Why Cusco is One of My Favorite Cities

Three years ago, I sold my fitness business in Portland, Oregon, & decided to travel to South America for three months.  My first decision: pick a city to base in, where I could learn Spanish & start getting familiar with Latin culture.  I spent a MONTH researching great, South American cities ~ but eventually narrowed it down to two choices: Banos de Agua Santa in Ecuador, & Cusco, Peru.  Ultimately, I chose Cusco, & ended up staying there a month.  In this article, I’ll do my best to explain (& show) why Cusco is one of my favorite cities in the world…& how it began my love affair with South America.

Welcome to CUSCO!! In this article, I’ll do my best to explain why Cusco is one of my favorite cities in the world…

Map of Cusco

Why Did I Choose Cusco?

Why did I choose Cusco as my South American home base?  After all my research, Cusco seemed to check off my most important desires: 1) They had at least three MAJOR Spanish language schools (I needed to learn at least some Spanish!); 2) It’s a big city ~ but not too big (big cities tend to overwhelm me); & 3) It’s the gateway to Machu Picchu, which was #1 on my “South America Bucket List,” & was the one place I knew I had to see. 

I’d also scoured Airbnb prior to my trip, & I knew I could stay in great accommodations on a very reasonable budget in Cusco.  I knew I wouldn’t break the bank there!  But what I didn’t know, is how quickly Cusco would start to feel like the foreign home I never knew I was missing…

Little did I know when I booked my trip, just how quickly Cusco would start to feel like home….(Photo taken at Sacsayhuaman)

A Short Tour of Cusco…

If it’s your first time staying in Cusco, I highly recommend staying at a hotel within walking distance of the spectacular Plaza de Armas.  This is where all the action happens on a daily basis ~ & where you can find tours, restaurants, & beautiful cathedrals.  And if there’s any festival going on: it will pass through the Plaza….& there’s usually a festival going on just about every day of the year in Cusco.

This is one of my favorite creperies & tea shops, set high up in the hills of popular San Blas…a steep walk uphill from the Plaza de Armas.  But the views are worth it!!

One of the most distinctive things about Cusco & Peru is their use of brightly-colored textiles ~ & it’s one of my favorite things about the country! You can’t come to Cusco without checking out its fabulous markets. My friends & I especially LOVE the shawls & blankets ~ they make great gifts!

A view of the Plaza de Armas, Cusco’s main square, from one of the many upstairs restaurants that look down over the square.

Festivals occur on an almost-daily basis in Cusco, many centered in the Plaza de Armas (pictured here).

A Trip Up to Sacayhuaman…

Most people pass through Cusco on their way to Machu Picchu.  But there are phenomenal Inca ruins just five minutes from town: the former Inca citadel of Sacsayhuaman.  This is one of my favorite places, & it’s one of the reasons why Cusco is one of my favorite cities: there’s such a sense of peace & majesty here, combined with the genius that is Inca architecture (you’ll wonder how they managed to get such MASSIVE stones uphill, & placed beside each other with such laser-like precision…in the 15th century). 

Sacsayhuaman exemplifies much of what makes Peru & Cusco so special: there’s a sense of mystery, combined with the overwhelming beauty of the Andes Mountains, stunning views, lovable alpacas, & the rugged strength of the Peruvian people that make Peru a place unlike anywhere else in the world. 

A beautiful Peruvian woman with her alpaca, at the top of Sacsayhuaman.

The hills are aliveeee…at Sacsayhuaman. You can see from this photo how the city of Cusco literally sprawls up the mountainsides, offering wonderful views from so many different places in town.

Picture-perfect at Sacsayhuaman. If you plan to take photos with traditionally-dressed ladies & their alpacas, bring cash to tip them.

Members of my Spanish class, taking a more in-depth tour of Sacsayhuaman.

The People of Peru

No matter how beautiful a country is, the people you meet in that country tend to leave the deepest impression.  And Peru is no exception.  While Peruvians aren’t necessarily the most overtly friendly people I’ve met (Thais & Colombians both come to mind on that score), Peruvians do embody two qualities I value most: strength & authenticity.  From their rugged, weathered faces & deeply tanned skin, to their absolute ease in scaling mountains that equal the height of Everest’s base camp (& will leave you, the tourist, gasping for air) ~ strength, resilience, & a quiet pride all seem to personify the Peruvian people I encountered along my journey.

The colors & faces of Peru are unmistakable.

Her face tells a story…

Two boys in the afternoon light, in the streets of Cusco.

This last image is what I think of most when I think of Peru: I can’t count the number of women I saw, carrying huge sacks on their back, typically up steep hills ~ presumably bringing goods back to their families.  And they were often wearing flimsy sandals…which blew our minds.  I’m not sure why ~ but this is the image that comes to mind when I think of Peru.  It personifies, to me, a lack of pretension & uncomplaining strength.

Why Cusco is One of My Favorite Cities

I’ve returned to Cusco twice since that first visit, & have stayed in at least fifteen hotels all over the city!  The sheer number of amazing accommodations is yet another reason why Cusco is one of my favorite cities: there’s literally a charming choice available for all budgets!  Some of my favorite hotels in Cusco are: 1) The exquisite JW Marriott El Convento ($150+/night), 2) The Novotel Cusco ($90+/night), & 3) Apu Huascaran Hostal, in the San Blas neighborhood ($25+/night) ~ to name just a few. 

But there are HUNDREDS of incredible accommodations in Cusco that you could literally spend a lifetime exploring….

Welcome to the JW Marriott in Cusco, built in an centuries-old convent…

My favorite neighborhood in Cusco is San Blas, because the city views you get here are incredible.

The Beauty of Cusco at Night

 My last night in Cusco, I was staying in a fifth-floor room at the Novotel Cusco ~ & just happened to have a staggeringly gorgeous view of Cusco’s towering cathedrals.  Something about this sight had me in tears, & to this day, Cusco is one of the only cities that has brought out this kind of emotion in me.

Even now, I still don’t fully understand this reaction I had to leaving Cusco ~ but I do know that Cusco had enough of the “foreign & exotic” to keep me enthralled & challenged, while still being small & charming enough to somehow familiar.  Perhaps, it was the perfect blend for me of old & new, familiar & unfamiliar.

One of Cusco’s main cathedrals, at night. Because Cusco is usually bustling with tourists, & because South Americans tend to eat on the later side ~ the streets are typically busy at night, particularly around the main plaza. This made strolling at night feel safe, whether I was alone or with friends.

Two blocks from the JW Marriott El Convento, is this restaurant (I’ve now forgotten the name!) with a killer upstairs patio ~ & sensational views of the Plaza del Armas.

Why Cusco is One of My Favorite Cities

Thanks for reading about why Cusco is one of my favorite cities in the world…though I realize now I never even talked about the FOOD!!!  The food in Peru & Cusco is SO. SO. SO. INCREDIBLY. GOOD!!!!  I probably need a separate article just to talk about it.  But you get the point…Cusco is a city I could go on & on about…

Read Next: Best Hotels in Cusco, Peru for ALL Budgets!