Cusco City Tour
Half Day

Highlights

Cusco is the center of the Inca history and home to some of the most important ruins. Exploring them with a member of the Machupicchu Cusco Trips team will help make this period of history come alive. Visit the beautiful cathedral in the main square, Temple of the Sun and then head by car to the city limits to visit the 4 main Inca ruins including Sacsayhuaman. From here you will also see some of the most beautiful views of Cusco, so don’t forget your camera.

Note: The hotel must be booked on the main town due the early pick up for our services we are unable to go to the airbnb as most of them do not have a name or address easy to find and some of them are located far away from the main town.

Itinerary

At 1 pm, we will meet you in the lobby of your hotel to begin your tour. From here, you will head to Cusco's Main Square where you will visit the famous Cathedral and continue on foot along an ancient street built by the Incas from the Main Square to the Qoricancha the Temple of the Sun, considered the most important Inca temple in the city before the Spanish conquest.

In the Qoricancha you can appreciate the construction methods of the Inca culture and Catholicism. This was the key spiritual center of the Incas leading to the four quarters representing the four suyos of the Inca Empire.

From Qoricancha, your group will walk along Avenida El Sol, where you will take our private transportation for a 25-minute ride to the majestic site of Sacsayhuaman, with its enigmatic 200-ton monoliths, and your guide will provide information about the site.

From Sacsayhuaman, we will continue in our private transportation for about five minutes to the archaeological complex of Qenqo to see its fascinating Inca altars. Then, it will take another five minutes to get to Puca Pucara, a small circular Inca site known as the "red fortress" due to the reddish tone of the rocks with which it is built and our last stop is Tambomachay, an aquatic temple with impressive water fountains, where you will be fascinated by the advanced hydraulic engineering, this archaeological site is related to the cult of water.

Then we return to Cusco, where the tour ends in the main square, unless you take a private tour in which case we will return you to your hotel.

Temple and Convent of Santo Domingo / Coricancha.

According to chroniclers, the Coricancha was one of the most impressive buildings of Inca Cusco: it had entire walls covered with gold leaf because it was the main temple of the Sun God.

Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Complex.

The complex includes 33 archaeological sites. The best known is Saqsayhuaman, it is presumed that its construction was of religious character, but because of its location and style it was considered by the Spaniards and chroniclers as a military building.

Qenqo Archaeological Complex.

Qenqo or Labyrinth is considered a sacred place. It is presumed that ceremonies were held in honor of the Sun, the Moon and the stars. On the outside there is a semicircular amphitheater with trapezoidal niches and a monolith that simulates a puma, which measures six meters.

Puca Pucara Archaeological Complex.

The complex has numerous enclosures, interior plazas, aqueducts, watchtowers and roads. It would have served as a tambo or rest and lodging site. According to the story, every time the Inca was going to visit Tambomachay, he was accompanied by a large retinue that stayed at Puca Pucara. Because of its appearance, it is called a fortress.

Tambomachay Archaeological Complex.

Tambomachay would have fulfilled an important religious function linked to water and the regeneration of the earth. The site has an approximate extension of half a hectare and the material used for its construction was limestone with polygonal style rigging.

Included / Excluded