Historic places in Cuzco

Historic places in Cuzco

1. See

   ChocoMuseo

   A shop ("museum") explaining the history of cacao (free) and offering chocolate workshops (not free) as well as cacao farm tours (not free). Different recipes from around the world are available all made with chocolate from the factory inside the cacao and chocolate museum. Great artisanal and organically sourced hot chocolate.

   Open now · closes 7:30 pm·Free

2. See

   Cusco Cathedral

   Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción

   Elaborate large cathedral full of colonial-era religious paintings. The biggest church in Cuzco, in front of Plaza de Armas. As a tourist the entrance is S/25. If you go in a "misa" (mass) between 06:30–09:00, it is free. No photography allowed.

   Daily 06:00–20:00·S/40; morning mass free

3. See

   Museo Histórico Regional

   In the home of the Inca historian Garcilaso de la Vega, this 2-story museum has many paintings from the 17th and 18th century as well as historical displays chronicling the pre-Hispanic Inca civilization, the invasion of the Spanish and the role of Christianity in the post-conquest era. A tour is unlikely to take much more than an hour.

   Daily 08:00–17:00·Included in boleto turistico

4. See

   Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo

   In the Municipal Palace at Plaza Regocijo, this museum has exhibitions of contemporary art. Admission with the boleto turistico

   Mon-Sat 09:00–18:00·Included in boleto turistico

5. See

   Museo del Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco

   A beautiful (and free) museum inside El Centro's textile store, featuring a gallery containing displays of traditional Quechuan and Andean textiles. The museum explains the historical significance of textiles and the techniques by which they are made. A must-see, and visitors can buy the traditional textiles as they come in. A large majority of the money goes to the women who produce them, and the textiles are of much higher quality than the synthetic and machine-woven textiles found throughout the city.

   Mon-Sun 8:00-19:00·Free

6. See

   Palacio Inka del Kusikancha

   Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura de Cusco

   The ruins of an Inca palace, the home of 15th-century Inca emperor Pachakuti Inka Yupanki, which you can walk around in. The Inca and colonial stonework and architecture is interesting.

   Mon–Fri 07:15–13:00, 14:00–16:00·No admission fee, but the attendant who lets you in and shows you where to go expects a S/5 tip

7. Do

   Plaza de Armas

   The park square has churches, shops, restaurants and bars surrounding it, and is a great place to spend an afternoon. The historical center of Cuzco is beautiful, but you will have to deal with all the street vendors and hawkers of cheap paintings and other souvenirs. They are everywhere in and around the Plaza de Armas. They somewhat spoil the experience.

8. See

   Pukapukara

   red fort

   Named after the red hue of the hillsides nearby. The third site along the route, even heartier walkers will find the walk a bit long and a bit steep despite the paved and well traveled road. However, the views along the walk are great and small mud brick bars are intermittent between the sites. Hire a taxi or take a combi shared bus up from Qenko for S/1 to save time and energy. A larger site than Q'enqo, the guides have more to say about this site. It was likely a checkpoint or military control. Offerings of coca leaves among other things were received here. Accessible with the boleto turistico.

9. See

   Qoricancha

   The Sun Temple, Qorinkancha

   The central site of worship for the Incas. Like so many other testimonies of fantastic Inca architecture, it was severely devastated by the conquistadores, the Spanish conquerors, who built their Christian church, Santo Domingo, on top of the ruins. Yet most of the bottom part of the temple is fairly well preserved and makes the site worth several hours of your time. The site is one of the best in Cuzco, containing both Catholic and Inca heritage with stunning views of the surrounding area. Looking at the outside from Avenida del Sol, you get a perfect view of the church standing on the temple and you see the differences of the Inca and the Spanish way of building. Qoricancha also is the starting point of the yearly processions at Inti Raymi, the Sun Festival, in the remembrance of the Inca tradition of celebrating the winter solstice. This procession then moves all the way up to Saxayhuamán. In order to understand, especially the remarkable remains in the Inca section, a guided tour is advisable.

   S/20

10. See

    Sacsayhuamán

    The closest and largest of these ruins is the amazing Sacsayhuamán (sometimes called Saqsaywaman and pronounced "Sock-say-wah-mun"), the ruins of an Inca fortress high above Cuzco. It is a steep climb from the Plaza de Armas up Plateros street which changes to Saphi. Look for the long staircase on the right, follow the paved curvy road up to the next cobblestone pedestrian path and follow this climb past the first closed control point to the second control. No need to take a cab if you can handle it. But, be careful, as robberies have been reported in mornings and evenings. There is a charge to explore the ruins at the second control or present your boleto turistico. Those on a budget can get a sense of the ruins without paying by walking up the hill and up to the entrance. You can then walk to the adjacent hill with the big Jesus on it and look down on the city. The sheer size of the stones that were moved and the importance of the battle there make it worth entrance fee. Even though only 20% of the fortress remains, the ruins are huge—budget at least two hours for exploring them. They include a dark tunnel you can walk through and a sloped rock that kids love to use as a slide. Read up on the battle beforehand as the guides don't discuss it. Also, a view of the circular base of the former tower as shown in many of the photos is not possible due to the protective ropes. Go earlier in the morning as later visits are disrupted a bit by whistles from guards telling unobservant tourists to get off the ruins. Or go even more early (before 07:00) and get in for free (2013).

11. See Not mapped

    Natural History Museum

    Museo de Historia Natural

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Cuzco (CC BY-SA 4.0).