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24 February, 2022 - INTI PUNKU LA INCREÍBLE PUERTA DEL SOL EN OLLANTAYTAMBO
14 January, 2022 - Cusco Traditional Santurantikuy
27 December, 2021
City Tours Cusco is a beautiful city and surrounding houses archaeological remains of great importance which should not fail to visit the fortress of Sacsayhuaman is one of the most significant archaeological legacies of the city of Cusco because of its huge building, comprising huge stone blocks. It is said that this construction lasted more than 50 years and more than 20,000 men were used to build it.
Moving your hotel at 1:30 pm to embroider the bus to take him to the Koricancha (Temple of the Sun) where guided tour and will continue to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, Puca Pucara, Tambomachay through the Sacred Valley of the Incas ; places where guided tours will be returning to Cusco at about 7 pm
Places to Visit in the City Tours Cusco lunch:
End of the services of Tours Peru Machu Picchu.
Important Note for the tours: At the agreed time, the night before the City tours Cusco half day, you will have a talk at your hotel with our professional guide from Tours Peru Machu Picchu – Sacred Land Adventures travel agency tour operator Cusco Peru.
Located in the southeastern region of the Andes Mountains, the city of Cusco is the main tourist destination in Peru and one of the most important in America. Called by the Incas ‘house and abode of gods’, Cusco became the capital of one of the greatest pre-Columbian empires: the Tahuantinsuyo. Its name in Quechua, Qosqo, means ‘navel of the world’, because a vast network of roads started from it, linking practically all of South America, from southern Colombia to northern Argentina.
But Cusco is also a mestizo and colonial city, with splendid temples and mansions that rise on finely carved rock bases and with a rich gastronomy composed of dishes that masterfully combine products from the Andes, such as corn, potatoes and chili, with pork and mutton introduced by the Spanish. Land of great landscapes, rich history and fascinating geography, Cusco is, without a doubt, a city that every traveler yearns to know.
Although the valley of the Huatanay river, on which the city of Cusco rises, was populated many centuries before the arrival of the Incas, it is only during their rule (1438-1532 AD) that the region reaches its peak as a center administrative, religious and military of pre-Hispanic Peru. Its origin as a city is lost in the myths and legends of the formation of the Inca empire.
One of the most popular, spread from the chronicles of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, is the one that tells the story of a mythical couple –Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo– who emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca to found Cusco and teach his people to cultivate the land.
The city of Cusco was divided into two sectors: a high one or Hanan and a low one or Hurin, in correspondence with the geographical and hierarchical position of its residents. It is also said that his first stroke was in the form of a puma with the head of a hawk.
With the arrival of the Spanish, in 1533, many pre-Hispanic constructions were destroyed or served as the basis for the new constructions, building temples, convents and mansions in the Baroque and Renaissance style. Since then, Cusco has become one of the most sublime expressions of miscegenation in America.
The Cusco region has two well-marked seasons. A rainy one, between November and March, with average temperatures of 12 ° C; and a dry one (the most recommended for your visit) between April and October, with cold nights, sunny days and average temperatures of 9 ° C. Due to the location of the city (3,250 meters above sea level), altitude sickness or altitude sickness is a contingency to take into account. It is suggested to rest the first day of your visit and eat only light food. Warm clothing is essential at night, as well as sunscreen and hats during the day.
Cusco is easily accessible by air, through commercial flights that depart daily from Lima (55 min), Arequipa (30 min) or Juliaca, in Puno (30 min). It is also possible to get there by road (1,050 km from Lima or 450 km from Arequipa).
Called in Inca times Huacaypata or ‘plaza del guerrero’, it was the scene of various key events in the history of Cusco. Every year the spectacular Inti Raymi or festival of the Sun was celebrated there; There, Pizarro also proclaimed the conquest of Cusco and Túpac Amaru I, leader of the indigenous resistance, was killed (1571).
With the arrival of the Spanish, the square was surrounded by a beautiful stone arcade, the same one that embellishes it to this day. In it are also the Cathedral and the church of La Compañía.
Built between 1560 and 1664 with large blocks of red granite extracted from the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, it is one of the most impressive buildings in the city. Its Renaissance-style façade contrasts with the Baroque and Plateresque of its lavish interiors. In addition, it has one of the most important goldsmith samples of colonial art, finely carved wooden altars and a beautiful collection of canvases from the refined Cusco School. At its sides there are two small auxiliary chapels; one of them, the Iglesia del Triunfo, was actually the first cathedral in Cusco, erected in 1539 over the palace of the Inca Wiracocha.
The convent was built on the spectacular Koricancha or ‘site of gold’, the most important temple dedicated to the cult of the Sun, whose walls were covered with sheets of gold. This convent was built using polished stone structures – the most finely worked in Cusco – from the Inca sanctuary as a base. Its façade is an excellent example of the Renaissance and its only tower, in the Baroque style, stands out against the tiled roofs of the city. Like the two aforementioned temples, it has an important collection of canvases from the Cusco School.
Imposing example of Inca military architecture, this fortress was built with large blocks of granite and dedicated to the protection of the city of Cusco from the attacks of the invaders from the east or Antis. Sacsayhuaman (in Quechua, ‘satisfied hawk’) is made up of three large superimposed terraces in the form of a zigzag and bordered by huge rock walls up to 300 m long. Due to its proximity and elevation with respect to Cusco and due to the dimensions of its stones – up to 5 m high and 350 tons in weight – it served as a quarry for certain buildings in colonial Cusco.
Also known by the name of Baños del Inca, apparently it was a place destined to the cult of water and the rest of the monarch of the Empire. It highlights a set of aqueducts, channels and small waterfalls carved into the rock destined to conduct the water coming from a nearby spring. According to specialists, Tampumachay was also a kind of royal garden, populated with profuse ornamental vegetation, the same that was maintained thanks to an intricate system of channels.
Kenko is a ritual center built on a unique limestone rock outcrop, with underground galleries and a semicircular amphitheater.
Puca Pucara (in Quechua, ‘red fortress’) is a military construction, composed of stairways, terraces and large walls, which was part of the defense system of the capital of the Empire. Both constitute part of the archaeological circuit adjacent to the city of Cusco.
Just 1 hour’s drive from Cusco by paved road, the Urubamba River Valley or Sacred Valley of the Incas is a beautiful scene of picturesque towns, an impressive terraces and archaeological sites of great importance. Dominated by the imposing peaks of the Cordillera de Vilcanota, the valley has been, since Inca times, the agricultural pantry of the city of Cusco. Today it is famous for having the largest grain corn in the world. The valley encompasses the area between the Inca towns of Písac and Ollantaytambo and is, thanks to its benign climate and particular geography, the ideal destination for lovers of adventure sports (canoeing, mountain biking, free flight or hiking).
Písac is located 33 km from Cusco by paved road. It has an “old town”, an archaeological site considered among the most important in Cusco, and a “modern town”, of colonial origin.
Písac also has a Sunday market that attracts thousands of visitors and community members from remote villages, dressed in their colorful traditional clothing. That day of the fair, the walk of the varayocs or mayors stands out, who around 9:30 am go to the church to attend the traditional mass in Quechua.
