🇵🇪 Peru · Americas
Cusco
The Inca capital turned traveller hub — stone streets and the gate to Machu Picchu.
culturenaturecity☀ best: Apr – Oct (dry season)
SHOESTRING
€35/day
dorms, street plates, transit
COMFY
€74/day
private room, sit-down meals, a treat
FLASH
€156/day
nice hotel, good dinners, no maths
🧮 Trip maths
€516 total
What Cusco costs, day to day
🛵 Getting around
Uber / Cabify
InDrive
Taxi (agree fare)
Taxi across town€1.7–€3.5
Colectivo to Sacred Valley€1.3–€3.5
Train to Machu Picchu (return)€95–€156
Airport taxi€3.5–€6.9
🛏 Stays
Per night
Hostel dorm bed€8.7–€19
Airbnb 1-BR (San Blas)€35–€69
3-star hotel€39–€78
Colonial boutique€113–€243
Monthly
Studio€477–€825
1-BR, decent area€608–€1,042
🛒 Groceries & daily life
Metro / Tottus — budget big-box
Plaza Vea — full-range
Wong — premium
Mercado — produce and menús
Milk 1L€1
Bread€1.1
Eggs 12€2
Cheese 1kg€6.9
Chicken 1kg€3.9
Rice 1kg€1
Beer 0.5L€1.1
Coffee jar€4.3
🍜 Eating out
Menú turístico lunch€2.6–€5.2
San Pedro market meal€1.7–€4.3
Lomo saltado / local dinner€5.2–€10
Novandino restaurant dinner€13–€30
Fine Peruvian tasting€52–€113
🎡 Things to do — with kids
ChocoMuseo workshop€13–€22
Sacsayhuamán ruins + llamas€0–€22
Planetarium Cusco€13–€17
🌙 Things to do — grown-ups
Machu Picchu day (train + entry)€104–€191
Rainbow Mountain trek€26–€52
Sacred Valley full-day tour€17–€43
San Blas galleries + pisco bars€8.7–€26
🌤 Climate
Day °CRain
Best: Apr – Oct (dry season) · Wet: Dec – Mar
High-altitude (3,400m): warm days, cold nights, thin air. Dry season Apr–Oct is best for trekking; Jan–Feb is wettest (Inca Trail closes Feb).
✈️ Getting there
LATAMAviancaJetSMARTSky AirlineLima€26–€87
La Paz€78–€191
Bogotá€104–€260
CUZ airport is in-city; taxis are cheap. Most fly Lima–Cusco; book Machu Picchu tickets, trains and Inca Trail permits months ahead.
🏧 ATMs & money
Fees: Most ATMs charge ~$4–6; BCP, Interbank and Scotiabank are reliable and dispense soles or USD.
Limits: BCP/Interbank often allow up to 700–1,000 PEN; some cap lower.
Best machines: BCPInterbankScotiabank
Withdraw soles and DECLINE conversion. Use ATMs inside banks/malls, especially in Cusco's tourist centre. Globalnet standalone machines charge more — prefer the bank-branded ones. Carry small notes for markets and menús.
🩺 Health & safety
Vaccines: Routine, Hepatitis A, Typhoid. Yellow-fever shot for Amazon (not Cusco/coast). Rabies awareness for long rural stays.
Health: Bottled/purified water only. Cusco sits at 3,400m — altitude sickness is real: arrive slow, hydrate, coca tea helps, consider acetazolamide. Máncora on the coast is hot and low. Cusco has clinics used to altitude cases; Lima has top hospitals.
Tap water: ❌ Don't drink the tap. Purified water is cheap; at altitude, hydration matters even more.
Safety: The Gringo Trail (Cusco, Sacred Valley, Máncora) is well-worn and generally safe. Cusco is very tourist-geared; watch bags in crowds and use registered taxis or Uber. Máncora is a mellow surf town with standard beach-town smarts. Don't hike remote trails solo without a guide.
Emergency: 105 police · 106 ambulance
🛂 Visa & entry
For most short tourist trips, citizens of the US, UK, EU/Schengen, Canada, Australia and New Zealand either enter visa-free or get a simple online authorisation (an eVisa or eTA) before flying. Typical visa-free stays run 30–90 days. Some countries want a visa arranged in advance, and a growing number ask you to fill an online arrival or eVisa form even when 'visa-free' — so always check the official portal for your exact nationality before you book.
Rules change — always verify with an official source for your nationality before you book.
💬 Traveller tips & reports
Give altitude two days before Machu Picchu — Cusco sits higher than most of the Sacred Valley — arrive, take it slow, hydrate, sip coca tea, and don't rush uphill day one. Counterintuitively, sleeping lower in the Valley (Ollantaytambo, 2,800m) acclimatises you better. Then hit Machu Picchu strong instead of gasping.
@altitude.andes · Jun '26 · ▲ 112