Cusco Weather in January: A good time to visit?

So you’re planning to head to Cusco in January and want to know what the weather will be like? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Sara and I spent a good amount of time in Cusco over the most recent December and January and we certainly had an amazing time. From the rainbow mountain, to Machu Picchu, to just exploring the city – we think January is a great time to visit!

Unlike other guides to Cusco weather on the internet that just regurgitate the “average weather” news for that month. Instead, we really want to draw on our own experience. Of course we’ll give you the average, because that’s what an average is for, but we want to expand upon it by explaining our own situation. 

By the end of this guide, you’ll have the best information on the internet that you’ll need to plan your trip to Cusco.

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Average temperature in Cusco in January

The bulk of Sara and I’s time in Cusco was actually in January. Before arriving, we expected Cusco to be pretty cold and wet at this time of year due to its altitude… we were wrong!

Well, sorta..

We’ll move onto the rain in the next section, but in terms of temperature, we were certainly surprised!

We found Cusco to be very pleasant in January. For the most part, for us the temperatures ranged between 8°C on a bad day and 20°C on a good day. If you’re from areas of the world like us, this is great weather for hiking and exploring!

The meteorological average temperature in Cusco in January is a high of 19°C and a low of 7°C. This lines up pretty much with what we experienced.

Does it rain a lot in Cusco in January

If you didn’t already know, January in Cusco is slap-bang in the middle of Peru’s rainy season. The rainy season tends to run from November to April, with January and February being the worst two months of rain.

Now from our experience, if January is the worst month in Cusco for rain then you guys have nothing to worry about. Yes it rained while we were there, more than a few times, but the rain tends to be a passing 2-hour shower than torrential storms.

Sara and I are comparing the rainy season in Peru to the rainy seasons we’ve experienced in south-east Asia. In that area of the world, rainy seasons are monsoons. They are huge tropical storms that flood streets and rivers. In Cusco the rain was never that bad!

We also experienced a couple of storms and were caught in the rain a couple of times while out adventuring, but generally we had pretty dry weather.

On average, Cusco is supposed to face 16 days of rain in January, which is far higher than what we actually experienced. For Sara and I, we probably had around 9-10 days where it rained for at least an hour. But it was only for one or two days when it actually rained all day non-stop!

Will there be snow in Cusco in January?

No, there will not be! We spoke to our Airbnb host and he told us that it never snows in the city of Cusco.

Actually we found this very strange as Cusco sits at around 3400m above sea level. We assumed that there would be snow in the winter but it seems like the Peruvian Andes only gets snow on the upper areas of the mountains at about 5000m+ above sea level.

If you’re lucky, you might catch snow at Palcoyo or Vinicunca rainbow mountains!

Is Cusco cloudy or sunny in January?

We found Cusco in January to be a very healthy mix of both. For every sunny day we had, we also had a cloudy one.

In fact, we even managed to burn a few times while exploring Cusco and the surrounding areas. Be prepared with sun cream because the altitude makes the sun a lot stronger!

But generally we weren’t expecting a lot of sun in Cusco in January and were pleasantly surprised!

Time of sunrise & sunset

We used to be big advocates for sunrises, more recently we haven’t found the time (or effort) for early mornings. Cusco in January doesn’t make it easy either with an average sunrise time sitting around 5:30am.

For sunset at this time of year we found it to be around 6:30pm, which gave us 13-hour days in Cusco in January!

Is Cusco in January windy?

Whether Cusco is windy or not is very dependent on where you are. Generally in the city you won’t find too much wind as most of the roads and plazas are shielded by buildings.

However, if you venture up into the surrounding foothills and leave the sheltered city, you could come across gustier winds.

For us, we didn’t experience any strong winds at all. Every now and then there would be a bit of a blow but we can’t think of any days that stood out to us as overly windy.

Is Cusco in January humid?

January in Cusco is one of the more humid months of the year along with February and March, but we honestly didn’t find it too bad. Because the weather is super mild anyway, you can walk around in jeans and a jacket all day and not sweat at all. 

So in terms of everyday activities, humidity becomes pretty irrelevant.

However, if you’re looking for the stats, on average in Cusco in January you’ll find humidity to be around 65%.

Our experience spending January in Cusco

We’ve covered our experience pretty extensively for each section, but we also want to offer an overall opinion about the weather in Cusco in January.

Like we mentioned, we were happily surprised about the weather during our time. We arrived expecting a rainy season and instead were given a fairly dry, semi-sunny time in Cusco.

Despite January being supposedly the worst month to visit, we found that the weather didn’t impede on our plans at all. We still managed to visit Palcoyo Rainbow Mountain, take a day tour through the Sacred Valley and venture to Machu Picchu for three days without too many weather issues!

Is January a good time to visit Cusco?

We truly believe that January is a great month to visit Cusco. Besides the weather, which as already discussed wasn’t too bad in our experience, there’s a few reasons for this:

1. Less crowds – because it’s the “off-season”, Cusco isn’t as crowded as it would be during the summer. Granted there are still tons of tourists in the center, but we could imagine it being a lot worse!
2. Cheaper – you’ll tend to find that a lot of the tours and accommodations in and around Cusco are a lot cheaper during the rainy season.
3. Increased availability at Machu Picchu – the most popular time to visit Machu Picchu is between June and September, and quite often tickets are sold out well in advance. 
4. Perfect hiking weather – we found that on sunny days the temperature would top out at around 20°C and on cloudy days around 14°C, the perfect weather for hiking!

Is Machu Picchu cold in January?

Machu Picchu in January can get pretty chilly, especially in the mornings. So it’s worth packing warm layers of clothing to be prepared for any adverse weather conditions like rain or wind.

But it might not always be the case!

We took a three day trip to visit Machu Picchu. The first day was spent on a minibus from Cusco to Hidroelectrica and then hiking 3-hours to Aguas Calientes. The second day was the day we  actually visited Machu Picchu, and the third day was getting back to Cusco.

During the hikes to and from Aguas Calientes we had quite sunny weather and to be honest, Sara and I really worked up a sweat. The temperature was probably around the high teens which made it perfect for the hike.

On our second day when we visited Machu Picchu, we woke up to low clouds and overcast weather with a drizzle of rain. We spent the first couple of hours in the complex in our raincoats waiting for the clouds to clear. It was a bit chilly but generally not too bad.

When the clouds cleared and the sun came out a couple of hours later though, the temperature rose and the weather turned very pleasant. It was the perfect day to explore the ancient city of Machu Picchu!

What to wear

Despite our experience with the weather not being too bad, you do still want to prepare for every occasion. For example, if you plan to head out for more than a few hours, then definitely take a raincoat even if it’s blue skies outside. You never know when the rain might blow in!

Here are the items we highly suggest you pack before visiting Cusco in January:

• Rain jacket – and something a bit more robust than those bin bag ponchos. We recommend carrying it around in your bag ALL THE TIME just in case.
• Waterproof hiking boots – there’s nothing worse than being caught in a freak downpour during a hike and having wet socks the rest of the day.
• Umbrella – could be handy for all your trips out and around town as a precaution.
• A warm mid-layer – Sara used a jumper and I had my North Face lightweight down jacket which was perfect for the chillier days.
• Suncream – we know it sounds a bit contradictory because it’s the rainy season, but being at 3400m of altitude means that the sun is much more powerful when it’s shining. We burnt ourselves one too many times!
• Waterproof bag – if you’re like us and you’re carrying out camera gear, a waterproof camera bag or dry bag wouldn’t be the worst idea.

Our favorite tours in Cusco

With all the information you need now about the weather in Cusco in January, we just wanted to cover a few of our favorite tours we went on. We’ll add the links in case you’re interested in doing the same!

Palcoyo or Vinicunca

Everybody has heard of the rainbow mountain in Peru, but there’s one that is definitely more famous than all the rest, and that’s Vinicunca.

Despite this, we decided to visit an alternative rainbow mountain and booked a tour to Palcoyo. Palcoyo is fairly similar to Vinicunca, it boasts a similar altitude of 5000m, 360-degree views of the Andes and plenty of alpacas around.

However, Palcoyo is still largely unknown. We arrived around 9am and our tour groups was only one of two tour groups on the mountain. At Vinicunca, most complaints we’ve heard about are the crowds, at Palcoyo you can avoid them!

Sacred Valley

There is so much to see in the Sacred Valley but, if like us you don’t have a ton of time, you can book onto a day tour.

We had such a good day out and visited places such as Ollantaytambo sun temple, Moray and Pizac archeological sites, the Moray Salt Mines and Chinchero ruins. 

It’s a long day, but it’s also a great way to tick off a bunch of places in one go!

ChocoMuseo workshop

Near Plaza de Armas, in Cusco historic center, there’s a chocolate museum that’s worth visiting. But not only can you watch the chocolate making process and buy delicious local products, but you can also book a chocolate workshop!

Sara and I booked this workshop and weren’t sure what to expect before arriving. But our host was super kind and fun and we ended up leaving with a memorable experience and a bag of homemade, tasty chocolate treats!

Where to stay in Cusco

If you’re heading to Cusco, we’ve compiled a few places to stay that are highly rated in the city. If you’re wondering where we stayed, because we hunkered down in Cusco for a month, we rented this apartment on Airbnb.

It’s also worth noting that a lot of the prices below are what Sara and I are offered with our booking.com genius 3 discount, so they may be slightly higher for you!

Hostels:

• Wild Rover Cusco ($7-15/night) ← Cusco’s party hostel.
• Viajero Kokopelli Hostel Cusco ($15-40/night)
• Cusco Rock Hostel ($16.50/night)

Budget Hotels:

• Eco Bunnu Inn ($23/night)
• Cochito Cusco ($28/night)
• Andean Valley Hotel ($26/night)

Mid-Range Hotels:

• Amaru Colonial ($57/night)
• Casa Montes San Blas ($49/night)
• Hotel Hacienda Cusco Centro Historico ($56/night)

Luxury Hotels:

• Union Hotel Cusco ($100/night)
• Auka Boutique San Blas ($74/night)
• Anahuarque Hotel Boutique ($72/night)

Check out our other Cusco guides:

• What’s the rainy season in Cusco like? – Peru Travel Guide
• Spending Christmas in Cusco: Things to do and how to celebrate!
• 2 Days in Cusco: The best way to see everything quickly!
• How to avoid altitude sickness in Cusco and Peru!

We hope that our guide covered everything you need to know about Cusco weather in January. We always strive to offer the most accurate and up-to-date information we can but if you think something we’ve said is wrong, please let us know!