Cusco, once the heart of the Inca Empire, offers a fascinating mix of history, culture, and natural beauty. Walking through its cobbled streets reveals ancient ruins, colonial architecture, and vibrant local markets. Nearby attractions like the Sacred Valley, Pisac, and Ollantaytambo showcase stunning landscapes and traditional Andean life. The highlight for many travelers is the iconic Machu Picchu, accessible by train or the Inca Trail. Whether you’re exploring archaeological sites or enjoying Peruvian cuisine, Cusco provides a rich and unforgettable experience. Its unique blend of past and present makes it a must-visit destination in South America.
Day Trips from Cusco
Salineras de Maras
After exploring the city of Cusco, we set out to discover the surroundings around Cusco. An hour and a half drive away you’ll find the impressive salt mines Salineras de Maras (Maras Salt Mines). These 4,500 salt mines are used for the production of white, pink, and brown salt. The first two are processed for the food industry and the brown salt is exclusively intended for medicines. The place itself is unimaginable. In the middle of the mountains lies this endless and beautiful scene. Recently, you’re no longer allowed to walk between the salt mines themselves, but must stay behind a barrier. This is because too much waste was found among the salt, which is naturally unhygienic.
By Quad
We drove to the salt mines with a rented quad. A real experience! You feel completely free and alive when driving through these surreal landscapes. You can easily book this tour yourself through GetYourGuide. Usually we don’t like organized tours that much, but this one is highly recommended! The only downside? You don’t stay long at the site itself. The entrance fee is only 10 soles per person (2.70 euros), so for that price you can’t skip this experience.
Moray Archaeological Site
With the quad, we then continued toward Moray. This is just a stone’s throw away from the salt mines. The place is also called the Sacred Valley of the Incas since Inca ruins have also been found in this valley. They may not be as large and impressive as Machu Picchu, but it’s still a spectacular place. The surroundings here are also breathtakingly beautiful. We paid 70 soles per person (about 19 euros) as entrance fee and we found that quite expensive. We also found it unfortunate that our guide had only planned half an hour here, while you can easily walk around for more than an hour or longer. Moray has a spectacular view.
Meaningful Souvenirs
Back in the city of Cusco, we went looking for original souvenirs. Souvenirs are a nice memento of a country we might never return to. To keep that memory alive, we buy souvenirs – in addition to taking photos. We like to take sustainable and original souvenirs home with us, and that’s sometimes a quest. We found a very nice shop called Mallkini that sells everything made from alpaca wool from an alpaca sanctuary, and the proceeds go partly to that company and partly to the establishment of schools in Cusco. A very beautiful initiative and also very beautiful products! Furthermore, we bought a hand-woven tablecloth at the local market and Sigrid bought a handmade blouse from a local designer who was also at the market with her creations. Original and sustainable souvenirs? Mission accomplished!
Sacsayhuamán Ruins
To visit Inca ruins, you don’t actually have to look far in Cusco. In Cusco City itself, at the top near the statue of San Cristobal, you can also find several. Sacsayhuamán, or Saqsaywaman, is one of them. This area is more than 3,000 hectares large and various discoveries have been made. The entrance fee here is also 70 soles (19 euros). The only downside is the enormous altitude, so bring enough sunscreen, a hat, good walking shoes, and water.
You can walk from Cusco to this archaeological site on foot, but we rather advise against it. It’s better to take a taxi to the top and walk back down on foot. Because the views are beautiful and worth seeing. We didn’t stay very long at the site itself since after a few ruins we had seen enough. For us, the uniqueness wears off a bit. But if you’re interested in history or want a spectacular view, you should also stop by here!