Weather in Cusco in January

Shoulder season. January sits in between. You will get good days and you will lose some. You should expect rain on 21 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

January ranks 11 of 12 — near the bottom of Cusco's year. August is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 36 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 21 of the month's 31 days, 4 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. Pack for 16.9 °C days and 6.8 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

The averages here are honest — no hidden extremes worth planning around. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 21.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 3.9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 66 mm — roughly 51% of the month's rain in one day.

January is moderately variable: 42 mm in the driest year against 318 mm in the wettest, around an average of 129 mm. Roughly two Januarys in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 6.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 83%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How January sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 17.5 °C in December, 16.9 here, 16.8 in February. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in January

Cusco sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.8 hours in January, against a range of just 1.6 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 13.5 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights. At 3312 m, altitude is doing as much work here as latitude: thinner air means fierce sun by day and heat that leaves the moment it sets.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

January in Cusco versus nearby

If Cusco is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Arequipa is a better bet in January — 8.2 °C warmer, 12 days less rain. Lima is a better bet in January — 13.2 °C warmer, 21 days less rain.

So: January is a compromise. August is 36 points better and is what Cusco is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Cusco

See all twelve months in Cusco, or where else to go in January.