Cusco City Tour and 4 Ruins

The tour starts in the afternoon (approximately 1:30 p.m.) with pickup from your hotel or a central point in the city. Our first stop is the Basilica Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, a splendid example of colonial art and Andean Baroque, where we admire its impressive collection of gold work and the famous Cusco School of painting. Next, we visit Qorikancha (“Temple of Gold”), the most important religious and political center of the Inca Empire, which now houses the Convent of Santo Domingo. Here, we observe how Inca seismic engineering contrasts with the superimposed colonial construction. Subsequently, we board our transportation to ascend to the hills surrounding Cusco, where the four Inca archaeological sites are located. First, we marvel at the cyclopean fortress of Sacsayhuamán, famous for its megalithic zigzag walls. We continue toward the mystical Q’enqo, a ceremonial center and natural amphitheater with subterranean carvings. Then, we explore the surveillance post of Puka Pukara (“Red Fortress”). Finally, we visit Tambomachay, known as the “Baths of the Inca,” a center dedicated to the cult of water. The tour concludes with the return to the center of Cusco in the late afternoon, approximately 6:30 p.m.