Doing a city tour of Cusco during the first days of your arrival in this beautiful city will undoubtedly help you not only to acclimatize, but also to learn a little about its history.

The six destinations that we will describe below can be visited by hiring a travel agency or traveling on your own.

Watch this video to learn a little about the history and destinations that you will see on our city tour:

1. The Inca Temple of the Sun, Coricancha:

The first indisputable stop if you plan to take a city tour of Cusco is the beautiful Coricancha. According to the worldview of the empire, everything had to be built in relation to the capital Cusco (the center of the world), and the center of that center was precisely Coricancha.

Coricancha, which in the Quechua language means Cori = Gold and Cancha = Enclosure, was the place of greatest worship and devotion to the main god of the Incas, where they stored all the treasures from other conquered kingdoms.

During the conquest period, many parts of the royal treasure of this place were used to pay the most expensive ransom in history, that of Emperor Atahualpa.

Likewise, when the Spaniards had conquered Cusco, a civil war began among themselves, all because of the gold and silver that was kept there, as well as the political control that this place exercised over the locals.

Eventually, the Catholic order of the Dominicans would occupy this sacred enclosure, building a temple that to this day still stands on the Inca walls. From here, they tried to put an end to the bloody wars that the Incas and Spaniards had, using a process of preaching and evangelization, managing to gradually convert many to Christianity.

2. Saqsayhuaman, the temple of the Inca god of lightning:

The Cusco city tour includes a visit to the temple of lightning: Saqsayhuaman. Not long ago, the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was filmed at this place.

Saqsayhuaman is undoubtedly one of the most interesting places to see in the city of Cusco. It began to become known worldwide after the discovery of Machu Picchu in 1911. Bingham, a history professor from the United States, said: If Saqsayhuaman had not been destroyed by the Spaniards, it would undoubtedly be the wonder of the world.

The monumental construction that can be seen today represents barely 20% of what it once was. Its construction was carried out under the government of three great emperors over a period of 120 years. According to archaeologists, this place was dedicated to the deity of lightning, since the architectural pattern indicates this.

Exploring this wonder of human engineering takes between 45 and 60 minutes. Make sure to climb to the three levels of its construction and take many photos, especially those in which you appear, so that you can have perspective of how large this Inca construction is.

3. Tambomachay, Inca temple of water:

The city of Cusco during its period of greatest splendor under the Inca Empire was home to around 20,000 inhabitants (Ancient Cusco, Brian Bower), who had to be supplied by several springs channeled over several kilometers.

One of these main sources of clean water supply was Tambomachay. It was therefore natural within the Inca worldview to perform a series of purification rituals and worship of water, and that is how, by order of Pachacuteq, the ninth Inca ruler and first emperor, this place was built.

4. Puca Pucara – red military fortress:

It bears this name due to the reddish color of the volcanic-origin limestone stones that the Incas used for its construction.

The city of Cusco, during the Inca period, being the capital of the empire, concentrated residents from different parts of the empire. In the same way, many people traveled great distances along the Inca Trail (21,000 kilometers officially recognized by UNESCO) to worship and pay tribute to the emperor.

In that sense, it was essential to build a series of fortresses or Pucaras for the protection of travelers, security and safeguarding of the emperor when required, and of course to inspect whether any enemy wanted to enter the capital city.

On the city tour of Cusco, we will take you together with a professional guide to rediscover what these places were, where our guides will tell you interesting stories like this one and many more details.

5. Qenqo, Inca mummification center:

According to the chronicles of the priest Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in an area called Tococahi, Emperor Pachacuteq ordered the construction of a temple where he would be worshiped perpetually together with those of his lineage. In this enclosure, his mummy would be kept along with some of the treasures he acquired in his youth.

Indeed, inside the mysterious caves that this place contains, it is possible to see a kind of altar in the form of a mummification table carved in stone, as well as a niche (a window without an exit, sometimes known as a cupboard) next to this table.

In the Inca worldview, every cave represented an entrance to the underground world of spirits, whose symbolic animal was the serpent.

6. The eucalyptus forest on the Cusco city tour:

Another destination near the city of Cusco is the eucalyptus forest, just one hour away by car, on the outskirts of the city, where you can take the most Instagrammable photos of all.

As a way to complete a guided visit through all the destinations mentioned above, we take you to this beautiful place.

FAQs

1. How many ways are there to take a city tour in Cusco?

1.1. Hiring a travel agency:

Traveling with a travel agency will allow you not only to take beautiful photos, but also to learn the history that each of these places in the city of Cusco holds, making your trip through Peru more enriching and full of value.

1.2. Can I take the Cusco city tour on my own?:

Of course yes, the difference is that it will take you the whole day, unlike the tour with a travel agency, not to mention that you will not find guides at all the attractions.

2. How to take a city tour on your own in the city of Cusco?

First of all, there are many ways to enjoy the city of Cusco, whether by walking through its streets or entering its beautiful churches, but if you want to visit the places described above, then this is the way you could do it.

We would like to highlight some costs and details that you should take into account, below is the most “economical” way to take a city tour of Cusco. Keep in mind that this will be a suggestion, so you can make the visit in the way you feel most comfortable.

The first step to visit the places mentioned above is to take a taxi from your hotel to Garcilazo School on Av. la Cultura. The trip will take about 8 minutes depending on the location of your hotel. You can also walk there using Google Maps.

After that, you must wait at the bus stop of the same name for some white and blue urban buses called El Huerto, and after a one-and-a-half-hour trip you will arrive at Tambomachay. Make sure to tell the driver that you will get off at this place, otherwise they will take you to the final stop.

At Tambomachay, you will have to pay the entrance fee, whose cost for this circuit is 70.00 soles, meaning that this cost covers your visit to 4 of the places described here.

The visit to Tambomachay takes around 35 minutes when going on your own. Rest assured that its water fountains will fascinate you.

Just about 200 meters in front of Tambomachay is the red fortress of Puca Pucara. Here you will have to show the ticket you initially purchased and then take the tour inside and feel like a true soldier from the Inca period.

Once you have finished your visit to Puca Pucara, you can walk toward Qenqo, which is located in the direction of returning to the city of Cusco. This walk will take you about two hours. Another option is to wait for the El Huerto buses and get off there.

In Qenqo you will spend about 30 minutes walking around the beautiful place, visiting the aforementioned Inca mummification center, and when leaving the place you will come across the eucalyptus forest so that you can take beautiful photos.

After visiting these three places, you will have to walk no matter what toward Saqsayhuaman, a route that will take you between 30 and 45 minutes. At this park, you must present the ticket you initially purchased so that they allow you to enter freely.

The visit to Saqsayhuaman is spectacular and it is worth staying for more than an hour, which is what our guides usually take to explain the place to you.

Another point you can visit just a few steps away is the Cristo Blanco viewpoint, a statue that represents Christ Jesus the Redeemer of Brazil, except that the one in the city of Cusco is 5 meters high, unlike the other one.

After visiting these places, it is time to descend to the city of Cusco. Whether you do it by walking for 45 minutes or taking a 15-minute taxi ride, you will have covered a good part of this city tour of Cusco.

The last point you would have to visit is Coricancha or the Inca Temple of the Sun, one of the most important places on this circuit. Admission to this place is 15.00 soles per person, and this visit will take you around 45 minutes.

3. Traveling with an agency vs. on your own, let’s talk about prices:

Leaving aside the total cost of admission to all the archaeological parks, which is 85.00 soles per person or 22.00 USD as of the date we published this post.

The Cusco city tour with us costs 35.00 soles per person, where we include accredited professional guides, modern tourist transportation with up-to-date licenses, proof of payment, receipt or invoice, and of course the human warmth that characterizes us.

Traveling on your own, you will end up spending more or less the same amount, considering the taxis to the different destinations, whose cost to begin the itinerary described above is 7.00 soles from your hotel to the bus stop, public bus transportation is 2.00 soles to the final stop, then you will have to walk or take another bus for 2.00 soles. Once you arrive at Saqsayhuaman or the Cristo Blanco viewpoint, you will have to either take a taxi for 25.00 soles or make a route similar to the one you first took for approximately 9.00 soles.

So which of the two options is the best?

It depends on you, dear traveler. If you have little time and want to enjoy as much as possible at each destination without stressing about whether you are lost or not, then we are your best option. Contact us through the WhatsApp button that appears on the right side and together we will plan the trip of your dreams.

On the other hand, if you are in Dora the Explorer mode, then I hope this blog post has been useful to you and helps you on your adventure. In any case, we are here to help you, just get in touch with our travel advisors.

Thank you for reading this post.