Cuzco for couples: what to know before you go (2026)

Why Cuzco for two

Cuzco was the Inca capital, and the Spanish built their churches on its temples: at the Qorikancha, an Inca wall fitted without mortar still carries a colonial convent, and the lanes of San Blas keep Inca stones at shoulder height. That layering gives the city its best moments for two: a square lined with arcades and baroque churches, cobbled streets you climb slowly, closed courtyards where dinner comes with a fireplace. Peruvian signs and most guidebooks spell the city Cusco; the two spellings are the same place.

Treat altitude as a travel companion. At 11,150 ft (3,400 m), far above any Rocky Mountain ski village, the air holds a third less oxygen than at sea level: you walk slower, you sleep badly the first night, and a couple who accepts that enjoys the city more. The Sacred Valley, 2,000 ft lower, and Machu Picchu, 3,300 ft lower, are easier on the lungs, so the order of your stops matters.

When to go

Three dates push up prices and crowds. On June 24, Inti Raymi, the Inca winter solstice festival, is staged on the esplanade of Sacsayhuamán: hotels fill months ahead and rates climb. Holy Week, with the Lord of the Earthquakes procession on Monday, and the Fiestas Patrias of July 28 and 29 also fill the city.

Entry requirements: passport, health, insurance

The immigration officer writes your length of stay, usually 90 days and 183 at most in a year: check the stamp before leaving the counter, and check the current rule on the Peruvian immigration website before you book.

On arrival

Immigration happens at your first airport of arrival, which means Lima. The officer asks for your first hotel's address and may ask for proof of onward travel, so keep your booking handy. Keep your passport for the Lima to Cuzco flight and for Machu Picchu, whose entry requires the original.

Health

No vaccine is required to enter from the United States or the United Kingdom. Talk to your doctor or a travel clinic four to six weeks before leaving: hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus are the usual ones. Yellow fever is recommended for the Amazon basin, not for Cuzco, the Sacred Valley or Machu Picchu. With a heart or lung condition, or during pregnancy, get medical advice before choosing a city at 11,150 ft.

Getting there

By air, through Lima

No flight connects the United States or Europe to Cuzco directly: all go through Lima (Jorge Chávez airport, LIM), then a domestic flight of 1h30, notably with LATAM or Sky Airline. Book both flights on the same ticket if you can: if the first one runs late, the connection is protected and your bags follow. With two separate tickets, leave three hours between landing and the domestic flight, and check the checked-bag fee, sometimes extra on basic fares.

You step off the plane straight into 11,150 ft: being out of breath on the stairs is normal. Walk slowly and let someone else carry the luggage.

Practical things to know before you go

Altitude: the first two days

Altitude sickness (soroche in Peru) brings headache, nausea, broken sleep and shortness of breath, mostly the first night and the next day. It hits athletes as much as anyone else and passes in one to three days. What helps:

• Plan nothing demanding for the first two days: the Plaza de Armas and its flat streets, not Sacsayhuamán on foot.
• Drink plenty of water, eat a light dinner and skip alcohol the first night: at this altitude one drink feels like two.
• Coca tea (mate de coca), free in hotel lobbies and at the airport, helps digestion and eases mild headaches; do not bring leaves or tea bags home, they are banned at the border in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and most other countries.
• Ask your doctor before leaving whether a preventive medicine, acetazolamide, available by prescription, makes sense for you.
• Protect yourself from the sun: SPF 50, a hat and sunglasses, because you burn fast at this altitude, even on cool days.

Another option is to start in the Sacred Valley. At 9,200 ft (2,800 m) breathing comes easier, and many couples spend the first two nights there before climbing to Cuzco. The itinerary then rearranges itself: the Sacred Valley day comes first.

Phone

Roaming is not free in Peru: your carrier's daily pass usually costs $12 a day, while a travel eSIM or a local SIM card (Claro, Movistar or Entel, sold at Lima airport and in town against your passport) costs a few dollars for ten days. Wi-Fi is free in hotels and cafés; the signal is weak in the Sacred Valley and absent on the Machu Picchu site itself.

Money and tipping

• The currency is the sol (PEN). Cards work in hotels, agencies and restaurants in the center; markets, taxis, site entries and the Sacred Valley run on cash. Withdraw soles during the day, at a bank ATM.
• If a card terminal offers to charge you "in dollars", say no: pay in soles, your bank's rate is better.
• At restaurants on the main streets and the square, menu prices often leave out the 18% tax and the 10% service charge; the bill adds them. If service is not included, leave 10%, well under the US norm.
• No tip in taxis: you set the price before getting in. Tip a guide about $12 a day for the couple, a driver half that.
• Shops refuse torn or taped bills, in soles and in dollars: swap them at a bank.

The time difference

Peru never changes its clocks: Cuzco is on the same time as New York in winter and an hour behind in summer, two hours ahead of Los Angeles in summer and three in winter, and five hours behind London in winter, six in summer. Together with altitude, the first two nights will be short: one more reason to keep the first day free of fixed times.

Plugs, water and what to wear

• Outlets are types A, B and C at 220 volts. US plugs fit, but check that your charger says 100-240V; hair dryers and curling irons made for 120V burn out. From the UK, bring an adapter.
• Tap water is not safe to drink: use bottled or filtered water, which hotels provide; skip street ice.
• Dress in layers: 68°F (20°C) in the sun, 46°F (8°C) in the shade, freezing at night in the dry season. Bring walking shoes with a grippy sole, because the cobblestones are slippery.

What to book, and how far ahead

In Cuzco, what sells out early is what has a time slot or a quota: Machu Picchu, the train and the treks. The rest can be bought on the spot, the day before or the same day.

From the airport to your hotel

© OpenStreetMap contributors

The airport is 3 miles (5 km) from the Plaza de Armas. The taxi counter in the arrivals hall posts fixed prices, higher than the street; the easiest way is to ask your hotel to send a car at a price you know in advance. In San Blas, the car stops at the foot of the steps: the hotel sends a porter for your bags.

For the Sacred Valley, the road goes through Chinchero. If you sleep in Urubamba on arrival, the transfer takes 1h15 and drops you 2,000 ft before your first night.

Getting around

On foot, slowly

Central Cuzco fits into a twenty-minute walk between the Plaza de Armas, the Qorikancha and the San Pedro market. Streets are cobbled and flat around the square, steep toward San Blas and San Cristóbal: at 11,150 ft, allow double the time you would elsewhere, and take breaks.

Taxis do not always have a meter: set the price before getting in. At night, have your hotel or restaurant call a registered taxi. For the Sacred Valley, a driver for the day, who stops wherever you like, costs barely more than two seats on a group tour.

Budget for two

In Cuzco, the hotel and the Machu Picchu trip weigh the most; meals and taxis cost less than at home. From June to August rooms cost 30 to 50% more, and more still around June 24. Here is what three nights for two cost, flights excluded.

Machu Picchu comes on top: count $510 to $680 for two for the train, the bus, the entry and the transfer to Ollantaytambo, without a night in Aguas Calientes.

Benchmark prices

What to taste

Cuzco cooks the Andes: dozens of varieties of potatoes and corn, trout from the valley rivers, alpaca and guinea pig.

At the table

• Roast cuy

  Guinea pig, the Andean feast dish, roasted in the oven and served whole; order it ahead, for instance at Pachapapa in San Blas. $23 to $34, to share.

• Alpaca

  A tender, lean fillet, grilled or as carpaccio, on the menus of the city's good restaurants.

• Lomo saltado

  Beef stir-fried with onions, tomatoes and chili, served with rice and fries: the Peruvian dish found everywhere, $5.60 on a set lunch.

• Valley trout

  Raised in the rivers of the Sacred Valley, grilled or marinated as ceviche.

• Giant corn with cheese

  Choclo con queso: kernels the size of coins, boiled and served with a slice of fresh cheese; the market snack, for under $2.30.

• Quinoa soup

  A thick broth of quinoa, vegetables and potatoes that warms you after a morning at Sacsayhuamán.

In the glass

• The pisco sour

  Grape brandy, lime, egg white and bitters: the national cocktail, $4.50 to $7.90.

• Mate de coca

  A coca-leaf infusion, handed out on arrival at hotels; it helps with altitude.

• Chicha morada

  A non-alcoholic drink of purple corn, cinnamon and cloves, served cold.

• Chicha de jora

  A fermented-corn beer, slightly sour, served in neighborhood chicherías.

• Cusqueña

  The city's beer, golden or dark: $2.80 to $4.50 at a bar.

• Andean coffee

  Grown in the warm valleys of the region, roasted in town, served in the cafés of San Blas.

Customs and rules to know

In Cuzco, politeness starts with a greeting: say buenos días when you walk into a shop or restaurant, and take your time. Allillanchu (hello) and sulpayki (thank you) in Quechua earn a smile.

• On the Plaza de Armas, women in traditional dress pose with a llama or a lamb: ask before photographing, and leave $1.20 to $2.30, which is their income.
• At Sacsayhuamán, the Qorikancha and the other sites, do not climb the walls or touch the stones; drones need a permit.
• Churches are visited with shoulders covered; the cathedral forbids photos inside.
• At Machu Picchu: original passport, no large backpack, no food, no tripod or selfie stick, no umbrella (a rain poncho is fine), soft-soled shoes.
• Restaurants serve lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 6:30pm; most kitchens close around 10pm.

Safety

The center of Cuzco is safe by day; trouble comes from a few specific situations.

• Pickpocketing and bag snatching cluster at the San Pedro market, in site queues, on buses and in poorly lit streets: phone in an inside pocket, bag in front of you.
• At night, have your hotel or restaurant call a registered taxi, and do not share the ride with a stranger.
• Drink spiking has been reported in bars around the Plaza de Armas: keep your glass in hand.
• Strikes and road blockades (paros) happen several times a year and can stop roads and trains for one to three days: follow local news and leave a night to spare before an international flight.
• In the rainy season, landslides sometimes cut the Machu Picchu rail line.

Mistakes couples make in Cuzco

• Walking up to Sacsayhuamán or heading out on a trek on day one: the altitude takes your breath and ruins the next night.
• Celebrating the arrival with cocktails: a pisco sour at 11,150 ft hits fast and worsens a headache.
• Booking Machu Picchu last: entry and train sell out first, and times that do not match (entry at 6am, train arriving at 8am) mean starting over.
• Seeing the Sacred Valley in half a day: Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Moray each take one to two hours, plus the road.
• Climbing Vinicunca, the rainbow mountain (16,400 ft), on day three: an ascent toward 16,400 ft belongs at the end of the stay, with a guide.
• Scheduling an international flight the day after returning from Machu Picchu: a strike or a landslide costs a day.