred Valley does not: a real city to explore together. The historic center is compact and walkable, full of churches with gold-leaf altars, small museums and plazas that fill with families on Sunday afternoons. UNESCO lists the whole historic center as a World Heritage site.
The Inca story is visible everywhere. At Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, the Dominican convent was built over curved Inca walls that once held panels of gold. On the hill above town, Sacsayhuamán's zigzag ramparts are made of stones bigger than cars, fitted without mortar.
The city is also the best place in the Andes to eat and drink. Restaurants range from market stalls to modern Peruvian kitchens. Couples who enjoy wandering without a fixed plan, ducking into a gallery or a café on a whim, tend to love this town more than any other stop on the trip.
When to Go
Cusco's dry season runs from May to September, with clear blue skies, intense midday sun and cold nights that can dip below freezing in June and July. This is also peak season, especially around the Inti Raymi festival on June 24, when the Inca sun ceremony is reenacted at Sacsayhuamán. Book hotels early if your trip overlaps.
Corpus Christi, celebrated around late May or June depending on the year, fills the Plaza de Armas with processions of saints carried from neighborhood churches. It is one of the best times to see the city's traditions.
April and October are pleasant shoulder months with fewer visitors. November brings more afternoon rain.
December through March is the wet season. Rain usually arrives in the afternoon, leaving mornings usable. Hotel rates drop. Christmas Eve brings a large handicraft market called Santurantikuy to the main square.
Where to Stay
Stay within walking distance of the Plaza de Armas or in the hillside San Blas neighborhood. Taxis are cheap, but most of the pleasure here is on foot.
Several of Cusco's best hotels occupy historic buildings. Belmond Hotel Monasterio is a sixteenth-century seminary built around a cloister, with an option for oxygen-enriched rooms. Belmond Palacio Nazarenas, a former convent next door, is all suites with heated pools and oxygen pumped into rooms. Inkaterra La Casona is a small Relais & Châteaux mansion on Plaza Nazarenas with just a handful of suites. JW Marriott El Convento Cusco sits on the site of a colonial convent with Inca and colonial remains on display.
San Blas suits couples who prefer a smaller guesthouse and a bohemian street scene, with artisan workshops and cafés. Its streets are steep, so pick a place with easy access if altitude is a concern.
Romantic Things to Do
Begin at Qorikancha, where the Spanish convent and the Inca temple share the same walls. Then walk Hatun Rumiyoc street to find the famous twelve-angled stone, still fitting perfectly into its neighbors after five centuries.
In the late afternoon, take a taxi up to Sacsayhuamán and walk back down through the hillside paths to San Blas as the city lights come on. The view over the red-tiled roofs is the best in town.
Spend a morning at San Pedro market, where fruit sellers press juice to order and stalls sell everything from cacao to herbal remedies. Book a cooking class that starts there.
The Museo de Arte Precolombino holds a compact collection of ceramics and gold in a colonial mansion. Its café sits in a glass box in the courtyard.
Fit hikers can do a day trip to Rainbow Mountain or Humantay Lake, though both climb well above 13,000 feet.
Getting There and Around
Cusco's airport, Alejandro Velasco Astete (CUZ), receives flights from Lima in about 80 minutes, plus routes from Arequipa, Juliaca and Puerto Maldonado. It sits only about 15 to 20 minutes from the center. There are currently no nonstop flights from the US, so you will connect in Lima.
Take a hotel transfer or an official taxi from the airport. Once in the historic center, walking is the best way to get around, though the steep streets in San Blas can be tiring for the first few days.
For Machu Picchu, trains leave from Poroy, about 20 minutes outside town, or from Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, about 1.5 to 2 hours by road. The PeruRail Titicaca train to Puno and the Belmond Andean Explorer sleeper train also depart from Cusco.
The Boleto Turístico, a multisite ticket, covers Sacsayhuamán and several museums and valley ruins.
Food and Drink
Cusco eats well. Andean ingredients like alpaca, quinoa, native potatoes and trout show up in everything from humble lunch menus to refined tasting menus.
Chicha, from celebrated Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio, serves regional dishes in a lively upstairs room near the main plaza. Cicciolina is a long-running favorite with a tapas bar and candlelit dining room. Pachapapa in San Blas cooks in a wood-fired clay oven in a courtyard, which is the setting couples remember. MAP Café inside the pre-Columbian art museum suits a quieter dinner.
For lunch on the go, try a chicharrón sandwich or a bowl of soup at San Pedro market. Cuy, roasted guinea pig, is an Andean celebration dish that many restaurants offer.
In the evening, pisco bars serve sours and chilcanos. Coca tea, offered at every hotel, helps with the altitude. Go light on alcohol for the first night or two.
Honeymoon Tips
- Arrive in Cusco after a few nights in the Sacred Valley to give your body time to adjust.
- Rooms with added oxygen at Monasterio and Palacio Nazarenas genuinely help with sleep on the first nights.
- Carry small bills in soles. Taxis, market stalls and women in traditional dress who pose for photos expect cash.
- Wear sunscreen and a hat. The sun at this altitude burns quickly even when the air is cool.
- Pack a warm layer for evenings. Many restaurants and older hotels are only lightly heated.
- Check with your hotel for news of strikes or road blockades, which occasionally affect travel to the valley or the airport.
- Skip ayahuasca ceremonies. The US State Department specifically warns of health risks and assaults linked to them in the Cusco area.
