4 Hidden Gems in Cusco Most People Walk Right Past
4 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Humantay Lake Trek
Soraypampa, Mollepata District, Cusco Region
Humantay Lake is a turquoise glacial lake at 4,200 metres in the Vilcabamba range — a day-trek destination that has become one of the most popular excursions from Cusco for its extraordinarily coloured water (a milky turquoise from glacial sediment) set against the snow-capped peak of Mount Humantay (5,473m).
Moray & Maras Salt Mines
Espaderos, Cusco, Peru
Moray and Maras are two of the most visually extraordinary Inca sites in the Sacred Valley — Moray is a series of concentric circular terraces carved into a natural depression that functioned as an agricultural laboratory (each terrace level has a slightly different microclimate, allowing the Inca to test crop varieties at different temperatures), and Maras is an ancient salt-mining operation of over 5,000 terraced salt pans cascading down a mountainside, fed by a natural saline spring.
Pikillacta (Pre-Inca Wari Ruins)
Pikillacta, Lucre District, Cusco Region
Pikillacta is the largest pre-Inca archaeological site in the Cusco region — a Wari Empire administrative centre built between 600 and 1000 AD that predates the Inca by several centuries and demonstrates that the Cusco valley was a centre of civilisation long before Manco Cápac founded the Inca dynasty.
Tipon (Inca Water Gardens)
Tipon, Quispicanchi Province, Cusco Region
Tipon is the most impressive example of Inca hydraulic engineering in the Cusco region — a system of terraces, channels, fountains, and aqueducts 23 kilometres southeast of Cusco where water is moved, divided, and directed with a precision that modern hydraulic engineers study and admire.
Explore hidden gems in Cusco
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