PlanoPlanoMachu Picchu is the anchor of a wider Sacred Valley experience that connects Inca archaeology, Andean culture, and high-altitude adventure. Things to do around Machu Picchu range from multi-day treks along ancient stone paths to textile workshops in highland villages and the colonial streets of Cusco itself.
Read the full Machu Picchu travel guide →4 days
May, June, July
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Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun)
The Inca Empire's most important temple in central Cusco sits beneath the Santo Domingo convent, with perfectly fitted stonework walls that once held sheets of gold.
Museo Inka
A colonial mansion on Cusco's Plaza de las Nazarenas houses Inca textiles, ceramics, mummies, and metalwork, with weavers demonstrating traditional techniques in the courtyard.
Museo Machu Picchu (Casa Concha)
The museum in a restored Cusco mansion displays 360 artefacts returned by Yale University from Hiram Bingham's 1912 expedition, including ceramics and skeletal remains.
Cuy and chicha at Cusco's San Pedro Market
The central market in Cusco serves roasted guinea pig (cuy), fresh fruit juices, and chicha morada (purple corn drink) at communal tables for under 15 soles.
Humantay Lagoon hike
A turquoise glacial lake at 4,200 metres elevation in the Vilcabamba range, reached by a 3-hour round-trip hike from a trailhead 3 hours by road from Cusco.
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)
The striped mineral mountain at 5,200 metres altitude can be reached by a 2-hour hike from a trailhead 3 hours southeast of Cusco, best attempted after acclimatising for at least two days.
San Blas artisan quarter
The steep cobblestoned neighbourhood above Cusco's Plaza de Armas has ceramicists, jewellers, and weavers working in stone-walled workshops open to visitors.
Moray and Maras salt terraces day trip
The circular Inca agricultural terraces at Moray descend like an amphitheatre, and the adjacent salt pans at Maras have over 3,000 evaporation pools still harvested by hand.
Cusco textile cooperatives
The Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco on Avenida El Sol demonstrates Andean weaving techniques and sells fair-trade textiles made with natural dyes by highland communities.
Cusco nightlife on Plaza de Armas
The colonial balcony bars surrounding Cusco's main square serve pisco sours with live Andean music, and Calle Procuradores (known locally as Gringo Alley) has late-night dance clubs.
The best months to enjoy things to do in Machu Picchu are May, June, July, August, September. Plan around these months for the best weather and fewer crowds.
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