Spending a Day in Cusco, Peru – Free Things to do Between Tours
How to Spend the Perfect Day Between Tours in Cusco, Peru
Cusco, Peru, is a great base city for day trips to some of Peru’s most famous destinations. Typically, visitors spending time touring the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, Ollantaytambo, and Pisac will spend the night at a hotel in Cusco. While much of the time will be spent touring outside the Cusco city limits, tourists will likely have a day or a few hours to spend exploring the city of Cusco between tours. This section will show you how to spend the perfect day between tours in Cusco, Peru. Luckily, many of the places featured in this section have no admission cost and are free.
When I first arrived in Cusco, I definitely could feel the elevation. Cusco is located at over 11,000 feet above sea level. Since I was coming from Lima, which is basically at sea level, my body did not have time to acclimate. It is highly recommended to arrive in Cusco at least two days before visiting Machu Pichu or Rainbow Mountain so your body can get used to the higher elevation. Once acclimated, you should visit Machu Picchu first, as it is at a lower elevation than Cusco, and Rainbow Mountain second, as it is at a higher elevation than Cusco.
On my first day in Cusco, I spent most of the time at my hotel, letting my body adjust to the altitude. That evening, I did walk to Plaza de Armas for dinner. The walk was difficult due to the elevation. Thankfully, within 48 hours, my body had adjusted to the high elevation of Cusco, and I felt much better.
To help my body adjust to the elevation, I took an over-the-counter vitamin called “Alit-Vital.” This vitamin helped reduce the effects of altitude sickness. One other suggestion I have to combat altitude sickness in Cusco, Peru, is to eat chicken soup with each meal. The broth helped keep my body hydrated, which is extremely important at high elevation.
The first place you will want to visit in Cusco is Plaza de Armas. Plaza de Armas is the main plaza in Cusco and has a wide variety of restaurants, shops, and street vendors. When you first arrive in Cusco, make Plaza de Armas your first stop to help you acclimate to the city.
Spending a Day in Cusco, Peru - Free Things to do Between Tours - Table of Contents
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Free Things to do in Cusco, Peru Between Tours
So what activities can you do in Cusco for free? There are plenty of places in Cusco that you can visit without having to spend a penny. During my visit, I spent most of my time touring the sights around Cusco via day trips, so I only had a few hours each day to explore the city.
The one large chunk of time I had to explore Cusco was in between my tours of Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain. I purposely scheduled a rest day as my tour of Rainbow Mountain was scheduled to leave the following morning at 3:00 am.
Below is a summary of the free places I visited during my perfect day between tours in Cusco, Peru.
Walking Around Cusco, Peru's Plaza de Armas
In my opinion, the best place to start your visit of Cusco is in the Plaza de Armas. The plaza, which is the main plaza for the city of Cusco, was built on one of the Inca’s most important gathering locations. When the Spanish conquered Cusco, they destroyed the Inca temples and buildings and replaced them with cathedrals.
The two buildings that will likely draw your attention upon arriving at Cusco’s Plaza de Armas are the Cusco Cathedral and the Jesuit Church of the Society of Jesus.
nfortunately, during my visit, it was difficult to enjoy my time at Plaza de Armas. As I walked the plaza, there were hundreds of aggressive street vendors selling art, bracelets, and cheaply made jewelry. At first, in an attempt to be polite, I engaged with them and looked at their products.
When I would tell them in Spanish that their products were very pretty, but I wasn’t interested in buying them, they would become aggressive and follow me around, trying to convince me to buy their art. The best phrase to get them to leave me alone was “por favor deja de molestarme,” which means, “please stop bothering me.”
The street vendors definitely ruin the experience of visiting the beautiful Plaza de Armas. One tip I have is to hold your phone up to your ear while walking and pretend to be on the phone. Multiple times, I was sitting on a bench looking at my photos on my camera. Still, I was approached by two or three vendors at a time who refused to leave me alone.
I made up my mind that I would purchase an item from the first vendor who walked by me without harassing me. At first, I thought I would go home empty-handed. On the last day, a really nice lady walked directly past me. I purchased two had woven alpacas from her and did not bargain down the price.
The above being said, it is still possible to enjoy Cusco’s, Plaza de Armas. Just be prepared to be offered lots of art and jewelry.
I did not go into the Cusco Cathedral, but I did photograph it from the outside. To learn about the Cusco Cathedral, I highly recommend reading this article by the Peru Guide. You can view their article by clicking HERE.
In the center of the Plaza de Armas is a fountain that was created during the 19th century. Atop the fountain is a statue of Pachacuti, one of the great Inca leaders. Apparently, the statue caused great controversy when constructed on top of the fountain in 2011.
Lining Cusco’s Plaza de Armas are a variety of interesting trees. These trees have such lopsided trunks that they have to be held up by wooden supports. I couldn’t find much information about these trees and what caused them to grow in a way where the trunks needed support.
The Church of the Society of Jesus was built across the street from the Cusco Cathedral by the Jesuits. Dating back to 1668, this Jesuit church shared a lot with the University of San Ignacio de Loyola. Today, the university is known as the National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot.
Like the Cusco Cathedral, I photographed this church from the outside but decided not to go inside. With limited time, I wanted to try to experience as much of Cusco as possible.
For those visiting Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, you can easily see all of the sights in 30 to 60 minutes.
Getting Lost in the Narrow Streets of San Blas
Just past Cusco’s Plaza de Armas is the neighborhood of San Blas. Following the Spanish conquest of Cusco, San Blas became a colonial parish.
Getting to San Blas from Cusco involves walking uphill. My visit to San Blas was in between tours, and my body had adjusted to the high altitude of Cusco. If you are just arriving in Cusco, you may want to take a taxi to San Blas.
Part of the fun of visiting the San Blas neighborhood is getting lost in the narrow streets. San Blas is an “old town,” and some of the streets are for pedestrians only. The reason that they are pedestrian-only is that they were constructed before the invention of cars. It would be impossible to widen the roads to suit cars without tearing down the historic colonial buildings.
One of my favorite free activities in Cusco, Peru, was walking down the old Inca Road and looking at the 12-angled stone. As I was photographing the stone, one of the street vendors came up to me and asked if he could practice his tour guiding and English.
I let him show me around, and he explained that the 12-angled stone is the most famous part of the Inca walls. I already knew that the Inca walls were constructed without the use of mortar so the stones could bounce during earthquakes. My impromptu guide seemed impressed with my knowledge of the Incas.
He led me around the corner and showed me a Puma that was created out of stone. Can you see it in the photo below?
Finally, he showed me how the Spanish tried to create their own version of the Inca Walls. You can see how poorly the Spanish walls were compared to the Inca walls.
Instead of tipping my volunteer guide, I bought a small piece of art from him. He spent about 20 minutes showing me around and was very knowledgeable.
The final part of the San Blas neighborhood that I visited was the Plaza San Blas. Plaza San Blas is a small plaza that consists of two fountains and the San Blas Church. During my visit, the San Blas Church was undergoing renovations which made it difficult to get a good photograph.
Walking Around Qurikancha and the Convento de Santo Domingo
My hotel was located within about 100 yards of the Convento de Santo Domingo. To get to both San Blas and Plaza de Armas, I had to walk by the convent.
The Convento de Santo Domingo is built on top of the sacred Inca Temple, Qurikancha. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors destroyed the temple and built the Convento de Santo Domingo in its place.
Today, visitors can visit a small museum that shows some of the objects found during the excavation of Qurikancha. It is believed that Qurikancha was the most important temple in the Inca Empire.
During my visit, I was looking for free activities to do in between my tours of Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain/Palccoyo. I decided not to go into the museum as it charged admission.
Some Other Fun Things to See in Cusco, Peru
Below are a couple of other fun things that I saw during my time walking around Cusco, Peru. There is a large map of the city located on Avenue El Sol. The map is located between Qurikancha and Plaza de Armas.
From my hotel, I could walk down the street and see the “Viva El Peru” carving into the Andes Mountains. Apparently, the cutaway says “Viva El Peru Glorioso,” which means “Long Live Glorious Peru!” I couldn’t quite make out the word “Glorioso” from my photo.
Within 100 yards from my hotel was Cusco’s Limacpampa Square, which features a monument to the city of Cusco’s founders.
When I visited Limacpampa Square, there were a bunch of stray dogs that were sleeping. Cusco, like many Latin American cities, has a large population of stray dogs. I made the mistake of whistling, and all of the dogs quickly jumped up and started barking at me. When visiting Cusco, it is truly best to “let sleeping dogs lie.”
Where to Eat in Cusco, Peru - My Favorite Meals
There are many great places to eat in Cusco. During my visit, I tried to find a variety of restaurants where I could sample the local cuisine as well as experience the Peruvian take on American meals. Below are the restaurants that I ate at during my time in Cusco.
Fuego, Burgers and Barbecue - Cusco, Peru
Fuego, Burgers and Barbeque featured many different mouth-watering burgers and barbeque options. I ordered the Anges Beef Burger with Pulled Pork. The burger was served with fries, and I added a mango and strawberry smoothie.
I highly recommend Fuego Burgers and Barbeque for those visiting Cusco, Peru. The burger was one of the best I’ve ever eaten.
Morena Peruvian Kitchen - Cusco, Peru
Morena Peruvian Kitchen was the first Peruvian restaurant that I ate at during my visit to Cusco, Peru. I chose to order Lomo Saltado, which is one of my favorite Peruvian foods. Lomo Saltado includes seared beef, potatoes, rice, onions, and peppers, in a soy sauce.
Lomo Saltado is my “go-to” meal anytime I eat Peruvian food. My meal at Morena Peruvian Kitchen was likely my favorite meal during my trip to Cusco.
Waykiss Restaurant - Cusco, Peru
Waykiss Restaurant is located in the San Blas neighborhood and consists of an outdoor eating area with three tables. It was the cheapest meal that I ate in Cusco, costing less than S/. 20 (USD $5).
When visiting the San Blas area, I highly recommend finding one of these unique “mom and pop style” restaurants.
At Waykiss Restaurant, I ordered a chicken sandwich and fries. The best part of this meal was the delicious bun that the chicken was served on.
DEVA - Cocina Andina - Cusco, Peru
DEVA – Cochina Andina was the second Peruvian restaurant that I ate at during my visit to Cusco, Peru. Once again, I ordered Lomo Saltado. It is interesting how each restaurant has a different take on this famous Peruvian dish.
While I enjoyed the Lomo Saltado more from Morena Peruvian Kitchen, DEVA – Cochina Andina had the best service of any restaurant I visited during my time in Cusco.
McDonalds - Cusco, Peru
I always try to visit McDonald’s once in each country I visit. My 8th-grade students are anxious to see what is served in each foreign McDonald’s. The only McDonald’s in Cusco is located in Plaza de Armas.
I ordered the “doble cuarto de libra” (double quarter pounder) and the “McPollo” (McChicken.” I always find foreign McDonald’s better than US McDonald’s, and my meal at Peruvian McDonald’s was excellent.
Getting to/from Cusco with Bookaway
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