Getting in Cusco

Access by road is also possible (1,050 km from Lima, 450 km from Arequipa). Attractions in the city The Main Square Known in Inca times as Huacaypata, or “the warriors’ square�, this was the scene for many key events in Cuzco’s history: it was here that the conquistador Francisco Pizarro declared Cuzco under Spanish occupation; it was also here that Túpac Amaru I, leader of the indigenous resistance movement, was killed.

The Main Square also hosted to the spectacular Inti Raymi, or festival of the Sun. With the arrival of the Spanish the plaza was fringed by beautiful stone arches which remain in place to this day. Across from the Main Square are the Cathedral and La Compañía church.

The Cathedral Built between 1560 and 1664 out of large slabs of red granite taken from the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, the Cathedral is one of the most imposing structures in the city. Its façade, built in Renaissance style, contrasts with the Baroque and silver of its lavish interior.

It also houses important collections of gold and silver work of the colonial period, elaborately engraved wooden altars and a beautiful collection of oil on canvas paintings from the Escuela Cuzqueña. On either side of the slabs of red granite are two small auxiliary chapels. One of these, the Del Triunfo church, in fact Cuzco’s first Cathedral, was built in 1539 on top of the palace of Inca Wiracocha.