Best Time to Visit Cusco

May to October

Months to avoid: January to March (rainy season, Inca Trail closes entirely in February, Machu Picchu access disrupted)

Recommended stay: 4-6 days

Plan Cusco for May to October. Give it 4-6 days. The window to avoid is January to March (rainy season, Inca Trail closes entirely in February, Machu Picchu access disrupted).

What the season gets you

• Sacsayhuamán sits above the city: massive stone blocks fitted without mortar, no tools that modern archaeology agrees on, and views over Cusco's terracotta rooftops at dusk
• The Sacred Valley's Pisac market on Sundays is a genuinely local affair, ceramics and textiles and quinoa varieties you can't name, not just tourist craft stalls
• Machu Picchu remains extraordinary even crowded. The 6am light on the terraces, before the tour buses fully arrive, earns every complication of getting there