Sacsayhuamán
Two-hundred-tonne blocks fitted without mortar, above the city.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
At opening
Open
Every day
Entry price
70 PEN
The fortress overlooks Cusco at three thousand seven hundred metres. Its three zigzag walls are built of limestone blocks, the largest over a hundred tonnes, fitted without mortar so precisely that a blade will not go between them.
What you see is a quarter of the whole: the Spanish took the rest apart to build Cusco, leaving only the blocks too heavy to move. The site was the last stronghold of Manco Inca's rising in 1536.
Getting there
Two kilometres above the Plaza de Armas: half an hour of steep climbing on foot, or ten minutes by taxi. The Cusco combined tourist ticket covers it.
What the price covers
the partial Saqsayhuamán boleto turístico for foreign visitors, which also covers Q'enqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. The general boleto, at 130 S/, opens sixteen sites. Bought in person — there is no official online sale.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Sportswear
Rules on site
Entry is not sold on its own: it is part of the combined tourist ticket, valid several days across several sites. At three thousand seven hundred metres, the walk up from town is hard going in your first days.
Checked on 30 August 2026 at COSITUC — frequently asked questions, boleto turístico rates
Other places in Cusco
Machu PicchuThe Inca city on its ridge, at two thousand four hundred metres, never found by the Spanish.
Plaza de ArmasThe Inca square turned colonial, with two baroque churches set on Inca walls.
San Pedro MarketAndean fruit, the morning juices and soup for a few soles.Sacred ValleyPisac, Ollantaytambo and the Inca terraces along the Urubamba.