On the City Tour you’ll visit 7 of the most important historical sites in Cusco, starting from the Cathedral of Cusco and heading to Qoricancha – the Temple of the Sun during the Inca times and converted into Santo Domingo Temple by the Spanish conquerors – both located inside the Historic Center.
On the second part of your tour, we’ll travel back to the Inca Empire times and visit the 4 archaeological sites around Cusco including Qenko, Pukapukara, Tambomachay and the highlight of this day: the Fortress of Sacsayhuaman where you can appreciate the some of the biggest stones among all of the archaeological sites in Peru – and still a mystery of how they were cut and moved to this place. This is a half day tour and you can choose to do it in the morning or in the afternoon
We will pick you up at your hotel lobby at 1 p.m. to begin this tour. Together, we will then head to Cusco’s Plaza de Armas where we will visit the famous Cathedral (entry fee: 40 soles, children and students with ID 20 soles not included in the tourist ticket). After touring this sacred church we will continue on foot with our group through an ancient Inca-built street from the Plaza de Armas to the Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun (entry fee: 15 soles – not included in the tourist ticket). In the Qoricancha, you will observe first-hand the juxtaposition between the Inca culture and Catholicism. You will also learn about the differences in architecture between the Incas and Spaniards. The Qoricancha was the main temple for the Incas and was the center of their city, where all their highways departed from. Thus, their incredible architecture is on full display throughout the site.
From Qoricancha your group will walk down to El Sol Avenue and take our bus to drive up and outside of the city. It will take 25 minutes to arrive to the majestic Inca site Sacsayhuaman. We will enter the ruins site and the guide will lead you around and explain this incredible fortress’ history. You will have extra time to explore it on your own.
From Sacsayhuaman, we will take a short drive to the Qenqo Temple. In Quechua, Qenqo means maze (labyrinth) or zig-zag and the temple is named for the crooked channel cut out of its rock. Next, we will head to Puca Pucara and admire the small circular Inca military fortress. Last but not least, we will visit Tambomachay, the temple of water. We will then drive back to Cusco and end the tour in the main square. If this is a private tour, we will drop you off at your hotel.
INCLUDES
- Professional guide in English and Spanish
- Transportation
NOT INCLUDED
- Entrance fees:
- Catedral 40 soles
- Temple of the Sun 15 soles
- Tourist Ticket 70 soles for 4 archeological sites
- You can buy the entrance tickets when we arrive at the sites
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Original passport
- Daypack for personal items
- Comfortable clothes and appropriate footwear
- Extra money in soles for the entrances, souvenirs and handicrafts
- Camera and batteries
- Sunscreen
- Water
- Sunglasses
