Hotels near Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport - CUZ, Cusco

An amazing city, one of my favourite places to travel, if it weren't for the elevation. Even without altitude sickness, the low amount of oxygen in the air made me gasp for breath, and wake up in the middle of the night. However, it comes and goes. Some days are better than others, and at the end l, I look back at an amazing stay in a wonderful city. Most people will take a trip of 2 days to Machu Pichu, which also helps, since Machu Pichu is not as high. At the main square, there are some wonderful restaurants, with Inka Grill as an absolute highlight. Cusco has a lot of height difference in the city, so expect to walk a lot of stairs.

Cusco is a beautiful city filled with culture and history. The cathedrals, architecture, markets, food, scenery and ancient landmarks make it easy to spend a week here just exploring the local area. However, I found Cusco very unsafe as a female traveller, even if you are cautious. I was approached reguarly, in uncomfortable ways during the day and night and the police are not very concerned when it comes to travellers. But as a base to do local hikes such as Perolinyoc, Machu Pichu, Rainbow Mountain it is good. Things for tourists here also seem overpriced, don't forget to haggle!

Cusco was not our favorite, but the historical city center was beautiful especially from a coffee shop where the peddlers would not try to sell you paintings, massages, & souvenirs. Our recommendation is to see the main tourist sites in the city in a day and a half and then leave the city for the Sacred Valley and other day trip destinations with Cusco being your base for food and sleep. We enjoyed our time in the countryside of Peru rather than the city centers.

The vibe around Cusco was electric. We were there for the Annual Sun festival so the parade was fantastic to watch. The amount of really good restaurants was surprising, the food quality was very good. There were many apartments and hotels within walking distance to the centre square, and plenty of cafes and tour offices. Plenty of laundry services available at cheap prices, washed and dried within 24 hours, especially needed after long days trekking. The usual street touts selling tours, souvenirs or photos with Llamas, but done tactfully and not 'in your face'. The rustic old fashioned feel of the area, was to my liking, but be prepared for some tightness of the chest, due to not enough Oxygen at these altitudes. Give yourself a day or two to get used to it. Really enjoyed the city.

Old town Cusco was fun to walk around and see all the historic buildings. We got harassed nonstop from people asking if we wanted massages or to buy their trinkets. It was quite annoying towards the end. Otherwise it was a great experience. The food was excellent. The weather was pretty nice when we went (winter/end of June). Warm during the day but cold at night and in the shade. I probably could've stayed longer to explore more of the surrounding area, but for what we saw and wanted to do in Cusco 4-5 days was enough time.

The city has so many interesting places to visit that you would need at least 1 week. There are many options for the organised tours but it is also possible to organise your own and hire a taxi for the longest trips. There are plenty of nice restaurants with all type of food. I would recommend to try the local food, there are many excellent places with quite good prices and super quality. We loved Pachapapa in the San Blas Plazoleta, with a clay oven in the middle of the terrace, delicious food and nice staff just don't forget to book a table specially during the weekends. Another excellent restaurant was Il Olivo. We also visited the Catfetin, close to Coricancha temple. The choripapas were amazing. Nice food, friendly staff and lovely/adoptable cats around.