Cusco City Tour
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City Tour, Cusco, Peru

Cusco City Tour Half Day

Half Day

Starting from

US$50.00

Duration 1 Day
Tour Type Daily Tour
Difficulty Easy
Group Size Up to 10 people
Languages Spanish, English

Tour Cusco City Tour Half Day

Cusco City Tour Half Day, Cusco is the center of the Inca history and home to some of the most important ruins. Exploring them with a member of the To Machu picchu team will help make this period of history come alive. Visit the beautiful cathedral in the main square, Temple of the Sun and then head by car to the city limits to visit the 4 main Inca ruins including Sacsayhuaman. From here you will also see some of the most beautiful views of Cusco, so don’t forget your camera.

Note: The hotel must be booked on the main town due the early pick up for our services we are unable to go to the airbnb as most of them do not have a name or address easy to find and some of them are located far away from the main town.

Briefing between 5pm – 7pm the evening before the trip in our office, explaining all tour details from our guide.

Be inspired as you walk through the ancestral streets and plazas of Cusco! You can walk through each era of history in this regal city; it is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas! We can trace time from Native Americans to Incans to Spaniards and now to modern-day citizens of Cusco. Besides its historical importance, Cusco is an absolutely breath-taking city with a living culture and a cuisine highly-acclaimed on the world stage!

Overview

For your first day in this majestic city, we recommend visiting all nearby archaeological sites and admiring the surrounding landscape. As a city, Cusco maintains its customs and traditions along with the mysteries and tales about a legendary past.

Cusco’s Cathedral: Located in Cusco’s Main Square, the cathedral is a colonial monument of great artistic value. It was built on top of the Wiracocha Inca Palace and houses works of carved wood such as the choir, pulpit and altars, beautiful paintings from the Cusquenian School of Art (including a Last Supper painting in which Christ and His disciples eat cuy – guinea pig!) and works of embossed silver. This cathedral flanks the grandiose Plaza de Armas – the historical and cultural heart of Cusco.

Koricancha Temple and Santo Domingo Convent: This religious center was built to worship the Sun, the most revered deity during the Inca Empire. Inside the temple, you will find smaller temples dedicated to the sun, moon, stars, etc. Outside are beautiful, regal gardens and fountains on the grounds of the monumental temple. Here, the combination of the extraordinary Inca architecture and the Spanish colonial architecture is what stands out the most. In addition, the Cusquenian School of Art’s gallery offers you the opportunity to appreciate some of their colonial art pieces.

Saqsayhuaman: Located 2 km from Cusco City, this fortress was built using enormous carved rocks joined with compelling precision. It is composed of three overlapping platforms with an average length of 360 meters. In its construction, you can see stones as big as 9 meters in height! From here, you can enjoy a spectacular view of Cusco city along with the beautiful landscape formed by the surrounding mountains.

Q’enqo: Located 1 km from Sacsayhuaman, this complex was an Inca ceremonial cult center. The most prominent feature of this complex is an open space called the amphitheater. Back in its day, you would have found Inca mummies in the 19 trapezoidal niches found here. Today, the amphitheater is half of its original height.

Puca Pucara: This complex is known as the “red fortress” due to its reddish tints resulting from the vast amounts of iron in its rocks. It is thought that this fortress was perhaps an old tambo (dairy farm?) that served both as a resting and guarding spot to protect Tambomachay. Here you can see attractive architecture, fountains, aqueducts, and several Incan enclosures.

Tambomachay: This complex is made up of a combination of finely carved stones, waterfalls, and aqueducts to carry water coming from nearby springs and hot springs. For this reason, Tambomachay is associated with the water cult. In front of this construction, there is a tower that is said to have served as a guarding post and communication tower.

Activities

City Tour

Difficulty Levels

3 of 5

Maximum Altitude

3700 masl. / 12139 ft.

Departures Day

Daily Departures.

Starts

Pick up at your accommodation in Cusco around 1:30 AM

Ends

Drop-off at your accommodation in Cusco around 6:15 PM

Day by Day Itinerary

  • Day 1 City Tour Cusco

    You will be picked up from your hotel in Cusco at 13:20 - 13:50 hrs to begin your City Tour. First, we will visit the main Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas where you will have the opportunity to see a wide range of paintings from Cusco’s School of Art, old writings, and works in gold leaf and embossed silver. Once finished, you will continue on to Koricancha or the ‘’Temple of the Sun’’ to appreciate its architecture and perfect stone constructions only seen in Inca temples of high importance. Continuing on, we will head outside the city to visit the archaeological circuit of 4 sites: Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Puca Pucara, and Tambomachay. At Sacsayhuaman, you will see its famous stones all carefully carved and enormous in size. At Q’enqo, you will learn some more about this archaeological site’s religious importance in the Inca times. At Puca Pucara, you will see an ancient military construction, part of Cusco’s ancient defense system. Lastly, at Tambomachay, you will see a temple dedicated to the Water Cult with fountains that still work in today.

    • 13:30 - 14:00 We pick you up at the door of your hotel. Then we will go to the Plaza de Armas of Cusco where our guide will explain the historical importance of this place.
    • 14:00 - 14:30 Next we will visit the Cuzco Cathedral, one of the most imposing and historical in South America.
    • 14:30 - 15:30 We continue with the tour, visiting the Inca museum of Coricancha (Convent of Santo Domingo). The guide will explain to us the importance of this enclosure, the most important of the incanato.
    • 15:30 - 16:45 The tour continues in the direction of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman. The guide will give us details of the mysterious constructions as well as the historical events that occurred there.
    • 16:45 - 17:45 After visiting Sacsayhuaman, we will do the same with the enclosures of Qenqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay, from where you can see from the top all the splendor of Cusco.
    • 17:45 - 18:15 We will end the tour by returning with private transport to Plaza San Francisco, a few meters from the Plaza de Armas of Cusco.

Trip Info & Details

Specialized bilingual guide

Private Transport

Box lunch water, banana apple and chocolate

Additional Services

Insurance

Drink

Tickets

Entrance fees (Cable and car and Moon Valley)

What is the difference between the City Tour in shared and private service?

The Cusco City Tour in shared service includes transportation and a guide for a group of diverse people (up to 20 tourists). The private service, on the other hand, is a special service for a closed group of from 2 visitors.

How is payment made?

To make the payment of the tour you must complete the reservation form on our web platform. Then payment must be made with Visa, MasterCard or PayPal cards. To separate the reservation you must cancel at least 60% of the tour value. Once in Cusco you must finish making the payment.

What to take the Cusco City Tour?

For the City Tour Cusco, you should wear a sunscreen, a hat, comfortable shoes, rain poncho, snacks, mineral water and extra cash (if tourists like to buy handicrafts).

How to avoid altitude sickness during the Cusco City Tour?

It is advisable to adapt to the climate of the city of Cusco at least 1 day before doing the Cusco City Tour. It is also advised to drink plenty of water like coca tea.

How to book the tour with a tour guide in another language?

The tour includes a shared or private tour guide in English or Spanish. To book a guide in another language one must be requested by sending an email and paying the extra cost of the service.

How to get to the city of Cusco?

Airway: It is the fastest way to get there, the trip lasts 1.10 hours from Lima. It is preferable to buy tickets or flight tickets in advance, the cost is USD 150.00 (base price). Land route: You can take direct buses from Lima, the trip lasts approximately 21 hours. There are also buses from Arequipa, in this case the trip lasts 10 hours. The price varies depending on the transport company and the type of service they offer.

What is the best season or time to travel to Cusco?

Cusco presents warm days with cold nights. The best time to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu are from April to October – November. The rainy season in Cusco is from December to March.

What is the BTG or tourist ticket?

It is a ticket that contains the income to various tourist attractions in the city of Cusco. There are 2 kinds of tickets: Partial tourist ticket There are 3 circuits of this type of ticket that cover the following routes: Circuit 1 – Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puka Pukara, Tambomachay (they are the 4 surrounding ruins that are visited during the city tour) Circuit 2 – Museum of Contemporary Art, Regional Historical Museum, Popular Art Museum, Qoricancha Site Museum, Qosqo Native Art Center. Circuit 3 – Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Chinchero, Moray (tour of the Sacred Valley tour). The cost is S / 70.00 (USD 27.00 approximately) in any of the circuits mentioned above and the validity of the ticket is 1 day (in circuit 1 and 2) and 2 days (in circuit 3). General Tourist ticket (BTG) This ticket allows admission to 16 tourist attractions located in the city, outside the city, and the 3 touristic circuits of the partial ticket. The cost is S/. 130.00 (USD 45.00 approximately) and the validity of the ticket is 10 days from the date of issue.

Are there limited spaces to enter Machupicchu or for the train ticket?

In order to achieve a better preservation of Machupicchu, there are currently limited places for daily income to this wonder of the world. As for the train ticket they also have limited capacity in each type of service offered by the railway companies. For this reason we recommend buying them in advance and not wait at the last minute since there is a risk of not finding available spaces because Cusco is one of the busiest destinations throughout the year.

How long does it take to get from Cusco to the Ollantaytambo train station?

It will take you about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Ollantaytambo . If you are coming on your own you must take the buses to Ollantaytambo, from the Pavitos street in the Historic Center. However, the best way to make a trip to Machu Picchu is on an organized tour, which includes transportation from Cusco to Ollantaytambo.

What is altitude sickness?

Cusco is located at 3300 m.s.n.m. (11,000 feet), so there is the possibility of feeling difficult to breathe, headaches or fatigue, all these are symptoms of altitude sickness. So we recommend resting a few hours after landing or arriving in the city and drinking a lot of liquid (bottled water or coca leaf infusions preferably) to acclimate. In the event that the rest does not calm the discomfort, you can buy pills against altitude sickness (or soroche) in a pharmacy or you can also buy a small oxygen ball, both have affordable prices.

Customer Reviews

Inca Jungle Trek 100% Recommended with Local Trekkers Peru

I did the Inka Jungle Trail to MachuPicchu with Local Trekkers Peru and it was like embarking on an odyssey that mixed the excitement of cycling, the adrenaline of rafting and ziplining, the beauty of nature and the richness of Inca culture. Every day on the trail revealed landscapes impressive and ending up in MachuPicchu after 4 days of adventure, is something that cannot be explained in words. The agency not only provided impeccable logistics, but also injected a dose of authentic adventure into every moment. I thank Daniel our guide for converting This trip in an unforgettable experience. The Inka Jungle Trail with Local Trekkers Peru is an experience that I will always recommend to all those looking for a reliable company.

Eddie S

Published at 10th Jannuary, 2025 on Tripadvisor

You can't miss the 4 day Inca Jungle tour!

On the recommendation of a friend we did the 4 day Inca Jungle tour with Terra Qechua Peru and it was a memorable experience. The trip started with a thrilling downhill bike ride and we did other activities such as rafting and zip lining, which added an extra adrenaline rush, followed by a hike through the rainforest full of fascinating flora and fauna, guided by a very knowledgeable expert. In addition, the natural hot springs in Santa Teresa were the perfect relaxation after active days. The final visit to Machu Picchu was the finishing touch, offering breathtaking views and a total immersion in Inca history.

Osric Woolvett

Published at 6th August 2024 on Tripadvisor

The Inca Jungle is highly recommended

With my university classmates we did the 4-day Inca Jungle with Terra Quechua Peru and it was a great experience. We did a lot of adventure sports and the safety measures for the zip line, rafting and cycling were top notch. It was more fun than the Salkantay and much cheaper than the official Inca Trail. In general the whole experience is excellent, it has no waste, adventure tourism at its best, warmth of all the people who attended us and excellent guide, very professional, he answered all the questions we had and gave us a history lesson, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

FRANCESC S

Published at 20th May 2024 on Tripadvisor

Everything was amazing!

The Inca Jungle Trek was amazing! We had a 4 days/3 nights experience full of adventure: biking, rafting, trekking, zipline, hot springs! Everything was well organised, food was great, acommodations were amazing and our guides, Emerson and Freddy, were the best we could have! This kind of tour was perfect to know the history of Inca civilization, their tradicion, to observe the nature and have fun before arriving at one of the most mystical places in the world: Machu Picchu! I recommend 100% Inca Jungle!

Florina P

Published at 31th October 2023 on Tripadvisor

Excellent!!! We had an excellent time

This was an amazing adventure in the Inca jungle, from the beginning to the end Terra Quechua Peru has organized very well all the details (transportation, guide, meals, camping and equipment) they worked hard to create an unforgettable experience for us. Our guide got even better during our hike, he knows very well the Inca history and traditions in this area.This tour combines different activities along the way.BIKE, it was amazing to descend from the mountains at over 14,130 feet,I had never been rafting before, however, these guys kept me safe while on the river.The hotel on the last night before exploring Machu Picchu was great and we were happy to rest comfortably after 3 days of full adventure.

DONALDS1975

Published at 15th January 2023 on Tripadvisor

inca jungle trail 4 days

We did the Inca Jungle trail with our family of 4. We met with our guide Julian and soon adopted him as our second son. Julian did a really good job in modifying the trip to our specific needs. He arranged taxi’s, traintickets etc. I would highly recommend him. some details about our trip : The bike ride down to Santa Maria was great. The extensive safety harness was not really required in my opinion since we basically followed an asphalted road with limited traffic. I would however advice the organisation to bring a spare bike along. We were lucky that my wife decided not to cycle but stayed in the van, so that we had a spare bike (1 flat tire + 1 shifter not working). Rafting was nice (bring mosquito repellent).

BertenVermeulen

Published at 26th July, 2022 on Tripadvisor

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