After Machu Picchu, which exceeded my expectations a thousand times over, I wondered if Cusco would be a letdown. To be fair, I knew nothing could compare to Machu Picchu’s heart-stopping impact. I needn’t have worried though. Cusco, and the surrounding area, turned out to be fascinating in its own unique way. While Machu Picchu was a glorious but abandoned ruin from the Inca past, Cusco was a living and breathing Inca city, a testament to Inca survival. Yet, at the same time, there was an unmistakable Spanish presence.
We made the first part of the journey to Cusco by train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, once again following the course of the Urubamba River. Then we boarded our small bus for the remainder of the trip to Cusco. We steadily gained altitude as we drove past fields and terraces planted with potatoes, quinoas, and lupini beans, another staple crop in this area. When we reached 10,000 feet, my ears started popping. At a stop for photos (and where I bought a hat from an Indian woman), we were at an elevation of 12,400 feet. Walter told us that the glaciers we saw in the distance were 19,000 feet above sea level. But it never snows here or in Cusco, he added.
Cusco itself is located at a little over 11,000 feet. Fortunately, after spending a few days in the Sacred Valley, adjusting to the higher altitude wasn’t a problem for me. I just remembered to drink coca tea at breakfast every morning and to take along a few coca candies in my pocket in case I started to feel fatigued.
Shortly after 12 noon, we arrived at our hotel, the Casa Andina, just a block from Cusco’s main plaza, known as the Plaza de Armas (in Spanish) or Haukaypata (in Quechua). The Quechua name means “place of ceremony or party.” In Inca times, this is where important activities such as Inti Raymi (the annual celebration of the Sun) took place.
The sprawling plaza is beautiful and pulses with life from early morning until late at night. The old colonial mansions that surround the plaza are now hotels, restaurants, and shops.
The Cathedral, which faces the plaza, is built on the site of the Kiswarkancha, an Inca temple and palace of the emperor Viracocha. By choosing this site, the Spanish made clear their intention to impose the Catholic religion over the native religion of the indigenous population. Construction began in the year 1559 and continued for approximately 100 years. The exterior is in the Renaissance style. However, Inca workers who were forced to build the Cathedral incorporated some of their Quechua religious motifs into the decoration of the façade (for example, carved jaguar heads on the doors of the Cathedral).
The Cathedral houses an important collection of colonial era paintings. I regret that I didn’t have a chance to visit the interior of the Cathedral. It was only open for visitors during times when I was otherwise occupied. However, one morning, I was able to peer through the open main doors.
Just to the right of the Cathedral is the Jesuit church, built in 1576 in the Colonial Baroque style. I learned that the Jesuits were forbidden to build anything taller or more splendid than the cathedral or churches of the Dominicans, who arrived earlier in Cusco.
During the three days we were based in Cusco, I walked around the center of the city as often as I could.
It always amazed me to see indigenous women carrying babies or large bundles on their backs, wrapped in beautifully woven textiles.
One thing that stood out was the predominance of the color blue – a deep, rich, vibrant hue – on doors, shutters, and other features on the façades of buildings. I asked Walter about it but he didn’t seem to think there was any significance to the color choice.
Just like in Lima, many of the older buildings featured wooden balconies.
The rainbow flag, signifying indigenous identity and pride, was displayed on many buildings.
As in most colonial Spanish towns, you’re never far from a church. La Merced was only a few steps from our hotel.
Other nearby churches were San Francisco (first photo below) and Santo Domingo (next three photos).
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It wasn’t uncommon to hear Quechua being spoken or to see signs in the language of the Incas. Of the half million people, mostly mestizos and Indians, who make Cusco their home today, many are native Quechua speakers. It’s a reminder that although the Spanish conquered the Incas nearly 500 years ago, they were never able to destroy the indigenous culture. Rather, over the centuries, the two cultures blended.
One example immediately comes to mind. On my first day in the city, I witnessed a large religious procession (just one of many that take place throughout the year). This procession was held to honor the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It passed right in front of the Cathedral in Cusco’s main plaza. Sounds totally Catholic, right? Not quite. The men holding the statue of the Virgin Mary aloft were accompanied by musicians playing typical Andean instruments and by groups of young male and female dancers in brightly colored costumes performing traditional indigenous dances.
And now for a bit of history – The first Inca, Manco Capac, founded the city of Cusco in the 12th century. He was called the Son of the Sun. At one time there were many royal palaces in Cusco since each of the Inca emperors built his own palace in the capital city. Of course, when the Spanish arrived, they destroyed the majority of them, along with the temples.
One of the first places our group visited in Cusco was the Koricancha (also spelled Qoricancha), also known in English as the Temple of the Sun although a more accurate translation would be “place covered in gold.” It was the most important Inca temple in Cusco. Walter was the perfect guide for our visit since he had studied it extensively and even wrote a book about it.
Before we arrived at the site in the heart of the city, I had imagined a single building, like the Parthenon, but during Inca times it was actually a temple complex that included multiple chambers for religious rituals as well as living quarters for several thousand Inca priests. Around 1435, the emperor Pachucutec ordered the building of the Qoricancha with stones brought from distant quarries south of Cusco. Inca workers used tools made of hematite to cut the stones with such great precision that they fit together without any perceptible gaps.
The stone walls were decorated with gold, silver, and precious stones. The buildings and gardens were filled with gold statues, gold altars, and a huge golden sun disc. A chamber dedicated to the Moon, believed to be the wife of the Sun, was covered with sheets of silver. Other chambers, all lavishly decorated, were dedicated to the stars and to thunder and lightning.
Walter drew our attention to a bronze replica of a drawing by an indigenous Peruvian chronicler that presented various religious elements that made up the world view of the Incas. You’ll notice the large oval shape which represents the cosmic egg, i.e. the great Creator of the Universe. Other symbols depicted on the piece include the sun, the moon, a jaguar, stars (including the Pleiades constellation), a rainbow, mountains, a lake, a river, a tree, a corn plant, a man, a woman, and a city.
Of course, when the Spanish conquered the city in 1533, they stripped the Qoricancha of its golden treasure and melted it down. in 1538, the Dominican order, whose members arrived in Peru with Pizarro and his soldiers, took possession of the temple. Not long afterwards, the Church and Convent of Santo Domingo were built on the foundation of the Qoricancha. The arches are a distinctive feature of the Spanish architecture, as the Incas did not use the arch.
A large section of the cloister is no longer standing and the Baroque church was extensively rebuilt following two major earthquakes. Some of the original chambers of the Inca temple were more resistant to earthquake damage and are still visible. Their traditional trapezoidal architecture may have allowed these structures to withstand the earthquakes. Idols and ceremonial objects made of gold and silver may have been stored in the niches.
Also, during Inca times, the mummies of deceased emperors may have been stored in the main altar of the Qoricancha. They were taken out periodically and paraded through the streets. In a sense, this Inca tradition lives on in the Corpus Christi celebration introduced by the Spanish.
Stepping through an arched doorway, we entered the Sacristy, a room where religious objects and clothing used in the Mass are stored. The tall bronze monstrance and the elaborately decorated priestly vestments were quite beautiful. The Sacristy also housed religious sculptures and 17th century paintings from the Cusco School. Curiously, no photographs of these objects were allowed. I found it somewhat troubling to learn that nearly 500 years after the destruction of the Qoricancha, the Dominicans still own and control the site. It somehow seems to me that it should belong to the Peruvian people. Anyway, stepping outside to a lookout point, this was the view.
We had an opportunity to see the non-touristy side of Cusco on a Monday morning visit to the San Pedro market. Locals shop at this huge covered market located in a busy commercial area. The market, which opens at 5:30am, seems to sell practically everything. Much to my surprise, it was clean and extremely well organized into sections according to the type of product sold. We walked down aisles devoted to fruit juices, breakfast, meat, offal, flowers, ceviche, chocolate, cheese, fish, etc.
Just outside the market, women selling herbs had spread out their wares on the sidewalk. Across the street, carts selling drinks and snacks were doing a brisk business. And if you needed a pair of shoes, more than one storefront offered sandals made of recycled rubber tires.
Definitely my most relaxing time in Cusco was spent at a solo al fresco dinner on the main Plaza. Shortly before sunset, I found an outdoor table at the Inka Grill and sipped a mocktail while studying the menu of Peruvian specialties.
The causa with smoked trout, garnished with avocado, egg, tomato, baby greens, and olives, was a work of art.
It was nearly dark by the time I dug into my main course of aji de gallina, chunks of boneless chicken and potatoes swimming in a creamy yellow sauce, flavored with the mild aji pepper. The dish was accompanied by hard-boiled egg, olives, rice, cheese, and choclo (large-kernel corn). It certainly was a true carb trifecta. I’d already come to the conclusion that in Peru, it’s not considered a proper meal without at least three servings of carbs.
As soon as darkness descended, the temperature dropped but the plaza remained thronged with people. Music was playing nearby and I could hear fireworks going off somewhere in the distance. Cusco seemed to be in a party mood. I sat and quietly observed the scene. It was the ideal time and place to contemplate Cusco’s cultural syncretism and the complexities of modern Peruvian identity.
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