Cusco is a beautiful city with a pleasantly cool, sunny climate and is the gateway to some of the best archaeological sites in the world, including Machu Picchu. Most visitors to Peru spend several days here exploring the city, visiting nearby Inca sites and taking day trips into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The city is a rich blend of ancient Inca architecture, grand colonial buildings and courtyards and modern attractions including bars, restaurants, shops, galleries and fine hotels.
The city was founded in around 1100AD by the Incas who made it their capital, which it reminaed for over 400 years. There is plenty of evidence of Inca architecture in the city today, including the fine Inca walls, interlocking granite blocks, carved and positioned so as to fit together perfectly without use of mortar. There are several Inca sites within easy reach of the city, including Qenko, Pucapucara, Tambomachay and Sacsayhuaman. As the capital of the expanding Inca Empire, Cusco was designed to impress. The city was laid out in the shape of a puma, with the Sacsayhuaman temple complex as its head and the main plaza as its heart, with opulent temples at strategic points throughout the city. Inca rule came to an abrupt with the Spanish conquest of 1533. They took over the city and added to it, building fine churches and grand colonial buildings, many of which can be seen and visited today. In 1933 Cusco was declared 'The Archaeological Capital of South America' and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Modern Cusco is a cosmopolitan city, officially recognised as Peru's premier tourist destination, and has a great range of attractions, some of which are outlined below.
Plaza de Armas
The Plaza is a large open square in the centre of Cusco and is the starting point for all visitors. In Inca times it was the heart of the Puma and it was from here that four roads emanated, each leading to one of the four sectors of the empire. Today it is surrounded by restaurants, bars and tour agencies and at night craftspeople line the covered archways surrounding the square, selling textiles, jewellery and paintings. When the sun is shining, relax on one of the benches soaking up the atmosphere and when the equatorial sun becomes too fierce you can retire to one of the lovely balconies above the bustle of Cusco life.
The Cathedral
Considered the second biggest cathedral in South America after Sao Paulo, it is a symbol of the power of the Catholic Church. Unlike its more ornate neighbours the cathedral is a hulk of a building underlining the dominance of the Christian faith over the Andean religion. Work started in 1560 on the site of the Inca palace of Viracocha however it was not completed until the 17th Century. In 1650 a terrible earthquake hit Cusco and as a result this is the home of El Senor de los Temblores, or Lord of the Earthquakes. In his chapel is a crucifix of solid gold weighing over 25kgs.
La Compania de Jesus
This grand church is located on the opposite side of the Plaza de Armas to the cathedral. The original church was built in the 1570s on the foundations an Inca palace, but was destroyed in the 1650 earthquake. The present building dates from 1668 and with its impressive baroque facade and twin bell towers, it almost rivals the cathedral in grandeur.
San Blas District
This is an area of art galleries and small workshops set in narrow cobbled streets around the church. The artists, weavers, sculptors and jewellery-makers pass on their skills from generation to generation and the district has a rich artistic history. It is thought that this was the artists' area even in Inca times. The church of San Blas was originally a simple adobe building, but following earthquakes in 1650 and 1950 has been rebuilt using stone. Its most striking feature is a huge wooden pulpit carved out of a single tree trunk. This district really comes to life in the evenings when the bars and restaurants open. You can also get good views over the city from San Blas, which is located on a hillside above the main square.
Korikancha
Korikancha means Golden Enclosure. At the time of the conquest the courtyard and the surrounding gardens were full of gold. The walls had golden sheets covering them, the gardens had golden maize and llama statues and the centrepiece was the Sun disk. The vast majority of this gold was melted down and shipped back to Spain as well as being made into such objects as those found in the Cathedral and la Merced. However rumours abound of some of the gold escaping into the jungle or even into tunnels below Cusco. There is a small museum here housing pre-Hispanic objects.
From here numerous ceques, the equivalent of ley or energy lines, emanate. Along these lines lay over 350 huacas or religious shrines including Qenko, Tambo Machay, Pisac and the Inti Huatana at the Machu Picchu ruins. Some even say that Tiahuanaco, in Bolivia, and the Paracas peninsula on the Peruvian coast are connected to Cusco by ceques. It was possibly due to this importance that the Spanish put a massive church on top of it. The result is a great example of the amalgamation of Inca and colonial architecture.
There are also interesting Inca sites on the outskirts of Cusco including Sacsayhuaman, whose giant boulders are placed to resemble a jaguar with an open mouth, the temple and amphitheatre of Qenko with its underground stone altar, the water shrine of Tambomachay and the red fort ruins at Pucapucara.
Cusco also has a number of museums, most devoted to cutlture and art, including:
The Inca Museum
Housed in a former colonial admiral's house with a fine courtyard, this museum documents the region's history from pre-Inca times to the present day. There is a fine range of exhibits including pottery, textiles, jewellery, metal and gold work, tomb contents and mummies and paintings from colonial times.
Santa Catalina Convent & Museum
The Spanish built this fine convent over the ruins of the 'House of the Chosen Women', one of the most important Inca buildings in the city. The occupents were devoted to the cult of the Sun God and spent much time waving fabulous textiles which were used in Inca ceremonies. Many of these ladies were chosen to bear the children of the emperors. Today part of the buidling is still in use as a convent. The museum houses a collection of religious art.
