Colonial & Inca heritage

Admire the magnificent Spanish cathedrals, built atop the foundations of important Inca temples.

Explore Cusco's fascinating blend of Inca heritage and Colonial reign, starting in the central Plaza de Armas, where magnificent baroque cathedrals stand atop ancient Inca foundations. The Cathedral, for example, took the place of the Inca temple to Viracocha, it is a fine blend of Spanish Renaissance architecture with the stone-working skills of the Incas.

Further south, the Convent of Santo Domingo was built also atop strong Inca foundations at the Qoricancha, which was one of the first important temples in the whole empire. The temple was dedicated to Inti, the sun god and the walls are said to have been coated in gold and silver. Besides the images of the Gods of Thunder and Viracocha, it also holds deities 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 homage to the gods of Tahuantinsuyu.