10 Amazing Day Trips from Cusco That you Don’t Want to Miss in 2023
Mainly known as the getaway to the Inca Trail and the spectacular and overcrowded Macchu Pichu, you must know that there are many other incredible day trips from Cusco worth spending more time in the popular city.
Situated a few miles from the Sacred Valley, more properly known as Urubamba Valley, in the Anden Mountain range, in the southeastern region of Peru, Cusco has always been an important site, for being the capital of the Inca empire during its apogee, and it’s now one of the most visited city in Peru attracting over 2 million visitors per year.
Starting from the popular Inca trail, which is now one of the many more trails you can do to reach the Iconic Macchu Pichu, there are several other fascinating day trips from Cuzco that you can choose from.
My 10 favorite day trips from Cusco
1. Visit one of the world’s seven wonders: Machu Picchu
Cusco is known before everything else for the getaway to the famous Machu Picchu. Whether you go on a trek or by train, the launching hub is Cuzco. I did the most common Inca trail, the most expensive and most demanded. At the time I didn’t actually do lots of research and I thought there was only that option to hike there. Nowadays I realized how many ways there are to hike to Machu Picchu.
To know more about it check out this post on the 8 ways to get to Machu Picchu. But first of all make sure you know the best time to visit Macchu Pichu and other practical tips, before making any arrangements.
2. Visit the archeological sites in the surroundings of Cusco
Among all the most popular day trips from Cusco, Saqsaywaman, Qenqo, and Pukamqu passing by Cristo Blanco are the easiest one that you can do easily on your own.
In the same area, you can include Puca Pucara, which is also known as the red fortress as it’s uniquely red from the iron contained in the rocks.
It served as a guard post to check out the flow of people entering the city. It’s in fact on higher points compared to the other sites.
Tambomachay which is known as the Inca Baths. It’s made of canals, aqueducts, and small waterfalls that can be seen throughout the site and making it a suggestive natural park to walk through.
As you can see from the map below, you can see them all together in one day.
I took a taxi to Tabomachay, the farthest and highest, and after I visited the small, but pretty archaeological site, I walked my way down stopping by in all the others, until Saqsaywaman, the most important of the 4 sites, an amazing example of the precise ancient Inca architecture.
As a side note, on the way there, I met a girl who was traveling by herself like me, and we decided to walk together. We are still friends after 5 years, and even if we live in different places, we see each other now and then. These are beautiful things about traveling alone.
3. Day trip from Cusco to the Sacred Valley, Pisac, and the beautiful terraced archeological site
I went to Pisac the day after my strenuous hike to the Inca trail, just because it was Sunday, and I didn’t want to miss the colorful market. I took the best pictures there.
Even though I chose to travel in the rainy season, it was a beautiful sunny day.
I jumped on a combi (local transportation in a minivan) and got to the touristy Pisac. There, I got a cab to take me to the archeological site and walk my way down through the amazing ruins of nature.
I was almost alone, and sometimes I got a little scared to get lost. But That’s just me. The path is clear, and you meet people hiking up now and then.
Once I arrived at the market, I had a sumptuous lunch in a lovely coffee shop nearby, and then I started to walk around the colorful stalls with the beautiful local textiles, jumpers and shirts, fruits, and many other items.
If you are a portrait photographer that place is for you. The beautiful faces of the kids playing or hanging from their mother’s shoulders in their colorful clothes are just a pleasure to watch. I am not good at taking pictures of strangers but I managed to take a few, which I lost… of course.
It’s a visit that you can totally do on your own, don’t really need a tour. However, if you have a limited time available, a full-day tour to the sacred valley will be convenient, as you cover more sites in one day.
4. Day trip from Cusco to Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo is a tourist village and home to another Inca archaeological site. It’s manly popular because from there you would take the train to Machu Picchu or you would start your hike.
Historical note: here the Inca won a battle against the Spaniards, unfortunately only the battle.
5. Enjoy Typon
Located in the Southern Valley of Cusco those are the most popular ancient ruins among others in the area. It’s a place where the Inca worshipped the element of Water. In fact, you will see a lot of little canals, and streams of water fountains, all connected in a remarkable hydraulic engineering system.
I visited it during my 2 weeks volunteering in Cusco as it was close to the little town where my school was.
From now on we talk about my bucket list also. I knew about the following places but I didn’t have the time to see them:
6. Bike through Moray
A masterpiece of gardening architecture. They say that the green amphitheater-like terraces were like an agricultural lab for the Incas where they performed experiments that resulted in the more than 3000 varieties of potatoes in Peru today.
If I remember well there are organized biking tours around the area. They take you from Cuzco to thereby minivan until there and then on a mountain bike adventure around the picturesque region. Fun!
Travel agents take you to Maras and Moray altogether on a regular tour by minivan for only 25 USD. Click here to book your tour.
7. Take a picture of the colorful Maras Cascading pools
Another spectacular site to visit. A vast reddish carpet made of thousands of cascading pools of ancient salt deposits.
Besides the historical interest, it is definitely one of the most Instagrammed places in Peru. No wonder why. I can’t wait to point my camera at it.
I will tell you how to get there as soon as I go myself.
Travel agents take you to Maras and Moray altogether on a regular tour by minivan for only 25 USD. Click here to book your tour.
If you wish to do the same tour but by quads, you can also have this option, by clicking here.
8. Spend one night in the riveting Skylodge
Among the things you can do If you want to splurge, you can book a couple of nights on the Skylodge. It’s a surreal lodge made of glass capsules hanging from the wall of the mountain. I am not sure if I could even sleep there. The view must be amazing. I hope I will be able to do it on my next trip to Cusco.
10. Fall in love with Humantay lake
…or AT the Humantay Lake, depending on who you are traveling with…
Jokes aside, I saw this lake when I was checking out pictures of the Salkantay trail, an alternative and cheaper way to hike to Machu Picchu, and I literally fell in love, so much that I was almost ready to repeat the hike to Machu Picchu just to see it.
Now I just found out that you don’t need to take the entire tour. There are daily trips from Cuzco that take you there.
11. Day trip from Cusco to the rainbow mountain
The Rainbow Mountain is another Instagrammed spot in Peru, after Machu Picchu.
It is part of a trek I am planning to do from Arequipa. But I have also found out that you can also take a one-day tour from Cuzco. I will definitely do the complete trek. I will tell you how it goes. But if have a limited time and you don’t really feel fit for hiking there you can always take a tour and go see it anyway.
12. Visit el Balcon del Diablo
Right behind the ruins of Sacsayhuaman is a trail that leads to a large rock with a cave called the Chakan Cave, from where you have a stunning and scary view of the valley.
Apparently, you don’t need a guide to get there but I will check it out as I don’t like to hike on my own in isolated places.
It’s never a smart idea. I am intrigued by what I have read about the place, though.
It’s like a natural monument as the rock wall seems as if it has been painted in different colors and as I will be going in the rainy season I might be lucky to see a waterfall.
Day trips from Cusco: Frequently Asked Questions
How many days should I spend in Cusco?
It really depends on what you want to see and the purpose of your trip. There are people that go for a week, fall in love, and stay until their tourist visa expires. I was supposed to go for a week and decided to stay and volunteer ad stayed 3.
There is so much to see in Cuzco and around that it can be a good base from where to take daily tours or some treks (you can ask your hotel or hostel to keep some of your heavy stuff when you go trekking, which is convenient.
If you don’t have much time and you want to see more of Peru, probably 3 days would be just about enough to get the feel of it, check out some museums, the colorful and bizarre markets, and the churches, and try the delicious restaurants in Cuzco.
Is Rainbow Mountain worth a visit?
Totally, although it’s a very touristy place, it’s spectacular and definitely worth a day trip. You can include it in a multiple-day trek or a day trip (which is easier because you get closer by car, but less exciting).
What is the cheapest way to get from Cusco to Machu Picchu?
The cheapest way is definitely by bus to Ollantaytambo and then train to Aguas Calientes
Can Machu Picchu be a day trip?
Yes, it can be a long day trip, but it’s doable. It’s usually done by an organized trip by a local tour company. However I would rather sleep in Aguas Caliente and get to Machu Picchu in the early morning.
How long is the train from Cusco to Machu Picchu?
The train from Cusco to Machu Picchu is around 3 to 4 hours depending on where you hop on the train. it can depart from San Pedro, Wanchaq, Poroy, and Ollantaytambo and arrives at Aguas Calientes.
How much is the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes?
The cost of the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes is about 100 to140 USD
What are the disadvantages of Machu Picchu?
The only thing about Machu Picchu is that it’s overcrowded most of the time.
What is the best time of year to visit Machu Picchu?
It depends on many factors, from November through March it’s the rainy season but March can still be a good month and so November with less chance of rain and fewer crowds, while the summer may be the best for the weather but not so good if you don’t like to be around too many people. In my detailed post on the best time to visit Machu Picchu I will tell you all about it in details.
Day Trips from Cusco: Final Thoughts
As you can see there are so many day trips that you can do from Cusco which makes you realize that you can indeed stay a long time in the Peruvian sacred city and never get bored. I hope you found what you were looking for in this post and it made you leave for Cusco right away. As for me it let me want to go back asap writing it. 🙂
