In the heady days of the Emperor Pachacuti, it was the ambition of every Inca to visit Cusco at least once in their lifetime. The city was the navel of the world, the centre of the universe, the place to dine out on guinea pig and maize beer, to chew coca leaves — and to go a little wild.

Five-hundred years later, little has changed. It’s famous as the gateway to Machu Picchu, but Cusco has a whole lot more to offer: traditional, colourful and welcoming, it’s both a great destination in its own right and a perfect base for seeing the best of the rest of Peru.

This is still recognisably an Inca town, with Quechua Indians forming the bulk of the population and Andean summits looming over the tiled rooftops. In the churches and monasteries, Catholic Spain has been grafted onto Inca roots. In the cobbled lanes, walls of Inca masonry rear like unquiet ghosts. In the markets, you can buy offerings for the Pacha-mama, the Earth Goddess. And in the churches, you will find Her near the High Altar, neatly disguised as the Virgin Mary.

For such a small place, it has a fascinating street culture, a vibrant nightlife and a wealth of activities in the countryside around. You could spend a month here and do something new every day, from white-water rafting to jungle hikes, from downhill racing to horse-riding on the spine of the Andes.

Or you could just as easily do nothing at all. Cusco is a great place for just hanging out. It has museums and galleries, beautiful streets and squares, ancient monasteries and Inca temples, candlelit cafes and shops selling Andean textiles.

It’s also the touring capital of Peru, where ideal itineraries begin or end, where excursions start and finish. Whether you are returning from the Amazon or the High Andes, it has a way of feeling like home.

Here we guide you through the best of the town, its surrounds and the many options beyond.

COLONIAL CUSCO

THE TOWN contains some of the finest examples of colonial architecture in South America. At the city’s heart lies Plaza de Armas, corresponding roughly to the ceremonial Huacapata, or square, of the Inca city. On the north side stands the cathedral, the largest in South America, begun in 1559. Its fevered decoration seems to veer dangerously close to mad frenzy. Anguished saints, melodramatic Madonnas and bloody Christs compete for space in an ecclesiastical gloom lightened with gold leaf, layered silver and jewelled gates.

Domestic architecture brought out more restrained instincts in the Spanish. One of the city’s finest mansions now houses the Inka Museo. Among its exhibits are skulls with alarming holes cut into them. These belonged to patients who underwent brain surgery, centuries before the invention of general anaesthetic. Apparently, a few survived.

Cultural cross-fertilisation led to the famous Cusquena school of painting, with its mixture of Spanish and Andean icono-graphy, best seen at the Santa Catalina Museum. A common feature is the Christ figure with downcast eyes, executed in the 17th century, when Andean Indians were not permitted to look Spaniards in the eye.

Finally, check out Cusco’s market, a covered bazaar selling everything from cabbages to amulets. Outside is a re- assuring sign — Pickpockets Not Allowed.

An essential purchase is the Cusco Tourist Ticket (£12), which gives entry to most of the city’s attractions and many of the archeological sites around the city and in the Sacred Valley. It is available at the tourist office on Avenida Sol (00 51 84-263176).