Korikancha- Templo del Sol

KoriKancha is a classic example of the fusion of Inca and Western cultures, and was one of the most important temples in the Tahuantinsuyu. Its finely polished stone walls were used as the foundations of the Convent of Santo Domingo.

The temple, whose walls were said to have been sheathed in gold and silver, was dedicated to the worship of the sun. It also contained images of the gods of thunder, Wiracocha, and deities brought from various regions and the mummified bodies of Inca rulers.

Worship within the temple was reserved for the highest-ranking figures of the era, and it was visited by representatives of distant, non-Inca communities all over the empire to render honor to the gods of the Tahuantinsuyu.
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Museos

• Inca Museum
• The convent of Santa Catalina museum
• The convent of the Merced museum
• "Palacio Arzobispal" museum
• Qoricancha Museum
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Regional Historical Museum Inc.
• The Catedral museum
• San Jeronimo museum
• Museum of Natural Sciences
• Museum of the American Institute of the Arts

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Church

The Catedral
The Compañía de Jesús
Church and Convent of the Merced
Convent of Santo Domingo
Temple of San Blas.

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Sacsayhuaman

Even though it would be easy to spend an entire day just visiting this site alone, we suggest combining a visit with the route to Pisaq to fully take advantage of your time. We'll visit the archaeological park of Saqsaywaman (the fortress-temple), as well as the nearby shrines of Q'enqo, a site used for funeral worship, Tambomachay, known for its water rituals, and finally the ancient tambo of Pukapukara, which was a storage place and inn, used somewhat like a modern-day rest stop.

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Qenqo

Qenqo means in Quechua "labyrinth or zigzag". As it happens with other Inca remains, the real meaning of this place of worship has not been deciphered in its totality. In the ceremonial forecourt shaped like a semicircular amphitheater about 4 m high, there is an almost destroyed monolith of an upstanding puma. In the walls that border the court, 19 inches carved in stone serve as seats. In front of the court, raises a big lime rock covered by lamas, pumas, condors and other symbols.

Especially attractive is an extended zig-zaging duct, through which holy water, chicha (corn beer) or blood, flow into a chamber during religious rituals. The chamber might have been used to embalm some noblemen. Priests were able to tell whether the man was good or bad by seeing the course in which the liquid followed.


Therefore it can be assumed that Qenqo was a temple where death rituals took place. In this context, it is important to know that the Incas had a very clear and differentiated vision of the cosmos. In their religion, the universe was divided in three worlds - Pachas in Quechua:

The upper world or Hanaqpacha, which is the divine level; the lower world or Ukhupacha, where Mother Earth or Pachamama lived; and finally the earthly Kaypacha, which is between the other two worlds.

The Incas believed that life had a divine origin and that after death the soul would return to the Hanaqpacha while the body to the Ukhupacha. So Qenqo could have been the place in which the priests held the ceremony of body and soul separation and the relatives would give their last farewell to their dead.

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Puca Pucara

About 4 km behind Qenqo, and still in the archaeological Park of Saqsayhuaman, is Puca Pucara, "the red fortress". This site was assumedly one of the many tambos that he Incas had along their roads as rest stops, watch-over points and control stations.

Tambos were also used as weapons storage and military support for strategic purposes. There the soldiers of the mighty Empire were taken care of during their campaigns.

Along the way from Cusco to the Sacred Valley, from this semicircular construction, where walls, stairs, rooms and niches are to be admired, all the surrounding areas were perfectly controlled.

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Tambomachay

400 meters down the road from Puca Pucara is the site of Tambomachay, a water sanctuary with fresh water springs. The surprising part of this is that from on principal cascade, the Incas created two secondary cascades, which are exactly the same. For example, if one puts two empty bottles one in each cascade, the water fills up exactly the same in each bottle.

At the foot of a mountain, the remains of the Incas are extended over four terraces, where water was worshipped.

On an Inca wall that has trapezoid-shaped stand niches and doors, and the crystal clear water from a subterranean stream runs through a canal in a basin.

For the Incas water was a sacred element of life and a symbol of purity of soul. All the Inca rituals were preceded by a cleaning ceremony. It is uncertain whether the Inca went to Tambomachay for bathing while his cortege stayed in Puca Pucara. Anyhow, this site is called the "Bath of the Inca" by the locals.

Amongst its touristic attraction, you can find the hot baths situated 800 m from the town. Many medicinal properties have been recognized in these baths.

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