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Cusco & Ruins

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Duration

5 Hours

Activity Type

Small Group

Group Size

16 people

Departures

Everyday

Overview

Discover the magic and beauty of Cusco, and experience the fascinating Inca history on this half-day tour in Cusco, visiting the ancient capital of the Incan empire – the largest ancient civilization in pre-Columbian America. This half-day city tour will give you the opportunity to trace time from Native Americas to Incans to Spaniards and now to modern-day citizing of Cusco, as well as, to walk through ancestral streets and each historical era in this royal city.

Our half-day city tour involves to visits the Temple of the Sun called Koricancha and the Convent of Santo Domingo, and the amazing Inca ruins and archaeological sites found outside of the city, such as Sacsayhuaman and Q’enko, where your tour guide will give you a thorough tour at every site along the way, teaching you about the architecture and ancient traditions, as well as customs that local people continue to practice today.

The Cusco & Ruins is a small group shared guide activity and operates with a minimum of 2 travelers and maximum group sizes of 16 travelers. Solo Traveler booking accepted. For a private guided tour please contact us.

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Visit the city’s highlights so that you get to know Cusco from its foundations in a half-day tour
  • Discover the history of the Incas with a local guide
  • Visit the Plaza de Armas where the Cathedral of Cusco is located
  • Guided tour Koricancha or Temple of the Sun
  • Guided tour of the Sacsayhuamam & Q'enqo ruins

What you will do

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Day 1: Cusco and near by ruins
Day 1: Cusco and near by ruins
You will explore the city of Cusco, also known as the Imperial City and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. You will walk its streets where time seems to have stopped, where every corner tells a story. You will visit the Koricancha Temple, an ancient Inca palace and center of worship to the Sun God, on which the Dominican order built a church, which remains standing to this day. You will continue ascending to the Sacsayhuaman Fortress, an impressive example of Inca military architecture. Afterwards, you will visit other places of importance within the Inca culture, such as the archaeological site of Q'enko. Finally, you will arrive at the Plaza de Armas (main square), where you will visit the Cathedral, the most important Catholic temple in the city.

Included/Excluded

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • English/Spanish speaking guides
  • All Fees and Taxes
  • Transport by air-conditioned van
  • Entrance Tickets - please read our FAQ's
  • Tips and other personal expenses
  • Any extras not mentioned in the program

Activity Location

FAQs

How prices are based?
Prices are "from" per person based on a minimum of two travelers. Solo Traveler booking accepted.
Limited seat / spaces available.
The Cusco City Tour & Ruins is a small group shared guide activity and operates with a minimum of two participants and maximum group sizes of 16 like-minded travelers.
For a private guided tour please contact us.
Entrance Tickets
Entrance Tickets:
Many of the sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley accept the Boleto Turistico (Tourist Ticket), which is a bit costly, but grants access to many of our areas highlights. Included in this tour are the 2 inca ruins you visit on the city limits. The ticket can be purchased as a one (1) day pass for 70 PEN or a ten (10) day pass for 130PEN. A valid STUDENT CARD does offer a discount on the 10 day pass for 70 PEN. Only soles are accepted and it must be paid in cash. You will be able to purchase this directly at the first site. The cathedral and Temple of the Sun are separate entrance tickets and are 25 PEN and 10 PEN respectively.
Entrance Tickets Required:
Tourist Ticket: 70 soles (or 130 soles if you are also doing the Sacred Valley)
Cathedral: 25 soles
Q’oricancha/Temple of the Sun: 10 soles
What is the difference between the Cusco City Tour and Ruins in shared and private service?
The Cusco City Tour in shared service includes transportation and a guide for a group of diverse people (up to 16 tourists).
The private service, on the other hand, is a special service for a closed group of from 2 visitors.
About the Cathedral of Cusco
The Cathedral dominates Cusco's main square and covers the remains of the famous Inca Wiracocha Palace (Kiswar Kancha).
The Construction commenced in 1559 and it took almost a hundred years to complete the work, nowadays the cathedral is impressive and imposing.
The Cathedral contains one of the city greatest collections of colonial art with nearly 300 colonial paintings including, The Last Supper by Marcos Zapata which depicts Christ and the Apostles having a typical Cusqueñan supper of guinea pig with a glass of chicha! In the sacristy there is a painting of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, attributed to the Flemish painter Van Dyke.
Ten smaller chapels surround the nave - the Chapel of El Señor de los Temblores (The Lord of the Earthquakes) and Immaculate Conception are worth a look.
About Koricancha (Temple of the Sun)
Qoricancha, this temple was dedicated to the Sun, its walls were entirely covered with sheets of gold, and today its fine and unique constructions are still intact. In the Incas time, Qoricancha was the center of the center, located in the lower part of the city Hurin Qosqo.
It was without a doubt the richest palace in the Inca Culture, It was a place where all the divinities were hallowed, after the arrival of the Spaniards, it was awarded to the Dominican order soon after the conquest. They built the church and convent of Santo Domingo onto walls, Often substituting them.
About Arqueological Park of Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman means "speckled falcon", One of the great feats of Inca engineering, it is a large complex situated on top of the hills.
Based on enormous blocks of calcareous rocks measuring more then 9 meters in height , they are made all the more fascinating by the high level of precision with which the blocks are joined, This site took around 100 years to construct. The Incas learned the carving of stones from the Tiahuanaco culture that developed in the Peruvian-Bolivian highlands where we found Lake Titicaca.
The enormous complex has squares, streets, amphitheaters, buildings, fountains, agricultural zones and temples.
About Q'enqo Ceremonial and Sacrifices Cave
Qenqo was one of the places of worship of the city. Qenqo means is labyrinth in Quechua, when you arrival you notice a large outcrop of rocks emerging from a rectangular Puma. The sculpture was partially destroyed by the Spanish during the period known as the destruction which were used for storing mummies and sculptures representing Gods.
Within the rocky area there is a man cave shaped in the form of a llamas head, here We will find a ceremonial rock table where animals would have been slaughtered exterior area there is a bowl sculpted out of the rock used to hold the blood of the sacrificial animals which Inca priest predicted the future.
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Travel to South America

Nicolas Samuel

Member Since 2021

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