Cusco Things to Do Tips by bicycle_girl

It is the largest of its kind in Peru and hosts a few mummies that are quite intact in a sitting position. There is also a few skulls to see with holes in them, and elongated heads for the nobles, which's heads were bound at birth to stay elongated. The inner courtyard hosts a few weavers at work and there is quite a few pottery pieces that are assessed at 1000+ years old! Worth a visit to learn about the Inca era, and a better understanding of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

It will cost you 10 Soles to get in (the Boleto Turistico is not valid for this museum) and the pictures inside the museum are forbidden.

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Address: corner of Ataud and Tucuman
Directions: A steep block north east of the Plaza de Armas

Be prepared for lots of pressured sale!
If you take this tour, you will be taken to 5 different sites usually in the afternoon, between 1 and 6:30 PM: Coricancha (Q'orikancha in Quechua language) right in town, Sacsayhuaman (pronounce Sexy woman) Quenko, Puca Pucara, and Tambo Machay. In the end, the bus will stop at a crafter's market area for shopping and you will be asked out of the bus.
I believe it cost me 20 USD for this tour, and you will need your Boleto Touristico for 4 of the sites and pay entrance fee for Coricancha. I did this tour on my last full day in Cuzco and felt it was redundant since I did the Sacred Valley tour and Machu Picchu tour. It was heavily occupied with other tourists and tour buses, and the locals were quite agressive into selling all they had to sell.

I would suggest you do the Sacred Valley tour instead if you have time, and if you want a real city tour, walk in the streets of town out of the touristy area. The other option to visit the archeologic sites would be to hire a taxi or a private guide and go really early to avoid the crowds.

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Directions: Go to the Gringo alley (on Plateros) to book your tour, and hop on the bus.

The Quechua name means "satisfied falcon" and is pronounced "sexy woman". It is a huge site overlooking Cuzco at 3800 m altitude (make sure you are acclimatized). It was an important site for the incas and you can see huge boulders carved by them to fit perfectly on top of one another. THere is 3 levels to this site and you can walk in the maze and take pictures as you wish. Make sure you go on top of the hill for commanding views of Cuzco.

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Directions: North east of town. You can go by foot, climbing stairs for 40 min, take a city tour or else take a taxi. Boleto touristico is required for this site.

Each Sunday morning, the locals gather around the main square for a parade in honor of the peruvian flag. From pre-schoolers to soldiers to women's groups parade in front of the locals. It's a great way to blend in and see the show, and a great time to take pictures without intruding too much. A spectacle of colors and people, do not miss it!

P.S. It's free!

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Address: Right at PLaza de Armas
Directions: It's the main square! By now you should have found it.

They can be shy or quite curious about you. They will open up if you have things to give them, like oranges, or pen and rulers, candy, etc... Try it, it's fun and it feels great to put a smile on their face...

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Directions: It is best to get out of the touristy area so you don't get too bothered by people selling you stuff.

Walking aimlessly, you will always find surprises in Cuzco. Start at the main square and go north, south, east and west. See what you can come up with.

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This small underground museum has just about the same artifacts than the Inca museum. The most interesting parts are the skulls that have holes in them, the ones that are elongated and also the mummified bodies that are well preserved. For the rest you will see the tools made out of the stones to cut, sculpt, kill, and else, some pottery, some textiles.

Unfortunately not all is explained in english, so unless you have a guide with you, or you speak spanish, you're on your own.

Admission is covered by the boleto touristico.

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Directions: Head south on Ave. del Sol, it's a few blocks away from the main square. Alternatively, you can take a taxi.

Coricancha or in Quechua, Q'orikancha means "covered with gold". The Inca walls that are bare in this sites were covered with gold. This site is being visited if you take a city tour, and you will have to pay your own entrance fee. (6 USD). You will be directed by your guide to the Inca walls and see how the stones were cut, and assembled together to form exact joints between all of them. You will also see the foundations that used to be walls and the inner courtyard fountain that used to be covered with gold.

Coricancha also hosts the Santo Domingo church which is still used for religious purposes by the locals.

There is a nice view over the gardens and great photo opportunity from there.

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Address: Plazotela Santo Domingo
Directions: Off Ave. Del Sol, a few blocks south of the main square

This is a small museum, you enter for free with your boleto turistico. No one checked my ticket when I went. I was pleasantly surprised with the pieces I found there, and with the fact that I could photograph anything I wanted. A lot of the pieces made me smile, so if you have your boleto, go take a look!

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Directions: On Avenida Sol, south west of Main square. Located in the same building than the Info center.

It is where you will congregate first when you come to Cuzco. This is where you will come for your meals, to book your tours, to board your tour buses, visit the many different cathedrals or museums, check out your e-mails from an internet cafe. It is the main place for tourists and for locals. Locals know tourists come here, so they take the opportunity to sell what they have. Tourists know locals come here, so they have their camera ready for action.

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Directions: Paza de Armas is the main square in Cuzco. If you haven't found it, it's time you stop drinking...