Cusco Things to Do Tips by El_Sueco

The Temple of the Sun was the principal and probably the most imposing edifice, not only in Cuzco, but in all Peru.
The Temple of the Sun was constructed on an elevation with several terraces which formed the Coricancha (Enclosure of Gold). On the top there were a group of tempels dedicated to diferent gods, and the greatest of them was the Temple of the Sun (Inti-Huasi). Its length was 296 feet and its breadth about 52 feet.
The Christian church built on the top of the Inca Temple dates from the 16th century. Very little is left of the original Inca building, but you can still admire the exquisite work on the black polished stones.

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Address: The Church and Convent of Santo Domingo

The Convent is built over a stone base from The Qoricancha Temple of the Sun.
This curved wall of Inca stones (rebuilt after the earthquake in 1950) is the finest stone work there is to be seen in Cusco. On the top inside, a niche that had contained a shrine was found.
Excavations have revealed five chambers of the Sun Temple.
This point was the central point of the Inca Empire, the centre of Tawantinsuyu.

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The earthquake of 1950 brought to light extensive incaic infraestructures of the old temple, which since then have been cleared and restored.
Now the Museum of Qoricancha is build under this grass field.

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Below the curved wall there was a sacred garden with animals, maize and other plants, all made of gold and silver.

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Hatunrumiyoc was the palace of Inca Roca. The walls of this palace is famous, with big poligonic stones. At the street called Hatunrumiyoc (big stone) is the largest Inca wall of Cuzco. In the wall is the famous stone with the twelve angles (piedra de doce ángulos).
Look at the stone work and see how skilful the Inca people was.

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Address: Hatunrumiyoc

The popular opinion is that this is a fortress. But at the same time it was a monument that intended to demonstrate power and to give respect; a holy monument dedicated to the Sun God.

Looking at the map of Cusco, you can see that the city plan forms the shape of a puma and its head is Sacsahuaman.

The monument consists of three platforms in three levels, each more than 300 m long. The first one is made of huge stones, the biggest 9x5x4 m (which gives a approx weight of 400 metric tons). The stones of level 2 and 3 are not so big as level 1.

At the north end there is a huge stone that is not worked over, and which the incas did not succeed to take to the monument.

When with great efforts the indians were dragging the stone, it fell and killed hundred of indians.

Guaman Poma (the man who did all the beautiful inca drawings) says that the stone ended up bleeding and was impossible to move from the location. From that time it is called the "tired stone" (la piedra cansada or sacusca).

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The Spaniards led by Franzisco Pizarro were impressed by the great stone walls at Sacsahuaman. On their march up to Cusco they had seen a country inhabited by a friendly and hardworking people with high culture and organization. They had not thought that there could be a civilization with such evident signs of high level knowledge and skill.
No stone work in the old world (Europe) could be compared with this. Not only it was the greatness of the construction and the weight of these huge stones. It was also the excuisit masonry in the joints between the stones. Each stone was carefully cut in curved shapes to fit into each others, stone to stone. The technique they used are forgotten and not fully understood today.

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Cleaning up after Inti Raymi, the great annual fiesta in Cuzco, that is dedicated to the Sun God.

Date: 23, Juni. (I got there some days after.)

It is a very great cermony and fiesta, but it does tear on the stone work.

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Three portals at Sacsahuaman give entry to the three platforms. Their names are Tiopunco, Viracochapunco and Acahuanapunco (punco means portal).

The trapetzoid was the typical form for construction for the incas. They did not know the construction of arches.

On the top of Sacsahuaman there are (rests of) three towers: Muyocmarca (circular reservois), Sallac-marca (reservoir with water) and Paucar-marca (beautiful reservoir).
Note that the city of Cusco itself was not fortified or encircled with a wall. Instead the Sacsahuaman served as a place of refuge with great possibilies for storages and accommodation.

Sacsahuaman was occupied by Manco II in 1536, in an intent of reconquest. When the native captain understood that he was going to lose the battle, he throw himself out off Muyocmarca, preferring dead instead of being captured by the spanish.

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Look at this tiny lip on the right stone. It is to no help when building the wall, it contrary will make it more difficult because it is fragile, and the weight of the left stone will crush it if the stones are bad placed. Picture taken at Sacsahuaman.

At one place in Sacsahuaman where the ground have moved and the stones separated a bit, you can see that the stones are shaped not only in curves in one direction, but in two. And still they are shaped to fit accurately.

The inca people really did know how to shape the stones with primitive tools, and worked skilfully with it! They used a lot of time and a lot of men. Unfortunately the knowledge now is forgotten.

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