Cusco

Is Cusco safe to visit?

For most visitors, yes. Cusco is calmer than Lima: INEI counted 35 homicides in Cusco province in 2024, and the region's rate of 6.7 per 100,000 was well below Peru's 10.1.

What does go wrong is predictable. The altitude makes people ill on day one. Phones and bags vanish in markets and crowded streets. And every so often protests close the railway to Machu Picchu, leaving visitors stuck on one side of a blockade. We score Cusco 57, a point below Peru as a whole (58) and six points above Lima.

Altitude: the problem almost everyone has

Cusco sits at about 3,400 m. The UK FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists altitude sickness as a serious risk there, and few visitors escape it entirely. Headaches, breathlessness on stairs, nausea and poor sleep are normal for the first day or two. Confusion, a wet cough or severe breathlessness at rest are not, and need medical help and a lower altitude fast.

Ways to reduce the risk:

• Many itineraries start in the Sacred Valley (Urubamba, Ollantaytambo), which is lower, and reach Cusco on day three.
• Rest on the first day, drink water, eat lightly and skip alcohol.
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before the trip about preventive medicine, especially if you have heart or lung disease or are pregnant.
• Get travel insurance that covers evacuation; the FCDO says only basic medical services are available at Machu Picchu.

Theft, scams and taxis

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls street crime, including muggings and theft, a significant problem in Cusco, as in Lima and Arequipa. Most of it is opportunistic: pockets picked in a market, a bag lifted from a restaurant chair, a phone snatched on a quiet street. Street money changers in tourist areas have passed off old Peruvian intis, a currency no longer in use, so change money at banks or official exchange offices.

Taxis matter more than most visitors expect. The FCDO warns of express kidnappings, in which criminals posing as taxi drivers force victims to withdraw cash, usually at night. Use taxis booked by your hotel or through an app, especially from the bus terminal and late at night.

Women travelling alone should book tours through registered agencies; the FCDO says unscrupulous tour agents have targeted young women in the Cusco area, and that sexual assaults on visitors, though infrequent, happen mostly around Cusco and Arequipa. It also warns against unregulated ayahuasca and San Pedro ceremonies offered around Cusco.

Protests and getting to Machu Picchu

Peruvian politics is unstable, and Cusco is one of the regions where protests flare. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary notes that trains to and from Machu Picchu are sometimes suspended because of them. In January 2023, during nationwide unrest, Cusco's culture office closed Machu Picchu indefinitely after protesters damaged the railway, leaving 417 people stranded. In September 2025, local blockades of the line stranded about 2,000 visitors in Aguas Calientes until about 100 police were sent and the pickets lifted.

The US State Department keeps Peru at Level 2 and says demonstrations can shut down roads and trains. It also advises against all travel to the VRAEM, which includes Vilcabamba, but Cusco city, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu are outside it.

Plan for disruption:

• Leave a spare day between Machu Picchu and your flight home.
• Follow PeruRail, Inca Rail and iPeru updates, and buy tickets you can change.
• Do not try to walk along the tracks or around a blockade; the FCDO warns that rockslides can hit the alternative route via the hydroelectric plant.

Roads and natural hazards

Mountain roads around Cusco are steep and narrow, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says fatal crashes in Peru are frequent and bus crashes common, especially at night. Choose day buses with reputable companies, or fly between Cusco and Lima. In the city, look both ways twice; drivers often ignore lights.

The rainy season from November to May brings rockslides and mudslides that close roads, rail lines and treks, including the Salkantay route and the back route to Machu Picchu via Santa Teresa. Peru is in an active earthquake zone. The FCDO also expects an El Niño event to bring heavy rain to parts of the country until April 2027.

How we scored it

Violent crime (68) is Cusco's best factor, reflecting a homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary well below Peru's average. Night safety (52), traffic (52) and theft (55) are weak, and health and environment (55) is held down mainly by the altitude and limited care outside the city. Natural hazards (55) cover earthquakes and rainy-season landslides. Compare Bogotá, another high-altitude Andean city.