Cusco · Nightlife

At Santa Catalina Ancha 398, a block off the Plaza de Armas, and a pisco bar with a kitchen rather than an actual museum — a long list of pisco cocktails and Peruvian plates, with bartenders who will talk you through the grape varieties. Hours are not on the site; it is an evening place.

Restobar up the hill in San Blas with cocktails, a dining room under chef Pierre Gabbant, and windows over the whole city. The tables with the view are limited and it is well known, so book rather than turning up.

The upstairs rooms around the plaza arcades are Cusco's late nightlife, worked by people handing out free-entry flyers on the square from about 21:00. They are loud, young and heavily backpacker; entry is usually free with a flyer and the drinks are where they make it back.

The small square uphill from the centre, where the evening is people sitting on the steps by the fountain and a scatter of small bars around the edges rather than anything with a queue. It is the calmer alternative to the main plaza, and the walk back down is a lot easier than the walk up.

Cusco sits at roughly 3,400 m and alcohol hits noticeably harder than at sea level, on top of whatever the altitude is already doing to you. Most people who arrive by air do better treating night one as water, coca tea and an early night, and saving the bars for night two.