Regional sacred-site guide
Sacred sites in Cusco
Explore 26 sacred places in Cusco, Peru, with a regional map and links to detailed site guides.
Traditions in Cusco
Site types in Cusco
Showing 1-26 of 26 sites in this regional guide
Centro Arqueológico de Chinchero
Chinchero, Cusco, Peru
Chinchero is not a ruin. An Inca royal estate, a colonial church with syncretic murals, terraces still walked daily, and a Quechua community whose women have woven on...
Centro Arqueológico Puka Pukara
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Puka Pukara sits on high ground 7 km from Cusco. Known as the Red Fortress for the colour its stones take at dusk.
Choquequirao Archaeological Park, Peru
Santa Teresa, Apurimac, Peru
While Machu Picchu receives 2,500 visitors daily, Choquequirao sees only about twelve....
Complejo Arqueológico Q'enqo
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Q'enqo ('labyrinth') is an Inca ceremonial complex 4 km from Cusco at 3,580m, with an Intihuatana, underground galleries, and zigzag channels.
El Templo de los Monos
Part of Complejo Arqueológico Q'enqo
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Cusilluchayoc (Temple of the Monkeys) is a ceremonial centre carved from living rock 500 metres from Q'enqo Grande.
Huaca Pachatosa
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Huaca Pachatosa is a sacred site in Cusco where excavations revealed evidence of burnt offerings spanning pre-Inca and Inca periods.
Huaca Sapantiana
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Huaca Sapantiana is a sacred Inca site in Cusco's San Blas neighbourhood where a carved limestone bedrock sits in a ravine beside a colonial aqueduct....
Iglesia de Santo Domingo & Korikancha
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
At the heart of Cusco, the foundations of the Inca Empire's holiest temple rise beneath a Spanish colonial church....
Killarumiyoq
Ancahuasi, Cusco, Peru
Hidden in the hills above Cusco, Killarumiyoq preserves the Inca's most elaborate dedication to Mama Quilla, the Moon Goddess....
Llactapata
Ollantaytambo district, Cusco, Peru
Llactapata sits on a forested ridge across the Aobamba gorge from Machu Picchu, its plaza and long corridor apparently aimed at the June solstice sunrise and at Machu...
Machu Picchu
Machupicchu, Cusco, Peru
For nearly four hundred years, Machu Picchu waited in the cloud forest, abandoned but not destroyed, its stones slowly embraced by jungle while Spanish conquistadors...
Machuqolqa
Chinchero, Cusco, Peru
Machuqolqa — 'old storehouse' in Quechua — sits at 3,850 metres above the left bank of the Urubamba River, a few minutes from Chinchero....
Ollantaytambo Archeological Site
Compone, Cusco, Peru
At Ollantaytambo, terraces rise like stairs for giants, and six colossal stone blocks mark an unfinished Temple of the Sun that will never be completed....
Paucartambo—Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen
Paucartambo, Cusco, Peru
The Whale geoglyph depicts a marine creature approximately twenty-seven metres in length on the desert floor....
Phuyupatamarca
Machu Picchu district, Cusco, Peru
Phuyupatamarca sits at roughly 3,600 meters, often wreathed in cloud, its terraced slopes and stone fountains still fed by an underground water system that has functioned...
Pisac Incan Archaeological Complex
Pisac, Cusco, Peru
Pisac sprawls across a mountain ridge at the entrance to the Sacred Valley, its terraces forming an inverted triangle that descends toward the Urubamba River....
Q'enco Archeological Complex
Cuzco, Cusco, Peru
Q'enco rises from Socorro hill, four kilometers from Cusco—a huaca carved entirely from living rock....
Runkurakay
Machu Picchu district, Cusco, Peru
Runkurakay is a compact, unusually circular Inca structure perched near a high pass on Day 2 of the Classic Inca Trail....
Sanctuary of Our Lord of Huanca
Qosqo Ayllu, Cusco, Peru
In the 16th century, Diego Quispe—a slave fleeing punishment in the mines of Yasos—spent the night in prayer near Chinchero....
Saqsaywaman
Cuzco, Cusco, Peru
If Cusco was laid out by the Inca in the shape of a puma, Sacsayhuaman represents the head....
Sayacmarca
Machu Picchu district, Cusco, Peru
Sayacmarca clings to a narrow ridge above the Aobamba valley, accessible only by a steep stone staircase, its labyrinthine plan combining what may be ceremonial baths,...
Tambomachay Archaeological Complex
Cuzco, Cusco, Peru
At 3,700 meters above Cusco, water emerges from underground springs and flows through channels carved five centuries ago by Inca engineers....
Templo de la Luna
Part of Complejo Arqueológico Q'enqo
Cusco, Cusco, Peru
The Temple of the Moon is a natural cavern near Q'enqo containing a ceremonial table illuminated by an aperture above.
Valle de Sinakara—Quyllurit'i
Ocongate, Cusco, Peru
Each year, fifty-eight days after Easter, approximately 100,000 people walk to the Sinakara Valley beneath the glacier of Ausangate....
Wiñay Wayna
Machu Picchu district, Cusco, Peru
Wiñay Wayna — Quechua for 'forever young,' after an orchid that flowers year-round on its slopes — is the final major site and overnight camp on the Classic Inca Trail...
Zona Arqueologica Moray
Maras, Cusco, Peru
Three groups of concentric circular terraces sink into the high plateau northwest of Cusco, each one descending through a temperature gradient of up to 15 degrees Celsius...
Key questions
Cusco sacred-site questions
- How many sacred sites are listed in Cusco?
- This regional guide currently includes 26 sacred sites in Cusco, Peru.
- Which traditions are represented in Cusco?
- The most represented traditions in the current guide include Pre-Columbian, Inca, Multi-faith, Christianity.
- Can I view Cusco sacred sites on a map?
- Yes. Switch to map view to compare the listed places, then open a site page for coordinates and visiting context.