Located 3.360 meters high in the legendary Valley of the Huatanay, inhabited from remote times, Cusco is the most ancient city of the American continent.
 
The capital of the Tahuantinsuyu, the glorious Inca Empire, was settled here; its more important ruins are preserved here too and, in many localities of the region, it is still evident the influence and the legacy of the Quechua people in customs and ancient traditions presently alive.
 
 
Besides natural enclaves of great interest and beauty as the mountains of Vilcanota, Vilcabamba, Urubamba, Pisac, Qyillabamba or Manu's National Amazonian Park, the surroundings of the city are especially unique for its archaeological sites. In the colonial times, Cusco was the economic and military capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru (since then beautiful constructions are still preserved, some of them built on former archaeological ruins), and during the independence period it was the first government seat of the country.
 
The visit to some of many places arising among its paved streets will turn your city tour into an extraordinary experience. From Pachacutec's viewing-point you will be able to admire one of Cusco's best pictures. From the top of the roof you can see the fronts of colonial palaces and religious buildings as the Cathedral, raised in the same place where the Palace of the Inca Wiracocha was, with its principal temple of Renaissance style, its interior decorated with pictures of Cusco school and its golden altar. The remains of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega rest in its crypt (the famous historian born in Cuzco in 1539). You may also observe the Church of Santo Domingo (built over the ruins of Koricancha, the Golden temple of the Incas; some remains of the temple showing the magnificent skills Incas had in carving big stones, are still preserved near to the cloister); the Churches of Santa Catalina, of the Merced, of San Blas (famous for its pulpit, made entirely from one large and solid intricately carved tree trunk); mythical spaces as the Plaza de Armas (Main Square) and Inca ruins as Pachacutec's Palace, the Palace of the Inca Viracocha, Yachayhuasi or Casa del Saber.
 
Nearby, important archaeological monuments are situated, as Sacsayhuaman's Fortress, just 3 km to the north of the city center. Strategically located on a hill from where you can see all of Cusco, this fort is an example of Inca’s military architecture. It was built in this location for them to be able to watch the city below. A festival known as Inti Raymi is celebrated there every year on June 24th (an expression of gratitude to the Sun God for the next harvest, as Incas did in the old days). Its construction involved 20.000 men and took 50 to 70 years to be completed. Four km to the northeast of Cusco you will find Kenko’s Amphitheatre, it is said that it was an Inca temple where the land was adored; 6 km. to the NE is the Puca Pucara’s red fortress (consisting of platforms, stairs, passages, fortified towers and niches, owing its name to the reddish tone the rocks take in the late afternoon); TamboMachay’s Baths, at 7 km. (crystalline waterfalls from the nearby thermal springs).
 
Thirty two km to the northeast of Cusco, at the beginning of the Urubamba valley, you will enter to the village of Pisac climbing up a hillside with spectacular agricultural terraces. Pisac is famous for its fair. This is an excellent place to purchase your souvenirs.
 
The village of Ollantaytambo, Inca’s settlement, located 93 km to the northeast of Cusco, is one of the interest points of the Inca tour, in the Sacred Valley.
 
During Inca times it was a strategic military, religious and agricultural center. It still has its common courtyards and an impressive fortress: Incas legacies. Its construction has the shape of carved stone terraces. In the top, stands out a wall composed by six enormous perfectly united blocks of stone. From here you can begin the trip to the Valley, since it has several hotels and restaurants.
 
The town of Chinchero, located 28 km to the north of Cusco, has a colorful fair to exchange products. Near the village there are several archaeological remains and the Wuaypo and Piuray lagoons, one of the most beautiful natural zones of the region.
 
Located 67 km to the north of Cusco you will find the village of Maras, with its ancient church and old houses that belonged to the natives. Its salt mines stand out for their antiquity and beauty, worked since the Inca time until the present-day. You can get by walking to Moray (7 km), an archeological area where you can observe spectacular agricultural terraces and landscapes. It is thought that the area was an agricultural lab.
 
Thirty km to the South, Piquillacta is situated, the only archaeological pre-Inca place (Wari culture) of the region. It includes approximately 63 hectares. It is said that it served as defence and food storage. And next to there the village of Andahuaylillas, famous by its church constructed in 1580, named the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, by the explosion of colonial baroque art in its inner decoration (golden altars, multicolored ceilings, valuable tapestries, etc.).
 
The enigmatic complex of Machu Picchu, part of the Historic Sanctuary of the same name and placed on both the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Lists by UNESCO, is the most beautiful legacy of the ancient Peruvian. It is located high on top of a mountain and complements the exuberant surrounding nature, creating a one of a kind place in the world. By its significance, you will find more considerations in a separate chapter.
 
Cusco: Enigmatic, ancient Inca city. Walk it and be participant of the mysteries kept by its big silent skies, its summits forged by the Inca, its numerous paths. Routes, fortresses and abundant myths of a solid and still in force Andean tradition as a presence that guides and accompanies you.
 
The city of Machu Picchu is the department of Cusco’s most important tourist attraction. Discovered in 1911 by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham, this city is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of scenic architecture in the world.
 
The city of Machu Picchu itself was built at the top of a granite mountain. The Incas, using ingenious engineering techniques, were able to transport heavy stone blocks up to the mountain side, and once there, they used their excellent masonry skills to produce amazingly polished stones that fit perfectly together.
 
Due to the large quantity of women's skeletons found here, it is thought that it might have been a place where the Inca's wives lived or it was a refuge for women during the time of the Conquest. There is no doubt, however, that Machu Picchu represents an extraordinary example of architecture and engineering.
 
The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is divided into two large sectors - one the agricultural sector and the other the urban or the citadel - the first surrounding the second. We could consider the peak Wayna Picchu as a third sector.
 
The principal road to approach Machu Picchu, which comes from Cusco through the south (Qosqoñan), crosses the crest of the mountain and goes to the entrance to the sanctuary after passing through areas with isolated constructions - such as what is now called the watchtower - posts for lookouts or guards, qolqa or granaries and abundant agricultural terraces. There were also other roads, such as that which made the river accessible from the sanctuary on the northeast. At present a road has been constructed for tourist visits, a road which did not exist before and now runs parallel to the Qosqoñan.
 
The sanctuary is a citadel made up of palaces and temples, dwellings and storehouses, but above all for buildings which clearly fulfill ceremonial religious functions, the most luxurious and spectacular components of them are the mausoleums carved in the rock.
 
The buildings as well as the plazas and the platforms that constitute the urban sector are connected among themselves by a system of narrow lanes or paths, mostly in the form of flights of steps, which cross the terraces following a flat longitudinal axis. The main platform of the urban sector is an extensive square - the main square - which in turn divides the buildings into hanan ("above" or "upper") and urin ("below" or "lower"). The urban sector was surrounded by impediments to gain access to the sanctuary such as a defense wall and the deep and wide ditch, or dry moat, which surrounded the whole complex, not as part of a military fortification rather as a form of restricted ceremonial isolation.
 
According to traditions collected by the Spanish, Machu Picchu must have been built under the direction of Pachakuteq. The sequence of the process of its construction is not known, but it seems to be the work of a single project tantamount to a sanctuary or "urbanization" where the spaces, levels and forms were previously established, even if during the course of its existence entrances was corrected or chambers added.
 
Five archaeological routes depart from the center of the ruins, leading you to the Huayna Picchu (Young Mountain), the Temple of the Moon, the Bridge of the Inca, to Intipunku or Puerta del Sol and to the Machu Picchu Mountain, 3.050 meters above sea level.