Best of Cusco

The Qorikancha is defined by the stark contrast of two architectural worlds: the smooth, dark, mortarless ashlar masonry of the Inca Empire supporting the ornate, light-colored stone of the Spanish Convent of Santo Domingo. Originally…

The Church of the Society of Jesus dominates the Plaza de Armas with an ornate, symmetric façade carved from andesite stone. It stands directly upon the foundations of Amarucancha, the palace once belonging to the Inca ruler Huayna Capac.…

The Plaza de Armas is a vast, open public square ringed by stone arcades and grand colonial facades, situated at an altitude of over eleven thousand feet. Long before Spanish rule, this space was known as Huacaypata, the ceremonial and…

The Cusco Cathedral, or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, is defined by its massive, rugged masonry constructed from giant andesite blocks taken from the ancient Inca fortress of Sacsayhuamán. This monumental site…

The Inka Museum is housed within the Casa del Almirante, a seventeen-century mansion whose stone walls and courtyards stand as a physical record of two different worlds. The building is constructed atop foundations that once supported the…

The Twelve Angled Stone is a singular block of green diorite, identifiable by the twelve distinct, precisely carved corners that allow it to lock seamlessly into the surrounding masonry. It forms part of an ancient Inca wall on Hatun…

The most striking feature of Saqsaywaman is the series of massive, zigzagging stone walls that climb the hillside overlooking Cusco. These walls consist of immense polygonal boulders, some weighing over one hundred tons, fitted together…

The eight-meter-tall figure of the Cristo Blanco stands with its arms outstretched atop Pukamoqo, or Red Hill, overlooking the city of Cusco. This white statue is constructed from granite, clay, and cedar, reinforced internally with iron…