Is Cusco safe?
Peru · South America · data updated 2026-09-04
Cusco is a city in Peru, home to about 491k people, and one of 6,168 cities worldwide ranked on this site from published safety data. It currently ranks 2,827 of 6,168, with a safety score of 74.8 out of 100, placing it clearly above the global midpoint.
Emergency Ambulance 106 · Fire 116 · Police 105
- UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country4 named areas - see "areas to avoid" below.
Areas the UK FCDO advises against visiting country
- Within 20km south of the Peru-Colombia border
- Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM)
- the Amazon River
- the area of the triple border with Brazil and Colombia from and including the towns of Caballococha in Peru up to the actual triple border at Santa Rosa de Yavari town
Named in the official UK travel advice for Peru (in full or in part - the advisory lists exact boundaries and exceptions). These are country-level warnings and may be far from Cusco.
How safe is Cusco really?
The most direct evidence is measured in the city itself: Cusco recorded 1.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2024 - well below the global city median. Peru's income inequality is middling (Gini 40.1) - in this dataset inequality predicts city violence better than any other structural factor, so this neither raises nor lowers the picture much.
What the travel advisories say
The US State Department currently rates Peru at level 2 of 4 - "Exercise increased caution" (updated 2025-05-15). The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of this country, naming 4 specific areas - listed above with the official advisory linked for exact boundaries and exceptions. Both advisories are country-level: no official source publishes verified neighborhood-level crime guidance for individual cities, which is why this page reports named areas only where an official source names them.
What to watch out for in Peru
Terrorism in Peru · Political situation · Organised crime · Street crime · Protecting your belongings · Fake taxi drivers · Kidnappings and hold-ups · Sexual assault · Methanol poisoning · Money scams · Personal ID · Illegal drugs and prison sentences · Military photography · LGBT+ travellers · +11 more
Topic headings from the official UK FCDO travel advice for Peru — country-level, not specific to Cusco. Read what each one says →
The numbers
- Homicide rate
- 1.1 /100kcity-measured, 2024
- Conflict deaths
- 0within 100 km, 2022-2024 (UCDP)
- Income inequality
- Gini 40.1country, 2024
- Human development
- HDI 0.794country, 2023
- Income
- $17,540/yrGNI per capita PPP · context only, not scored
- Population
- 491kurban centre · 7,671/km²
Country context for travelers
- Road deaths
- 13.6 /100kWHO, 2019 · often the biggest real travel risk
- Political stability
- 55/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · higher = more stable
- Rule of law
- 48/100World Bank WGI, 2024 · police and courts reliability
- Corruption perceptions
- 30/100Transparency International, 2025 · higher = cleaner
- Natural-hazard risk
- 4.9/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Women, Peace & Security
- 0.70Georgetown WPS Index, 2025 · 0-1, higher = better
- Air quality
- 31.1 µg/m³PM2.5 annual mean, 2023 · WHO guideline is 5
- Safely managed drinking water
- 49%of the population, 2024 · WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Healthcare capacity
- 1.7 doctors /1k1.6 hospital beds per 1,000
- Malaria
- 3 /1k at riskWHO, 2024 · listed for endemic countries only
Natural hazards in Peru
- Earthquake
- 9.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Tsunami
- 9.1/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Flood
- 6.6/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
- Drought
- 3.8/10EU INFORM, 2026 · higher = riskier
Hazard types scoring under 1 out of 10 are not listed. These describe Peru as a whole, not Cusco specifically.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Peru (as of 2025).
All country-level figures shared by every city in Peru; none of them affect the safety score.
How the score works
One fixed, calibrated mix for every city: 40% homicide · 25% peace · 25% equality · 10% HDI. Homicide and conflict deaths are measured outcomes; income inequality carries the structural share because it predicts real city violence far better than national income (which is shown above but scored at zero). Each factor maps to 0-100 against fixed anchors, missing data drops out and is never estimated, and cities with data behind less than half the weighting get “no data” instead of a score. For Cusco that gives 74.8/100. Full methodology, anchors and sources →
Cusco compared with Arequipa
| Measure | Cusco | Arequipa | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety score | 74.8 | 68.3 | +6.6 — better for Cusco |
| Homicide ratecity-measured where published, otherwise the national rate | 1.1 /100k | 2.8 /100k | −1.7 /100k — better for Cusco |
| Conflict deaths within 100 km | 0 | 0 | ±0 |
Differences are plain arithmetic between the two stored figures — nothing is modelled. Both cities are in Peru, so they share every country-level figure and only the city-level ones are listed. Full report for Arequipa →
Nearby cities
- Ayacucho 60.4
- Juliaca 63.5
- Arequipa 68.3
- Puno 60.4
- Huancayo 68.3
- Ica 64.9
- Chincha Alta 60.4
- La Paz, Bolivia 68.0
See Cusco on the interactive map → · Safest cities in South America → · Full travel briefings →