When is the best time to visit Cusco?

The best time to visit Cusco is between August and November, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.

Cusco has four seasons without a desert summer or a guaranteed freeze. Pack for mixed weather. The good outdoor weeks are real, and so are the grey ones. Cusco is a city in Peru. This page is about Cusco, not a country average.

Most visitors come for cities, walking and the milder stretch of the year. Treat midwinter as museums and food unless you like weather for its own sake. The monthly table owns the averages. This layer is how Cusco actually feels.

Part of Peru weather.

Cusco

Spring

Spring in Cusco is when the year becomes walkable again. September, October and November are mixed: bright days, wet days, and the odd reminder that winter has not fully left.

Seasons in Cusco run opposite to the northern brochure: summer is December, January and February, winter is June, July and August. This is a good month-range for a city break that wants outdoor hours without betting the packing list on heat. Carry a shell.

Read Cusco in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.

Summer

Summer in Cusco is the most usable stretch of the year: December, January and February. Long days, milder nights, and outdoor weather that makes a city break feel like a holiday.

Seasons in Cusco run opposite to the northern brochure: summer is December, January and February, winter is June, July and August. It is still a mixed-sky climate. A grey afternoon is not a surprise. Pack for sitting outside and for the hour you duck into a museum because the sky decided otherwise.

Autumn

Autumn in Cusco is the second spring, then a slide: March, April and May. Early weeks are for walking. Later weeks are for jackets and shorter outdoor plans.

Seasons in Cusco run opposite to the northern brochure: summer is December, January and February, winter is June, July and August. Rain returns as a planning constraint. Cusco in these months is still a good city-break climate if you pack for weather instead of for a brochure afternoon.

Read Cusco in this stretch as its own climate, not as a generic holiday season copied from another destination.

Winter

Winter in Cusco is grey, wet and short on daylight: June, July and August. Snow is possible and not the identity of the season. Museums, food and walking between showers are the trip.

Seasons in Cusco run opposite to the northern brochure: summer is December, January and February, winter is June, July and August. A bright winter afternoon in Cusco is worth going out for. The rest of the day is not a failed summer. It is the climate this place actually has.

Average weather in Cusco

TemperatureRainfall

Source: MeteostatPeriod: 1991-2020Checked: 28 Aug 2026265 places covered

Where to stay in Cusco

Dates are a starting point for August.

All hotels in Cusco

Travel guides for Cusco

What to read before you book.

All travel guides in Cusco

Check another month

Now pick a month.

FAQs about Cusco

Climate averages for Cusco, 1991–2020.

The best time to visit Cusco is between August and November, the most comfortable stretch of the year on these averages.

November is the hottest month, with an average around 15°C.

January is the wettest month, with about 159 mm of rain.

No. These are 1991–2020 climate normals from Meteostat, not a live forecast. Actual weather in any given week can differ.