Watching the sun go down over Cusco is one of the small things that makes a trip here worthwhile. At 3,400 meters, the city sits high enough that the evening light hits the Andean peaks on the horizon directly, and the Spanish colonial facades on the main square pick up the warm colors.
Sacsayhuaman, the Inca fortress above the city, is one of the best places to watch it from — the ruins are open until early evening and the view down over the terracotta roofs is wide. The Mirador de San Cristobal gives you a similar view with less climbing involved. As the light drops, the city lamps come on across the valley.
If you’d rather have the viewpoint lined up for you, Peruways runs late-afternoon tours that combine a Sacsayhuaman visit with a sunset viewpoint and dinner afterwards.
The streets fill up again once it’s dark — street vendors selling anticuchos and corn, the restaurants around the Plaza de Armas opening up for dinner. Winding down a day in Cusco at a quiet viewpoint, you get a feel for the city that daytime sightseeing doesn’t quite give.
Sunset in Cusco is worth building half a day around. Carve out the time.
