City Tour Half Day

PRICE:

WHAT IS PROVIDED ON THE TOUR

Our city tour of Cusco includes a visit to the City's Highlights, located in and around Cusco. We start off by visiting the huge "Inca Ceremonial Center of Sacsayhuaman." This enormous structure overlooks the city of Cusco. Its construction is amazing, with huge rocks perfectly aligned. It is said that it took over 10,000 workers and 50 years to build it. The origin of the temple of Sacsayhuaman is still unknown today. The archaeologist attributed its construction to the period of the Inca Pachacutec (in the Inca language Pachacutec means either Cataclysm or He who transforms the world), the man essentially credited with founding the Inca Empire. We will visit another important Inca site known as "Qenqo". This is a place with subterranean passages with carved stone channels in a zigzag pattern. In its inner part there is a carved stone table where it is said to be where the Incas mummified their dead. Next, we will make a short visit to the archaeological Inca site of "Tambomachay", a temple dedicated to the God of Water. After these visits, we will return to Cusco, where we will visit one of the most sacred Inca buildings, "The Temple of Koricancha". Koricancha was the most important temple of the Inca Empire. According to archaeologists it housed over 1000 priests and attendants. Within its walls, religious ceremonies were constant and offerings to the Gods and the Inca's mummies were made each day. Finally we will visit the beautiful "Cathedral" of Cusco. This enormous Cathedral was built in the XVI. It contained nearly 400 colonial paintings, including many from the Cusco School, which was prominent in the 17th century. Among them a painting of the Last Supper by Marcos Zapata, showing Christ and the apostles eating guinea pig (Guinea-pig was the one of the main courses at sacred feasts in Inca times). After our city tour our local guide will drop you off at your hotel.