Cusco Cathedral, Qoricancha and Inca Sites Around the City
Your private guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel to begin your city tour. Your first visit will be to the Main Cathedral, built between 1560 and 1664. This remarkable building features numerous interior chapels richly embellished with baroque motifs, along with valuable sculptures and paintings belonging to the Escuela Cusqueña style, the Cusco colonial school of painting.
You will then continue to the Qoricancha Temple of the Sun, a majestic place that, in Incan times, was devoted to the worship of the sun. The temple is also home to the Santo Domingo Convent, founded in 1534 as the first Dominican convent in Peru. This true architectural masterpiece beautifully combines both Incan and colonial heritage.
Next, head to the surrounding area of Cusco for an interesting guided tour of Sacsayhuamán, an imposing fortress built with blocks of stone that, in some cases, weigh more than 120 tons. Then continue to Qenqo, an important archaeological center used as a sanctuary in Incan times. Your next stop will be Pucapucara, a military construction composed of large walls, terraces, and staircases that formed part of Cusco's last defensive line. Finally, visit Tambomachay, an archaeological site dedicated to the worship of water and used as a resting place for the sovereigns of the Incan Empire.
At the end of your tour, you will be taken back to your hotel.
