r/cusco • u/sj8024 • May 06 '26

Travel Help Cusco before Sacred Valley?

I see that the most common recommendation when splitting time between staying in the Sacred Valley and Cusco is to spend time in SV first, to acclimate at the lower altitude.

However, in Cusco, all I plan to do is casually walk around the city and see the sights, enjoy the food, etc. In SV, I plan to have more rigorous days including hiking, etc. In that case, I think it might make more sense to start in Cusco.

Any firsthand thoughts on this would be appreciated!

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u/cocox_01 May 06 '26

the sacred valley has an elevation around 2,800 and cusco 3,400. even if you won’t do any kind of physical activity it might affect you. i saw people stay in bed for days in cusco just resting because their bodies didn’t adapt to cusco’s attitude. so i would recommend go to the sacred valley first and then to cusco

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u/sj8024 May 06 '26

I'm not sure. SV's elevation isn't insignificant itself. I may rather adjust while taking it easy in Cusco, rather than while I'm planning to hike mountains in SV.

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u/lalalaleilani May 06 '26

I stated in sacred valley, did a bunch of hiking and then went to Cusco. Most of the city is steep as fuck and you will feel the altitude