Along with the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán (now swallowed by modern-day Mexico City), Cusco was the other imperial capital of the Americas at the start of the Spanish conquest. Cusco was a dazzling sight, with its temples of elegantly fitted stone, colossal plazas, royal palaces, and the hilltop fortress of Sacsayhuamán, which the Incas somehow built from house-sized stones. This was the capital of the New World’s Roman Empire and, like Rome, paved highways fanned out from here through an empire that had stretched between southern Chile and Colombia.

As Francisco Pizarro marched wide-eyed through this kingdom in 1533, Cusco became the holy grail of his conquest. Two scouts he sent ahead told him the city was as elegant as a European city and literally covered in gold. Before the scouts left Cusco, they used crowbars to pry 700 plates of gold off the walls of Coricancha, the sun temple.

Despite four centuries of Spanish domination, Cusco still seems to be in a tug-of-war between Spanish and Inca cultures. Though the Spaniards destroyed the Inca buildings in an act of domination, they had enough common sense to leave many of the bulging, seamless stone walls as foundations. These walls are evidence of the uneasy cultural tension in places like Coricancha and even hotel lobbies, where seamless Inca walls are nestled incongruously among arcades of Spanish arches.

With its proximity to the standout attractions of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, Cusco is one of the top destinations in Latin America and the mecca of the Gringo Trail, the well-trod backpacker’s route through Latin America. The sheer quantity of restaurants, hotels, and cafés indicates the city’s dependence on tourism, which somehow has not diminished Cusco’s charm. Schoolchildren run through the street yelling in Quechua, and villagers in the surrounding countryside retain their native dress, festivals, and love of chicha, the local brew of fermented corn.

Cusco is at 3,400 meters (11,150 feet), and most people who arrive here feel some form of soroche, or altitude sickness, which can range from a headache and the chills to more serious ailments. The best plan is to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu first and return to Cusco after becoming used to the altitude. Cusco’s boleto turístico gets you into most of the major sites of Cusco and the Sacred Valley for US$22.

The heart of Cusco is its Plaza de Armas, which stands out for its huge, 16th-century cathedral. Beyond the Plaza de Armas, and opposite the cathedral, are two charming squares, Plaza Regocijo and Plaza San Francisco. Farther along in this direction lie the Market of San Pedro and the train station for Machu Picchu.

To the side of the cathedral, a narrow pedestrian street named Procuradores is lined wall-to-wall with restaurants, bars, and cafés. This is Cusco’s Gringo Alley, which is crowded with aggressive salespeople. Behind the cathedral, steep alleys lead to San Blas, a bohemian neighborhood that contains most of our favorite hostels, cafés, and bars.

Getting There

By Air: LAN (Av. el Sol 627-B, tel. 084/25-5552 or Lima tel. 01/213-8200, www.lan.com), Aerocondor (Santa Catalina Ancha 315, tel. 084/22-1147), Star Perú (Av. el Sol 627, tel. 084/25-3791, www.starperu.com), and Taca (Lima tel. 01/213-7000, ventaslima [at] taca [dot] com, www.taca.com) all have flights to Cusco’s airport (tel. 084/22-2611) just 10 minutes south of town.

By Bus: There is a new long-distance bus terminal, the Terminal Terrestre, on the way to the airport (Via de Evitamiento 429, tel. 084/22-4471). This huge building is busy, safe, and crammed with all of the long-distance bus companies, bathrooms, and a few stores selling snacks. Companies generally open 6 a.m.–9 p.m. and accept reservations over the phone, with payment on the day of departure (you have to speak Spanish, though). As of this writing, all the bus routes were safe to travel at night except for Abancay–Ayacucho.

By Train: ENAFER, the former state-owned railroad company, was privatized in the mid-1990s and has been operated since 1999 by PeruRail (reservas [at] perurail [dot] com, www.perurail.com), a division of Orient-Express Hotels. A major problem with trains from Cusco, especially during high season, is availability. It is possible to make online reservations. Many Cusco hotels and agencies will also purchase train tickets with a credit card number and hold them in custody until travelers reach Cusco. Otherwise, you must head down to the train station, a process that, especially during high season, can take an hour or two. During high season, make train reservations ahead of time.