Cusco City Tour

Cusco Peru

The Cathedral The Cathedral lies at north-east side of the Plaza de Armas and sits squarely on the foundations of the Inca Wiracocha'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. 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.

Sacsayhuaman Sacsayhuaman is a important monumental Inca construction; Sacsayhuaman is a quechua word, means "speckled falcon" or speckled head. The last interpretation refers to the belief that the city of Cusco was set out in the form of a puma whose head was the hill of Sacsayhuaman. The main ramparts consist of three massive parallel walls zigzagging together for some 400m, designed

to have entire view of any attack from any invaders. The origins of the fortress is generally attributed to the period of Inca Pachacuteq. The massive blocks, the largest being 8.5m high and weighing nearly 300 tons, are fitted together with absolute perfection. The foundations are made of quarry limestone brought from over 15km away. With only natural fiber ropes, stone hammers and bronze chisels it must have been an enormous task. The chronicler Cieza de Leon, writing in the 1550's, thought that some 20,000 men had been involved in its construction: 4000 men cutting blocks from the quarries; 6000 dragging them on rollers to the site; and another 10,000 working on finishing and fitting them into position. According to legend, some 3000 lives were lost when one huge stone that was being dragged uphill broke free.

Quenko This is one of the finest examples of a rock artfully carved "in situ" showing complex patterns of steps, seats, geometric relief and a puma design. The rock is an excellent example of the Inca 'Rock Worship'. In Inca cosmological beliefs the Incas held large rocky outcrops in reverence, as if they possessed some hidden spiritual force.

On top of the rock are zigzag channels which served to course chicha (local maize beer) or sacrificed llama blood for purposes of divination; the speed and route of the liquid, in conjunction with the patterns made in the rock, gave the answers to the priest's invocations. Inside the rock are large niches and a possible altar. This may have been a place where the mummies of lesser royalty were kept along with gold and precious objects.

	Puca Pucara Situated on a hill with superb views over the surrounding countryside Puca Pucara was more likely a tambo, or kind of post house than an actual fortress. Travelers may have lodged here with their goods and animals before entering or leaving Cusco. An alternative theory is that it served as a guard post controlling the flow of people and produce between Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

	Tambomachay Tambomachay was the temple of the water, was a site for ritual bathing. The excellent quality of the stonework suggests that its use was restricted to the higher nobility, who maybe only used the baths on ceremonial occasions. An underground spring emerges directly from a hole at the base of the stonework and from here cascades down to the bottom platform, creating a cold shower
just high enough for an Inca to stand under. On this platform the spring water splits into two channels, both pouring the last meter down to ground level.