Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Inca Trail, Peru
The Inca Trail is the most famous trek in South America — a four-day, 43-kilometre hike along the original Inca road system from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu that passes through cloud forest, alpine tundra, Inca ruins, and the Sun Gate (Inti Punku), where the classic first view of Machu Picchu has made hikers weep since Hiram Bingham's porters first cleared the path in 1911.
Machu Picchu (Day Trip)
Machu Picchu, Urubamba Province, Cusco Region
Machu Picchu is the most famous archaeological site in the Americas and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World — a 15th-century Inca citadel built on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres above sea level, abandoned before the Spanish conquest and hidden by cloud forest until the American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911 (though local Quechua farmers had known about it all along).
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
The Plaza de Armas is the heart of Cusco and one of the most historically layered public squares in the Americas — the site of the Inca Huacaypata (the great ceremonial plaza of the Inca Empire), rebuilt by the Spanish as the centre of colonial Cusco, and now a UNESCO World Heritage space surrounded by colonial arcades, Baroque churches, and the restaurants and shops that serve the city's modern tourism economy.
Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun)
Plazoleta Intipampa, Cusco
Qorikancha was the most sacred temple in the Inca Empire — the Temple of the Sun, whose walls were reportedly covered in sheets of gold and whose gardens contained golden replicas of corn, llamas, and flowers.
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)
Vinicunca, Cusipata District, Cusco Region
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca or Montaña de Siete Colores) is a geological wonder 100 kilometres southeast of Cusco — a mountain whose exposed sedimentary layers create stripes of red, yellow, green, turquoise, and lavender across its slopes, producing one of the most visually extraordinary landscapes in the Andes.
Sacsayhuamán
Sacsayhuamán, Cusco
Sacsayhuamán is the most impressive Inca fortress in existence — a massive stone complex on the hillside above Cusco whose zigzag walls of precisely fitted megalithic blocks (some weighing over 100 tonnes) have defied explanation since the Spanish arrived and found them already ancient.
Salineras de Maras (Salt Mines)
Espaderos, Cusco, Peru
The Salineras de Maras deserve their own entry beyond the combined Moray & Maras listing — they are one of the most visually stunning landscapes in Peru.
Explore iconic in Cusco
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.