Discover the best viewpoints of the city of Cusco from where you can see neighborhoods, streets, squares, rivers, the historic center and the republican part of this magical city.
Contents
1. The San Cristóbal Viewpoint
It is considered the best viewpoint of Cusco city located next to the church of San Cristobal. The church was ordered to be built during the colonial era by the Inca Paullo, son of the penultimate Inca emperor Huayna Capac.
From this viewpoint you can see almost all the neighborhoods of Cusco, except the districts of San Sebastian and San Jeronimo; if you wish, you can also enter the church and its bell tower, the price is 5 Soles per person.
This viewpoint is located 20 minutes walk from the Plaza de Armas en route to Saqsayhuaman, the distance is half a kilometer; to get there just walk north of the Plaza de Armas, take the Suecia street until you reach the highschool of Salesiano, then just follow the paved road.
At the moment you arrive you don´t need to pay any entrance fee, it is free.
2. The Santa Ana Viewpoint
It is the highest viewpoint located next to the church of Santa Ana in the neighborhood of Santa Ana (one of the oldest neighborhoods of Cusco); it is the viewpoint with the best angle and therefore you can see the whole city of Cusco.
Para llegar al mirador solamente empieza a caminar desde la Plaza de Armas, camina por la calle Plateros, luego dobla a la izquierda por la calle Siete Cuartones, camina directo hasta la calle Méloc; en la calle Méloc voltea la derecha, camina directo por la calle Santa Ana hasta llegar al mirador.
To get to the viewpoint just start walking from the Plaza de Armas, walk along Plateros street, then turn left on the street Siete Cuartones street, walk straight to Méloc street; on Méloc street turn right, walk straight along Santa Ana street until you get to the viewpoint.
The walk takes about 20 minutes, in total there are about 1.1 kilometers, on arrival you don´t need to pay any admission fee, it is free.
3. The Cristo Blanco Viewpoint
This statue was a donation of the Arab-Palestinian community who came to the city of Cusco in the mid-twentieth century, built in 1945, designed by a local sculptor known as Francisco Olazo, it is 10 meters height with a divine figure opening his arms as a sign of protection to the city.
To get to the Mirador de Cristo Blanco, you can start walking from the main square, passing through Hatunrumiyoc street and then get to the the atoqsayquchi street in the neighborhood until you finally reach the main avenue on the mountain and there turn left.
Desde la estatua se puede ver el barrio de San Blas, San Cristóbal, Centro Histórico y otros; La caminata es empinada, requieres tener un buena condición física, te demoraras unos 45 minutos a 1 hora a pie; en total son unos 1.5 kilómetros, al momento de llegar no requieres pagar ningún costo de ingreso, es gratis.
From the statue, you can see the neighborhood of San Blas, San Cristobal, the Historic Center and others; The walk is steep, you need to have a good physical condition, it will take you about 45 minutes to 1 hour on foot; there are in total about 1.5 kilometers, no need to pay any entrance fee upon arrivail, it is free.
4. The San Blas Viewpoint
It´s located in the neighborhood of San Blas (the most artistic of Cusco), a place where families have based their economy on architecture and craftsmanship since ancient times. This neighborhood has buildings from the colonial era and Andean influences in its architecture.
The viewpoint of San Blas unlike the other lookout points is very modern because of the recent remodeling that had, is the most touristy one since there many businesses that run around this place such as hotels, hostels, restaurants, bars, laundromats, etc.
You can get to the viewpoint by walking from the Plaza de Armas, walk thru Hatumrumiyoq street, then Cuesta de San Blas street until you get to the Plaza de San Blas; from there go to the left, walk up until the Tandapata street, then you will get to Pasñapaskana street (it is a street without vehicular access —only steps) and finally you will arrive at the viewpoint.
Desde este Mirador podrás ver todo el barrio de San Blas, Santa Ana, San Cristóbal, San Pedro y todo el Centro histórico; para llegar te demoraras unos 25 minutos a pie; en total son unos 800 metros, al momento de llegar no requieres pagar ningún costo de ingreso, es gratis.
From this viewpoint you can see the entire neighborhood of San Blas, Santa Ana, San Cristobal, San Pedro and the entire historic center; to get there you will take about 25 minutes on foot; 800 meters of distance from the Plaza de Armas, upon arrival you, you don´t need to pay any admission fee, it’s free.
5. The Inca Pachacutec Viewpoint
This statue was built in 1991 by the sculptor Fausto Espinoza born to Cusco, it is made in bronze, it has a height of 11.50 meters. The whole statue is located on a stone tower that has a height of 25 meters and nine levels where there is a lot of art related to the history of Cusco.
The viewpoint is located at the base of the statue of the emperor Pachaquteq from where you can see the entire Avenida el Sol and the 28 de Julio avenue.
We recommend this viewpoint if you don’t want to walk uphill, to get to this place, start from the Plaza de Armas, then walk along the Avenida el Sol until you finally reach the Ovalo de Pachaquteq where this viewpoint is located. The walk is easy (no climbs), 20 minutes walk, 2.1 kilometers, is open all from 9am to 4pm and finally to enter you must buy the Tourist Ticket or just pay an indiviual entrance fee only for this place: 5 Soles per person.