VacationSelector
The Plaza de Armas with the cathedral and La Compañía, Cusco
CuscoThe Plaza de Armas with the cathedral and La Compañía
A skier in powder among snow-covered firs at Marmot Basin, Jasper
JasperA skier in powder among snow-covered firs at Marmot Basin

Photos: Cusco by Pedro Szekely, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Jasper by Marmot Basin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Cusco or Jasper?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Cusco for

  • culture and sights
  • day trips
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Cusco’s own page.

Choose Jasper for

  • families
  • beaches
  • wellness

What lies behind each score is written up on Jasper’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Cusco 3, Jasper 25: Jasper leads by 22 points.
Food & drink. Cusco 56, Jasper 22: Cusco leads by 34 points.
Culture & sights. Cusco 81, Jasper 10: Cusco leads by 71 points.
Nightlife. Cusco 42, Jasper 14: Cusco leads by 28 points.
Nature & outdoors. Cusco 86, Jasper 95: Jasper leads by 9 points.
Day trips. Cusco 78, Jasper 8: Cusco leads by 70 points.
Good for families. Cusco 10, Jasper 42: Jasper leads by 32 points.
Getting around. Cusco 48, Jasper 18: Cusco leads by 30 points.
Shopping & style. Cusco 52, Jasper 12: Cusco leads by 40 points.
Affordability. Cusco 73, Jasper 20: Cusco leads by 53 points.
Live music & performing arts. Cusco 30, Jasper 7: Cusco leads by 23 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Cusco 33, Jasper 46: Jasper leads by 13 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Cusco and Jasper.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Cusco
Best match
49match

Wins on culture and sights and day trips with your weighting.

Jasper
27match

Wins on families and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Cusco in July

20 °Cdaytime high
1 °Cnight-time low
5 mmrain in the month
11 hdaylight a day

Jasper in July

24 °Cdaytime high
7 °Cnight-time low
50 mmrain in the month
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200JFMAMJJASOND
CuscoJasper

Where the figures come from

Cusco's station stands 151 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Cusco: 1991-2020 normals, Cuzco (3.7 km from centre). Jasper: 1991-2020 normals, Jasper Warden (7.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCuscoJasper
Official languageSpanish, Aymara, QuechuaFrench, English
CurrencySol (PEN)Canadian Dollar (CAD)
SocketsABC220 V, 60 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-5UTC-7, UTC-6 in summer
Emergency number111 or 911911
Elevation3,399 m1,060 m
Main airportAlejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ)5 km from centre6 non-stop destinationsEdmonton International Airport (YEG)304 km from centre52 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year16 days13 days

By the numbers

MeasureCuscoJasper
City population428,4504,738
People per km²-5
Museums within 10 km111
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km20

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Cusco or Jasper somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-02. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.