Cusco used to be the capital of the Inca Empire. It continues to be an important city as it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With an elevation of around 3400 meters, it is significantly higher than Machu Picchu. We didn't have any scheduled tours here - there was an option to pay an additional fee for a city tour but I didn't take it - so my mom and I spent about two days just walking around and visiting some of the sights recommended online. The city center is quite compact, with most places of interest within walking distance of each other. Plaza de Armas is Cusco's main square and it was only a couple of blocks from our hotel so we went here a few times.
Cusco Cathedral, or officially the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, is the most imposing structure in Plaza De Armas. It also has a magnificent interior which we got to see on our second day there.
Tourists are not allowed to enter during mass. You also need a ticket to get in. Entrance is 25 Peruvian Soles but the integrated ticket costs 40 Peruvian Soles according to the website. (Since we planned on visiting the Archbishop Palace as well, we got the integrated ticket.) I saw a negative review on tripadvisor saying that the Cusco Cathedral ticket was too expensive but my mom and I both thought it was worth the entrance fee and we thoroughly enjoyed looking at, and being surrounded by, all the incredible religious artifacts, memorabilia, and displays. Photos are not allowed inside.
The Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, or the Church of the Society of Jesus, is another church in Plaza de Armas, You also need to pay an entrance fee to go in but it isn't part of the integrated ticket so we didn't enter. My mom did buy a couple of souvenirs in the church shop.
There was a lot of activity in Plaza de Armas on our first day there but I didn't know what it was about. A lot of people lined the streets...
Plaza de Armas in Cusco
Cusco Cathedral, or officially the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, is the most imposing structure in Plaza De Armas. It also has a magnificent interior which we got to see on our second day there.
Cusco Cathedral
Tourists are not allowed to enter during mass. You also need a ticket to get in. Entrance is 25 Peruvian Soles but the integrated ticket costs 40 Peruvian Soles according to the website. (Since we planned on visiting the Archbishop Palace as well, we got the integrated ticket.) I saw a negative review on tripadvisor saying that the Cusco Cathedral ticket was too expensive but my mom and I both thought it was worth the entrance fee and we thoroughly enjoyed looking at, and being surrounded by, all the incredible religious artifacts, memorabilia, and displays. Photos are not allowed inside.
I managed to take this photo of the interior while the main doors were open during early morning mass
The Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, or the Church of the Society of Jesus, is another church in Plaza de Armas, You also need to pay an entrance fee to go in but it isn't part of the integrated ticket so we didn't enter. My mom did buy a couple of souvenirs in the church shop.
Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús or Church of the Society of Jesus
There was a lot of activity in Plaza de Armas on our first day there but I didn't know what it was about. A lot of people lined the streets...
... to view parades of people walking through the square.
There were also kids dancing in the large open space in front of Cusco Cathedral.
My mom and also visited the Archbishop Palace which was about a block away from the main square. It was built on the ruins of an Inca palace and houses several rooms that feature religious displays. The cool thing about the rooms here, along with the chapel, is that they all had motion sensor lights that would turn on when visitors would enter and turn off automatically shortly after visitors left. What a good way to conserve energy! Photos are also not allowed inside except in the main patio.
The wall outside the Archbishop Palace also features the 12-angle stone. I wasn't sure what this stone was since I couldn't find it online when I searched for it; I just kept seeing the stone wall of the palace. Since my map indicated that this stone was outside the Archbishop Palace, I just took a few photos of the wall itself. A man passing by gave me an unusual look as I was taking photos and I think he figured out that I was interested in the 12-angle stone because he stopped and told me that the 12-angle stone was further down the wall. He pointed to a spot where several people were gathered. My mom and I walked over there and we finally figured out what this 12-angle stone was. Here it is. It's a huge stone on the wall has 12 angles and 12 edges. This stone is proof yet again that the the Incas were exceptional stone masons.
Another place we visited that further showcased the mastery of the Incas when it came to stone masonry was Sacsayhuaman, a UNESCO World Heritage site which is on the outskirts of Cusco. It was initially thought to have been a fortress but is now believed to have been a ceremonial center.
The views at the top were glorious. It was lightly drizzling a few minutes before I took this next photo so I'm happy the skies cleared.
There were these really interesting rock formations.
Sacsayhuaman was about 1 kilometer from our hotel so we thought it would be manageable to walk all the way there. As it turns out, that was definitely not a good idea since it was a long uphill walk on cobblestone streets and rocky paths at an elevation of 3400 meters. Instead, it is recommended that you take a taxi to the top. You can ask your taxi to wait for you or you can hail a taxi there to head back down (which is what we did since we were already tired). There seems to always be quite a few taxis waiting for passengers at the top. Or you could also just walk back down. Just make sure that if you decide to walk, you have footwear that will make it easy to head downhill.
Museo Quechua is a nice little museum right next to our hotel. Entrance is free so we decided to pay it a visit. Quechua refers to the indigenous people of Peru and other South American countries and this charming museum showcases the life and history of the Quechua people and of Peru. We were guided through the museum by Erika. She was very friendly and pleasant and she shared a lot of information about the beautiful displays. If you plan on visiting Qorikancha and the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo or if you are staying at the Palacio del Inka, I definitely recommend at least a quick visit here. There is also a shop and a cafe at the end of the museum.
The Church and Convent of Santo Domingo is right in front of Palacio del Inka so we visited this church on our last day. It is built on the ruins of Qorikancha or the Inca Temple of the Sun, which was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. We only went into the church and not into the rest of the convent/temple grounds.
We left Cusco in the evening of our second day there and although we boarded on time, our departure was delayed. We were on the plane but it didn't move for maybe an hour. We got back to Lima at close to 11pm and arrived at our hotel at close to midnight. We then needed to get ready because our flight from Lima to Rio de Janeiro was at around 9am the next day. This meant we had to be at the Lima airport by 6am which also meant we had to be up by 4am. As such, we had only a couple of hours sleep that night and we slept a bit more on the flight. Still, by the time we arrived in Rio the next day, we were quite tired so we just had a quick dinner next to the hotel and rested.
Next: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There were also kids dancing in the large open space in front of Cusco Cathedral.
My mom and also visited the Archbishop Palace which was about a block away from the main square. It was built on the ruins of an Inca palace and houses several rooms that feature religious displays. The cool thing about the rooms here, along with the chapel, is that they all had motion sensor lights that would turn on when visitors would enter and turn off automatically shortly after visitors left. What a good way to conserve energy! Photos are also not allowed inside except in the main patio.
Main Patio of the Archbishop Palace
The wall outside the Archbishop Palace also features the 12-angle stone. I wasn't sure what this stone was since I couldn't find it online when I searched for it; I just kept seeing the stone wall of the palace. Since my map indicated that this stone was outside the Archbishop Palace, I just took a few photos of the wall itself. A man passing by gave me an unusual look as I was taking photos and I think he figured out that I was interested in the 12-angle stone because he stopped and told me that the 12-angle stone was further down the wall. He pointed to a spot where several people were gathered. My mom and I walked over there and we finally figured out what this 12-angle stone was. Here it is. It's a huge stone on the wall has 12 angles and 12 edges. This stone is proof yet again that the the Incas were exceptional stone masons.
The 12-angle stone
Another place we visited that further showcased the mastery of the Incas when it came to stone masonry was Sacsayhuaman, a UNESCO World Heritage site which is on the outskirts of Cusco. It was initially thought to have been a fortress but is now believed to have been a ceremonial center.
Sacsayhuaman
The views at the top were glorious. It was lightly drizzling a few minutes before I took this next photo so I'm happy the skies cleared.
There were these really interesting rock formations.
Sacsayhuaman was about 1 kilometer from our hotel so we thought it would be manageable to walk all the way there. As it turns out, that was definitely not a good idea since it was a long uphill walk on cobblestone streets and rocky paths at an elevation of 3400 meters. Instead, it is recommended that you take a taxi to the top. You can ask your taxi to wait for you or you can hail a taxi there to head back down (which is what we did since we were already tired). There seems to always be quite a few taxis waiting for passengers at the top. Or you could also just walk back down. Just make sure that if you decide to walk, you have footwear that will make it easy to head downhill.
View of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park
Museo Quechua is a nice little museum right next to our hotel. Entrance is free so we decided to pay it a visit. Quechua refers to the indigenous people of Peru and other South American countries and this charming museum showcases the life and history of the Quechua people and of Peru. We were guided through the museum by Erika. She was very friendly and pleasant and she shared a lot of information about the beautiful displays. If you plan on visiting Qorikancha and the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo or if you are staying at the Palacio del Inka, I definitely recommend at least a quick visit here. There is also a shop and a cafe at the end of the museum.
Beautiful wall display at the entrance of Museo Quechua
The Church and Convent of Santo Domingo is right in front of Palacio del Inka so we visited this church on our last day. It is built on the ruins of Qorikancha or the Inca Temple of the Sun, which was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. We only went into the church and not into the rest of the convent/temple grounds.
Church and Convent of Santo Domingo
My mom and I also got to have a fun photo op with a man dressed in traditional Inca attire. On our way back to the hotel to rest a bit, we saw this man in Inca attire step out of the hotel. He was too far away from us and walking quite quickly so we weren't have our photo taken with him at that point. However, on our way out of the hotel to get some food and do some souvenir shopping, we spotted him again in our hotel lobby. We asked him if we could take photos with him and he agreed and even did several poses with both me and my mom. (We of course handed him a tip.)
Cool photo op at the lobby of our hotel
We left Cusco in the evening of our second day there and although we boarded on time, our departure was delayed. We were on the plane but it didn't move for maybe an hour. We got back to Lima at close to 11pm and arrived at our hotel at close to midnight. We then needed to get ready because our flight from Lima to Rio de Janeiro was at around 9am the next day. This meant we had to be at the Lima airport by 6am which also meant we had to be up by 4am. As such, we had only a couple of hours sleep that night and we slept a bit more on the flight. Still, by the time we arrived in Rio the next day, we were quite tired so we just had a quick dinner next to the hotel and rested.
Next: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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