Yes. You can smoke at Cusco Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) — only at designated outdoor areas outside the terminal building, landside before you pass security. The terminal interior is smoke-free.
Alejandro Velasco Astete International is Cusco’s only airport and the main gateway to Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and the wider Andean highlands — Peru’s second-busiest passenger terminal, sitting at roughly 3,310 m (10,860 ft) above sea level. It runs a single compact terminal, operates in daylight hours only because of the surrounding mountains, and handles both domestic flights (Lima, Arequipa, Juliaca) and a handful of international routes. If you smoke, plan to do so outside the building before you check in.
Where to Smoke
Smoking at CUZ is outdoors only, at the designated areas outside the terminal building on the landside kerb, before security. Step out of the departures hall, find a marked outdoor spot, and you are clear to light up.
- The airport is a single small terminal, so the outdoor kerb by departures and arrivals is your smoking area — there is no separate spot deeper inside.
- Because operations are packed into daylight hours and the terminal is often crowded, give yourself time: once you join the check-in and security queue, your next chance to smoke is after you land.
Inside the Terminal and After Security
There are no indoor smoking rooms anywhere in the terminal, and no airside smoking area past the security checkpoint. Peruvian law makes enclosed public spaces 100% smoke-free, and the compact departures concourse at Cusco has no smoking terrace or lounge airside.
- After security: the gates, cafés and shops airside are entirely smoke-free. There is no outdoor terrace to reach once you are through screening.
- Connecting passengers: to smoke you must exit the terminal to the landside kerb, then re-clear security for your onward flight. Factor the queue time in — Cusco’s security line can be slow at peak.
- At this altitude, cigarettes hit harder than at sea level; many travellers arriving from the coast feel the thinner air, so pace yourself outside the building.
Vaping
Peru’s smoke-free law (consolidated under Ley 32159) declares enclosed public spaces, workplaces and transport 100% smoke-free and vape-free. E-cigarettes are treated the same as cigarettes at CUZ, so vape only at the designated outdoor areas outside the terminal — never inside the building or airside.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor (terminal) | No | Enclosed smoking barred by Peruvian law |
| After security / airside | No | Compact terminal has no airside area or terrace |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Designated areas outside the terminal, before security |
For Peru’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Peru airport guide.