Cusco was the city that made me understand what it means when people say a place has soul. Sitting at 3,400 meters above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, this former capital of the Inca Empire is a living, breathing collision of indigenous Quechua culture and Spanish colonial history. Every wall tells two stories — the perfectly fitted Inca stonework below, the ornate Spanish cathedral above — and the energy of this ancient city vibrates through everything 🇵🇪🏔️.

I flew into Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport from Lima, and the first thing that hit me — literally — was the altitude. At 3,400 meters, the air is thin, and altitude sickness is real. My hotel had coca tea waiting at reception (a traditional Andean remedy), and I spent my first afternoon taking it slow, sipping tea, and letting my body adjust. My biggest tip: don’t plan anything strenuous for your first 24 hours. Drink tons of water, avoid alcohol, and let the coca leaves work their magic 🍵.

Getting There & First Impressions

Once acclimated, I explored the Plaza de Armas, Cusco’s magnificent central square. Flanked by the stunning Cathedral of Santo Domingo (built between 1559 and 1654 on the foundations of the Inca palace of Viracocha) and the Jesuit Church of La Compañía, the square is the social and geographical heart of the city. In Inca times, this was called Huacaypata, the ceremonial center of the empire they called Tawantinsuyu — the “Four Quarters of the World.” Sitting on the steps watching the city go by with the Andes rising in every direction, I felt the layers of history beneath me like a heartbeat 🏛️.

The Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun) was the most sacred site in the entire Inca Empire, and visiting it was profoundly moving. Originally, its walls were covered in 700 sheets of solid gold, and its garden contained life-sized gold replicas of corn, animals, and flowers. The Spanish melted it all down and built the Convent of Santo Domingo directly on top. Today, the Inca stonework — perfectly fitted without mortar, with joints so precise you can’t fit a razor blade between the stones — still forms the foundation, a powerful symbol of the culture that survived beneath the conquest ✨.

Top Highlights & Must-See Spots

I wandered through San Blas, the artisan neighborhood above the main square, and fell in love with its steep cobblestone streets, blue-doored houses, and artist workshops where craftspeople carve, paint, and weave using techniques passed down for generations. The 12-Angled Stone on Hatunrumiyoc street — a single stone in an Inca wall with exactly twelve perfectly fitted angles — is an incredible feat of engineering that has stood for over 500 years without any mortar. I traced my fingers along the joints and couldn’t feel a single gap 🪨.

The food in Cusco was extraordinary and unlike anything I’d ever tasted. Cuy (roasted guinea pig) is the traditional Andean delicacy — I tried it at a local restaurant and it tasted like crispy, gamey chicken. Lomo saltado (stir-fried beef with onions, tomatoes, and fries) reflects the Chinese-Peruvian fusion called chifa. Alpaca steak was tender and lean with an incredible depth of flavor. And the ceviche — even this far from the coast — was spectacularly fresh and bright. The food scene in Cusco has exploded in recent years, with innovative chefs combining Andean ingredients with modern techniques 🍽️.

I visited Sacsayhuamán, the massive Inca fortress above the city, and the scale of it defied belief. Some of the limestone blocks weigh over 200 tons and were transported from quarries kilometers away — without wheels, iron tools, or draft animals. The zigzag walls stretch for hundreds of meters, and the precision of the stonework is so perfect that the Spanish thought it must have been built by demons. Standing among these enormous stones with Cusco spread out below and condors circling overhead, I felt humbled by a civilization that achieved so much with so little 🦅.

More Things to See & Do

The Sacred Valley day trips from Cusco were incredible — Ollantaytambo with its terraced Inca fortress still being used by local farmers, Pisac with its spectacular mountain-hugging ruins and vibrant indigenous market, and Moray with its mysterious circular Inca agricultural terraces that scientists believe were used as an experimental crop laboratory. The landscape of the Sacred Valley — lush green fields, towering snow-capped peaks, the sacred Urubamba River snaking through it all — was consistently breathtaking 🌄.

Final Thoughts

Cusco taught me that history isn’t something that happened in the past — it’s alive, present, and still shaping everything. The Quechua language still fills the streets, traditional weavings still tell stories using pre-Columbian symbols, and the Inti Raymi festival of the sun is still celebrated every June solstice just as it was 500 years ago. This city doesn’t just preserve its past — it lives it ❤️.

Planning a trip to Cusco? 👉 Check out my full Cusco travel page for all the details and tips!