One of the many Spanish colonial churches in Cusco is pictured here at twilight.
Here is a nice view of Cusco from a hill top near the San Cristobal Church. Cusco has many homes that are built upon the hillside.
This is a picture from the Plaza de Armas in Cusco at night. The Jesus Statue overlooking the city is seen off in the distance.
Here is a narrow alley in Cusco. The stone foundations are generally from the Incan times. The Spanish built their structures on top of them. The stucco portions of the buildings were mostly built during the colonial era.
Here is another Spanish colonial building in Cusco. They were really beautiful buildings.
Here is a picture from the market in Cusco. Quinoa was originally grown in the Andes region of Peru and Bolivia.
This is an Incan ruin in the town of Olloytantambo in the Sacred Valley of Peru.
Let's climb up to the top!
The views from the top were amazing. Those structures on the opposite mountain were used for food storage by the Inca.
This is the water temple. This water was somehow diverted from the mountains to this spot without modern piping.
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Cusco was the capital
of the Incan Empire. It was almost in the middle of the vast
territory that the Inca controlled along the Andes region of South
America. If one wants to travel to Machu Picchu, Cusco is the
real gateway to get there. Cusco is a beautiful Andean city at
11,152' above sea level. The Spanish built their colonial
buildings and churches on top of the original Incan stone buildings for
the most part. Cusco has many churches because the Spanish wanted
to convert the Inca to Christianity by destroying their temples and
erecting a church on top of them. The Santo Domingo Church has
many of the Incan ruins on site. The Cathedral of Cusco is
amazing. The alters have gold and/or silver leaf. Moreover,
there are lots of old artwork from hundreds of years ago.
From Cusco, one can explore the Sacred Valley of the Inca. Ollaytantambo is a great Incan city about two hours from Cusco by car. There is a large Incan ruin there built along the mountainside with the typical terraces that were seen in many Incan locations.
From Cusco, one can explore the Sacred Valley of the Inca. Ollaytantambo is a great Incan city about two hours from Cusco by car. There is a large Incan ruin there built along the mountainside with the typical terraces that were seen in many Incan locations.