WALKING AROUND THE CAPITAL OF THE INCA EMPIRE, CUSCO

Half Day

Cusco, Archaeological Capital of America, Cultural Heritage of Humanity, title awarded by UNESCO in Paris (France) in 1983; are some of the honorary titles that do justice to the Cradle of the Great Empire of Tahuantinsuyo, Navel of the World and Energetic and Mystical Center.

ANDINA AMAZONICA, takes you through the Sacred City, where it is indescribable to feel the arts, dance, music and folklore, it is not enough to contemplate it, you have to live it and be part of it. Cusco, Magic City, considered among the ten most beautiful colonial cities in the world, for its colonial architecture with beautiful squares, mansions that survived the inclemency of time, colonial balconies carved in cedar, where they were captured the laughing longings of local artists, elements that blend and combine perfectly with the Inca architecture, with its limestone walls, Diorite and Andesite, survivors of the imposition of Western culture, beautiful narrow and elongated streets typical of the urban layout of the Tahuantinsuyo.

ANDINA AMAZONICA has the privilege of having been born in this glorious city, the capital of the Tahuantinsuyo (4 Inca regions), was the city “Puma”, mythological and religious symbol according to the Andean conception, from where the Qhapaq Ñan or the Inca roads that connected the four regions of the Empire and that today still remain intact in time and still connect the towns that extend throughout the national and international territory.

Cusco was founded as a Colonial City on March 23, 1534 by the Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. In Inca times, the city of Cusco was the powerful capital of the largest empire in South America, designed by the great Pachacutec, the ninth Inca, who ordered to modify and build the great city of Cusco, ANDINA AMAZONICA, invites you to know the history and all the material and immaterial cultural legacy left by our ancestors “the Incas” visiting the temples and palaces with polyhedrons brought from different places, with blocks of limestone, diorite and andesite, capturing in them the technological advance of a great civilization, leaving engraved in each block, in each piece, the knowledge of engineering and cosmic and scientific architecture.

ANDINA AMAZONICA, takes you on this tour to share the history of the most outstanding and emblematic places of the city, a half day walk, we offer you the visit to the following unmissable places of the city of the Sun:

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Qoricancha or the Temple of the Sun: the most sacred precinct of the Llacta or Inca city, built by Pachacutec in honor of his father the “Sun”, was the most luxurious temple that the whole empire had, being a religious construction with decorated walls and covered with gold and silver sheets, which also housed in its interior the golden and sacred idols of the Incas, the mummies of their ancestors and their wayquis (gold and silver replicas). Qoricancha was the temple of the Sun, the lightning, the rainbow, the moon and the stars, since these Andean deities were worshipped and adored. ANDINA AMAZONICA, demystifies the traditional history about the construction of this important religious center and explains you step by step about the maximum expression of the Imperial Inca architecture, showing the solidity of its foundations that were immutable before the earthquakes happened in our history, the simplicity of its worked and polished walls that form the religious enclosures and the symmetry of the set in general.
San Blas: Charming and beautiful neighborhood within the historic center, from colonial times to the present, the neighborhood of San Blas is the cradle of art, considered since then as the famous “neighborhood of artisans”, here are the most famous galleries and workshops where it is possible to appreciate the most beautiful works in gold leaf made by local artisans ANDINA AMAZONICA shows you the living icon of baroque and churrigueresque style of the Colonial era, the Church of San Blas, which contains inside beautiful paintings of the S. XVII, XVIII; being the most important attraction its Pulpit, elaborated in cedar wood by the mestizo artist Juan Tomás Tuyrutupac Inga, showing the perfect finish and the details that adorn each carved centimeter of his masterpiece. The Main Altarpiece, another majestic work of Art, elaborated by the same author that shows every detail carved in cedar wood and covered with 22k gold leaf.
The Cathedral: Continuing the walk towards the Main Square or Plaza de Armas, through the oldest colonial mansions of the area, built on important Inca foundations that belonged to the nobles of that time, walking through its narrow and steep streets, typical of Inca architecture, we reach the heart of the city, where you can see the water fountain and the majestic Cathedral. In the interior there are three constructions of different periods that give birth to the most exquisite Church of South America, the Church of the Holy Family, the Cathedral and the Church of the Triumph, with ANDINA AMAZONICA we show you the interior of this magnificent work, not only the work of cedar wood, but all of them are covered with 22 k gold leaf. Also inside the exquisite collection of beautiful canvases made by indigenous hands of the XVI, XVII, XVIII centuries. One of the most famous canvases of all South America is found here, the canvas of “The Last Supper” whose author is the indigenous mestizo “Marcos Zapaca” of the XVII century, this canvas is the clearest example of the clash between two cultures (Andean and European) and captures the symbiosis perpetuated in it.
San Pedro’s Farmers Market: ANDINA AMAZONICA, takes you to visit the largest popular market in the city of Cusco, located in the historic center. Inside the market you can appreciate the lifestyle of the Cusquenian people, the “modus vivendus” in situ, the organization and the interaction of supply and demand. This traditional market sits on a colonial square located in the neighborhood that bears the same name: the neighborhood of San Pedro, inside you can see all the traders who sell products brought from different areas such as the Sacred Valley, the jungle, the coast, the high Andean parts, etc. Some of the products that are put on sale are: fruits where there is a section of juicery prepared by the same caceras or sellers at the time, cheeses, vegetables, medicinal herbs, spices, varieties of Andean potatoes, meats and chickens, types of coffees and chocolate brought from the jungle, handicrafts, grains, has the food section, among others.