Cusco Beyond Machu Picchu: 5 Places Few Travelers Know

To treat Cusco as a synonym for Machu Picchu is unfair to the region. The Inca citadel receives more than 1.5 million visitors a year, but a few kilometers away there are places just as beautiful where you can still walk without queues and chat with local people.

1. Choquequirao

Its name means "cradle of gold" in Quechua, and many archaeologists maintain it is three times larger than Machu Picchu, although only 30% has been excavated. Getting there means a four-day trek with demanding descents into the Apurímac canyon, but the reward is huge: the terraces and plazas are shared with a handful of travelers and, with luck, a condor.

2. Lares and its weavers

The Lares valley, northeast of the Sacred Valley, is the heart of Andean weaving. Communities such as Huacawasi, Patacancha and Huilloc keep ancestral textile processes alive with natural dyes. Spending a night in a house-workshop lets you see the whole cycle, from washing the wool to the loom.

3. Humantay Lagoon

The turquoise lake at the foot of the Salkantay snow peak has become popular on social media, but it still feels peaceful if you arrive early. The walk from Soraypampa takes a couple of hours on a steep slope. Bring water, not plastic or loud music.

4. Maras and Moray

The Maras salt pans (more than three thousand terraced white pools) and the circular terraces of Moray, an Inca agricultural experiment, can be explored in a morning by bicycle. The late afternoon light, especially in May and September, makes for unreal postcards.

5. Vinicunca at dawn

The famous "Rainbow Mountain" has become overcrowded, but doing the trek starting at 4 AM changes everything: you arrive with the low sun, before the crowds that appear at midday, and you head down just as the big groups begin to climb.

If you would like to put together a route combining several of these places, write to us: every itinerary we design includes rest days for acclimatization and stays with certified local families.