Season guide · Cusco · Peru
Cusco in the wet season
November–January: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: James Challco Palomino, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Frequent afternoon rain, green valleys and lower prices; mornings are often clear. Expect highs up to 21°C (70°F) and lows around 6°C (43°F), with about 44 rainy days across November–January.
Key facts
- Months
- November–January
- Temperatures
- 6°C (43°F) to 21°C (70°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 44
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in the wet season
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C (66°F) | 7°C (45°F) | 18 | 12.8 h | 2/5 |
| November | 21°C (70°F) | 6°C (43°F) | 11 | 12.8 h | 2/5 |
| December | 20°C (68°F) | 6°C (43°F) | 15 | 12.9 h | 2/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 20°C (68°F) against a yearly 20°C (68°F), and 44 of the year's roughly 101 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 2/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in the wet season
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- December: Santurantikuy — Christmas craft market in the Plaza de Armas (24 December)
Good choices for the wet season
Religious site · Historic Centre
Cusco Cathedral
Built from the 16th century on the site of an Inca palace using stones from Sacsayhuamán, the cathedral holds hundreds of colonial paintings of the Cusco School, including a Last Supper by Marcos Zapata in which Christ and the apostles eat roasted cuy (guinea pig).
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Historic site · Historic Centre
Qorikancha and Santo Domingo
Look at the curved Inca wall from Avenida El Sol below, which survived earthquakes that toppled the Spanish church.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Historic Centre
Museo de Arte Precolombino (MAP)
In a colonial mansion on the Plazoleta de las Nazarenas, this museum displays a selection of pre-Columbian ceramics, gold, silver and woodwork from the Larco Museum's collections, shown as art in well-lit rooms.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Historic Centre
Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco
Visit before shopping for textiles elsewhere; you will know how to judge quality.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Day trips in the wet season
- Humantay Lake (About 3 hours each way by road) — A turquoise glacial lake at about 4,200 metres below the snow-capped Humantay peak, reached by a steep 1.5-hour hike from Soraypampa.
- Moray and the Maras salt pans (About 1.5 hours by road) — Moray's circular Inca terraces are thought to have been used for agricultural experiments, with temperature differences between levels.
What to pack
- Light layers for the day and a light jacket for the evening
- A compact umbrella and waterproof shoes — rain is frequent
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is the wet season a good time to visit Cusco?
It is a trade-off: Frequent afternoon rain, green valleys and lower prices; mornings are often clear. The best months overall are May–September.
+What is the weather like in Cusco in the wet season?
Highs of up to 21°C (70°F) and lows around 6°C (43°F), with about 44 rainy days over the season.