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Cusco Attractions
Cusco Tourist Ticket
Admission to many of the most popular places of interest in Cusco can only be
made using a 'Tourist Ticket' (Boleto Turistico). This ticket allows you
entrance to many sites in and around Cusco and costs US$20 (US10 for students
with an ISIC card). The ticket is valid for 10 days and can be
bought at the OFEC office at Garcilaso on Plaza Regocijo (Mon-Fri 8am-6.30pm , Sat
8am-2pm) or at any of the sites included on the ticket below.
Places included on the tourist ticket are:
Santa Catalina Convent and Art Museum, Museo de Historia Regional (Casa Inca Garcilazo de la Vega), Museo Palacio Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo, the Museo Arqueologico Koricancha (but not Koricancha itself), Museo de Arte Popular, Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, Monumento Pachacutec
Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Q'enko, Tambomachay and Puca Pucara.
Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. These sites are normally visited as part of the Sacred Valley day tour.
Urcos: Pikillacta (the only major pre-Inca ruin in the Cusco area) and Tipon (mainly Inca terracing).
Entrance tickets to the Cathedral (US$3), Koricancha / Qoricancha /Temple of the Sun (US$1.80), San Blas church, the Inka Museum (US$3), Museo de Arte Precolombino (US$4.60), Museo de Arte Religioso del Arzobispado (US$3) and La Merced (US$0.90) are sold separately.
The
Plaza de Armas (Main Square)
The Plaza de Armas (main square) was the
centre of Inca Cusco and, still today, remains at the heart of modern Cusco.
During Inca times the Plaza was known as Huacaypata (the Place of Tears or the
Weeping Square) and was a place of ceremonies and military parades. It has been
said that when the Inca's conquered new lands they would bring back some of the
soil to be mixed with the soil of Huacaypata, as a symbolic gesture to
incorporate the newly gained territories into the Inca empire.
The Plaza was once flanked with Inca palaces. The remains of the ancient walls of Inca Pachacutec's palace can still be seen on the north-west side of the square (inside the Roma Restaurant close to the corner of the Plaza and Calle Plateros.
The northern and western sides of the Plaza are now lined by arcades with shops and travel agencies. There are many restaurants, bars and coffee shops with beautifully carved wooden balconies overlooking the Plaza - a great place to relax and enjoy the view.
The Plaza's north-eastern edge is dominated by the Cathedral which is flanked on the right-hand side by the El Triunfo church.
On the south-east side is the smaller but more ornate church of La Compania de Jesus with its impressive pair of belfries.
Cathedral
The Cathedral dominates the north-east side of the
Plaza de Armas and sits squarely on the foundations of the Inca Viracocha's
palace. The Cathedral was begun in 1550 and completed nearly 100 years later,
constructed in the shape of a Latin cross. The three-aisled nave is supported by
only fourteen massive pillars. It contains nearly 400 colonial paintings
including the Last Supper by Marcos Zapata showing Christ and the Apostles about
to dine on guinea-pig, washed down with a glass of chicha! In the sacristy
there's a painting of the crucifixion attributed to Van Dyke. Ten smaller
chapels surround the nave, with the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, and the
Chapel of El Seņor de los Temblores (The Lord of Earthquakes) are worthy of special
attention.
The Cathedral's real magic lies in the mingling of
history and legend. It is said that when the Cathedral was built an Inca prince
was walled up in one of the towers and that when the tower falls the Inca will
emerge to claim his birthright and free his people. After the earthquake of 1950
thousands of believers waited hopefully for the tower to collapse, but despite
severe damage, they did not and were later repaired.
El Triunfo
El Triunfo is on the right hand side of the Cathedral
and was the first Christian church in Cusco. It was built on the site of Suntur
Huasi (the Roundhouse), the main Inca armoury where the Spanish were trapped
during Manco Inca's siege in 1536. When the Incas burned the city the thatched
roof of Suntur Huasi caught fire, but then mysteriously went out. The Spanish
later broke out and recaptured Sacsayhuaman, ending the siege. The church was
built to commemorate this victory and the miracle.
La Compania de Jesus
La
Compania de Jesus church is located on the south-east side of the Plaza de Armas
and rivals the Cathedral in grandeur and prominence. The original structure was
built in the 1570's by the Jesuits on the site of Inca Huayna Capac's palace,
known as Amaru Cancha or Palace of the Serpents and was said to be the most
beautiful of all the Inca palaces). Huayna Capac was the last Inca to rule over
an undivided, unconquered empire. The first church was destroyed in the
earthquake of 1650. The present day building was finally completed 18 years
later in 1668. The most impressive feature of La Compania is the incredible
baroque facade with two majestic bell towers. The interior is cool and a little
gloomy apart from a stunning gilded altar-piece which is often lit up at night.
The church also posses several important works of art from the Cusquena School.
On the right hand side of the church is the Lourdes Chapel which is now used as an exhibition centre to display local paintings and handicrafts.
Santo Domingo Church
& Koricancha / Qoricancha (Inca Temple
of the Sun).
Santo Domingo was built in the 17th century on the
walls of the Koricancha Temple of the Sun. The uninspiring Baroque decoration of
Santo Domingo makes a poor contrast to the superbly crafted Inca masonry - in
fact much of the cloister has been gutted to reveal four of the original
chambers of the great Inca Temple. The finest Inca stonework in existence today
is the curved wall beneath the west end of the Church. In Inca times the walls
of the Koricancha were lined with 700 solid-gold sheets weighing two kilos a
piece. There were life-size gold and silver replicas of corn, golden llamas,
figurines and jars. All that remains today is the stonework; the conquistadors took
the rest - unfortunately all the exquisite treasures ended up being melted down;
nothing survived. However the fist conquistadors to arrive did not remove the
holiest religious symbol of the empire, the golden sun disc, though they
reported its existence. This solid gold disc, far larger than a man,
mysteriously vanished before the main party of Spaniards arrived. It has never
been found to the present day. The disc was positioned to catch the morning sun
and throw its rays into the gold-lined temple, filling it with radiant light and
bathing the mummies of the dead Inca rulers in sunshine which were seated in
niches along the walls.
The entire temple complex was also an intricate
celestial observatory. Every summer solstice, the sun's rays shine directly into
a niche - the tabernacle - in which only the Inca was permitted to sit. Along
with the main temple dedicated to the Sun, there were others for the adoration
of lesser deities - the Moon, Venus, Thunder and Lightning, and the Rainbow.
Inka Museum (Museo Inka)
Museo de Arte Precolombino (Precolombian Art Museum)
Next >> Sacsayhuaman and other nearby Inca ruins
