Practical Information for visiting Cusco Region

Coverage for mobile networks is good in Cusco, the Sacred Valley towns and Aguas Calientes, with 4G widely available and some 5G in the city.

Local SIMs from Claro, Movistar or Entel are cheap and easy to buy with a passport.

Wi-Fi is standard in hotels, hostels and cafes in Cusco, and the city has a substantial remote-working population.

On trek there is no signal for most of the Inca Trail and Salkantay routes, and none in the high passes.

Machu Picchu itself has patchy coverage, and phone use is discouraged at the site.

Power cuts are occasional in rural districts.

Cusco is a well-policed tourist city and generally safe, but altitude is the genuine hazard here and is routinely underestimated.

• Altitude sickness affects a large proportion of arrivals at 3,400 metres. Ascend gently, rest the first day, avoid alcohol, and descend if symptoms worsen rather than pushing on.
• Sun at altitude burns quickly even when cold or cloudy.
• Petty theft and bag-snatching in crowded areas and around the nightlife streets; do not leave bags unattended.
• Unlicensed taxis: use hotel-called or app cabs, especially at night.
• Drink spiking has been reported in Cusco bars; watch your drink.
• Trekking: steep drops, cold nights and remote terrain. Use a reputable operator.
• Protests and road blockades occur periodically and can strand travellers.

Altitude is the main issue. Cusco at 3,400 metres causes headache, breathlessness, nausea and poor sleep in many arrivals. Spend the first day resting, drink water, avoid alcohol, and consider sleeping in the Sacred Valley first, which is several hundred metres lower. Coca tea and the drug acetazolamide both help; descent is the only cure for severe symptoms.

Medical facilities in Cusco are adequate, with clinics used to treating altitude problems and oxygen readily available. Serious cases go to Lima. Travel insurance covering evacuation and trekking is important.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; yellow fever if you are descending into the Amazon districts, along with malaria precautions there.

Stomach upsets are common. Drink bottled or treated water.

Cold at night, particularly on trek, is a real risk in the dry season.

At Machu Picchu: stay on the circuit, do not touch or climb the stonework, drones and tripods are banned, and large bags must be left at the entrance. Rules are enforced.

Photographing people in traditional dress in Cusco’s streets is a transaction — agree a few soles first. In villages, ask permission and accept no.

Pachamama: a splash of drink poured on the ground before the first sip is customary; joining in is fine, mocking it is not.

Coca leaves are legal and ordinary in Peru, sold openly for tea and chewing. Taking them out of the country is not legal in most places.

Greetings matter: buenos dias before any request.

Bargaining is expected at craft markets and done gently; the margins are small.

Emergency numbers: 105 for police, 116 for fire, and 106 for ambulance; the tourist police in Cusco handle theft reports and speak some English.

Altitude. Clinics in Cusco treat soroche routinely and oxygen is widely available in hotels and pharmacies. Worsening headache with vomiting or confusion means descend immediately — the Sacred Valley is an hour away and several hundred metres lower.

On trek, reputable operators carry oxygen and radios and can arrange evacuation, which on the Inca Trail means being carried or, in serious cases, a helicopter. Insurance must cover trekking altitude.

Rail closures: landslides in the wet season can cut the line to Aguas Calientes for days.

Blockades: road protests can close the valley; ask locally before travelling.

Several countries have consular representation in Cusco.