Question 1

How many days do I need in Cusco?

Accepted Answer

Two to three nights in the city itself, plus the Sacred Valley acclimatisation nights before and the Machu Picchu day in the middle. The right total Cusco-region trip is six to seven nights — three Sacred Valley (acclimatising), two Cusco city (the colonial culture and the dining), and the Machu Picchu day-trip from one of those bases. Less than that and the altitude penalties make the trip exhausting.

Question 2

Best time to visit Cusco?

Accepted Answer

May–September is the Andean dry season and the only window we book. Within that, May and September are the editor's months — the dry weather has settled, the rates are softer than the June–August peak, and the Inti Raymi festival (June 24) brings the city's biggest cultural moment. October–April is the wet season — the trains and the Inca Trail are still operating but afternoon rain is daily, the cloud cover at Machu Picchu is frequent, and February sees the Inca Trail closed entirely for maintenance.

Question 3

Is the altitude a problem in Cusco?

Accepted Answer

Manageable but real, and worse than most travellers expect. Cusco at 3,400m is meaningfully higher than Quito or Bogotá; about a third of first-time visitors get headaches, sleep poorly, or feel breathless on the first night. The standard mitigation is to fly into the Sacred Valley first (Urubamba is 530m lower at 2,870m) and acclimatise for two or three nights before coming up. Drink water aggressively, avoid alcohol on the first two nights, take it slow on the cobbles, and the hotels (Belmond and JW) all offer oxygen-enriched rooms or supplemental oxygen on call.

Question 4

Cusco or Sacred Valley as the base?

Accepted Answer

Both, in that order. Spend the first three nights in the Sacred Valley (lower altitude, easier acclimatisation, the Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba and Belmond Río Sagrado are the lodge anchors); then move up to Cusco for two nights of city culture and serious dining; do the Machu Picchu day from whichever base it fits. Trying to do Machu Picchu and Cusco only, without the Sacred Valley, removes the lower-altitude buffer that makes the whole trip pleasant.

Question 5

Train to Machu Picchu — Vistadome or Hiram Bingham?

Accepted Answer

Vistadome is the standard PeruRail glass-roof service — comfortable, US$130 round-trip from Poroy, the one most travellers take. Hiram Bingham is the luxury option — Belmond's all-inclusive Pullman service with brunch, dinner, an open-air observation car, and a private bus to the citadel; US$1,000 per person and the most reliably special way to do the Machu Picchu day. Both arrive at Aguas Calientes; the difference is the journey, not the destination.

Month	Avg high	Rain days
Jan	20°C	16 d
Feb	20°C	15 d
Mar	20°C	13 d
Apr	21°C	7 d
May	21°C	3 d
Jun	21°C	2 d
Jul	21°C	2 d
Aug	21°C	3 d
Sep	21°C	6 d
Oct	22°C	9 d
Nov	22°C	11 d
Dec	21°C	14 d

Best time to visit Cusco

When Cusco is at its best

The Cusco calendar