1 destination · 28 things to do

Peru

Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire, the navel of a world that ran from Ecuador to Chile, and it still feels like the center of something: a high Andean city of Inca walls so precisely fitted that no blade slips between the stones, with Spanish churches, cloisters and balconied mansions built straight on top of them, and the green mountains rising above every street. It is also the gateway to Machu Picchu, the most famous ruin in the Americas, and to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a fertile river valley of terraces, markets and adobe villages that runs down toward the cloud forest. This guide books the region properly as it works now: Machu Picchu on the circuit system and the official timed tickets with their daily caps, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain for the climbers, the four-day Inca Trail on its scarce permits, and the scenic trains from Cusco and Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. In Cusco itself it takes you to the colossal walls of Sacsayhuaman, the Inca Temple of the Sun inside the convent of Santo Domingo, the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, the artisans of San Blas and the food stalls of the San Pedro Market, with the tourist ticket that unlocks the archaeological parks. Then it goes out to Pisac, Ollantaytambo, the circular terraces of Moray and the salt pans of Maras, and up to the striped slopes of Rainbow Mountain at 5,200 meters. Finally it matches you to the right bed, from converted convents in the old city and artisan guesthouses in San Blas to hacienda lodges in the valley and cloud-forest hotels at the foot of Machu Picchu, because at this altitude, where you sleep shapes how you feel.