CUZCO IN ONE DAY

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Day 10: CUZCO: PLAZA DE ARMAS, CALLE LORETO, CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO AND QORIKSNCHA, NEIGHBORHOOD OF SAN BLAS, CONVENT OF LA MERCED, PLAZA DE SAN FRANCISCO, MARKET OF SAN PEDRO, TEMPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO, PLAZA REGOCIJO, AVENIDA DEL SOL ...

04.00h: Good morning gentlemen, I come to have my blankets returned ... This has been the first thing we've heard after 6 hours and peak in a Night bus Cruz del Sur from Puno to Cuzco, in first class, with quite uncomfortable seats and a driver more dangerous at the wheel than a pump box. Although it must be said that with the illusion that we have to arrive and know Cuzco in one day, the fatigue has passed us quite quickly.
We arrive punctually at the station, at 5 in the morning and as soon as we get off we take a taxi that for 10 soles takes us to our accommodation in the center of Cuzco The next 2 days.
As we travel through the city, still in darkness, we see that the houses are raised above Inca walls. Finally we are in "the navel of the world", in Cuzco.
And when we arrive at the Plaza de Armas, we can do nothing but look at each other and exclaim an "impressive" that comes out of our mouths without pretending.
An interesting option to know the history of the city and not miss anything is to book this private tour with a guide in Spanish or this free tour of Cusco Free !.

In the hotel, as we supposed, we have to wait a while, with a good mate of coca that they offer us for free, until we can check in, they have told us that they can do it at 6 in the morning The day receptionist arrives.
To spend this time remaining we connect to the internet and after catching up on the latest events, we review the planning of the things we have to see in Cuzco in one day.
When we have our room Roger lies down for a while and I take the opportunity to order the backpacks a bit, since after these days the clothes have stopped being half ironed to finish throw a ball.
At 8 in the morning we leave our hotel in Cuzco, the Casa Andina Cuzco Plaza, located in the Plaza de Armas and since we didn't have breakfast at the hotel today we go directly to a Starbucks, on Loreto Street, right next to the Plaza de Armas where we ordered coffee, cappuccino, chocolate muffin and cinnamon rolls. We could not avoid the number of days we spent on our trip to Japan, with these breakfasts.

Having breakfast in Cuzco

The place is in a privileged place, it is very touristy and although not as expensive as others in the chain, nobody has taken the 33 soles for breakfast.
Before 9 in the morning and having already reviewed all the things we want to see in Cuzco in one day, we went out to the streets of the "navel of the world".
Another good option to tour the city of Cuzco and its ruins is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish.
We start touring Loreto Street, where Starbucks is located, impressed with the Inca walls that are preserved and that they are the first we can observe so closely.

Loreto Street

The wall on the right belongs to the Amaruqancha or snake patio. Its name may come from the two offices carved into the entrance lintel near the end of the enclosure.
Amaruqancha was the place where the eleventh Inca palace, Huayna Cápac, was located. Here the Church of the Society of Jesus was built after the conquest and now there is a tourist market behind.
On the other side of Loreto you see one of the most beautiful and best preserved Inca walls in Cuzco, belonging to the Acllahuasi.
After a while enjoying one of the most beautiful streets in the city, we follow the street in search of the Church of Santo Domingo and Qorikancha where we pay 10 soles per person and enter the premises. If you want a guide, there are 30 more soles.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Peru
- 10 essential places to visit in Peru
- 10 essential places to visit in Cusco
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This is one of the most important visits, if not the most important of Cusco and certainly you have to spend a few hours.
The only downside: the organized groups that gather in front of the places and make the visit a bit annoying, but we try to take it easy.
They say that for those who can only see one place in Cuzco, Qorikancha must be the chosen place.

Church of Santo Domingo and Qorikancha

In fact, Qorikancha are the foundations of the colonial church and the convent of Santo Domingo that was once the most lavish temple of the Inca Empire.
In the time of the Incas, Qorikancha "patio of gold" in Quechua, was literally covered in gold with its walls covered with seven hundred solid gold plates.
There were replicas in gold and silver, in real size, of the corn that was planted ceremonially in agricultural rituals.
There is also evidence that solid gold treasures such as altars, llamas, babies and a replica of the sun have been lost that were looted and smelted into ingots shortly after the arrival of the first conquerors.

Qoriksncha interior details

In the interior of Qorikancha, one of the rooms that most attracts our attention is a courtyard, in whose center is an octagonal fountain that was once covered with 55 kilos of solid gold.

Qorikancha Courtyard

On each side of the courtyard are the Inca chambers. To the right is the largest, and apparently, it housed the temples of the moon and the stars and was covered with sheets of silver.
The walls are narrowing upwards and with their niches and portals, they are perfect examples of Inca trapezoidal architecture.

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Cuzco by travelers:
- Guided tour of Cusco and its 4 ruins
- Excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas
- Excursion to Machu Picchu
- Excursion to Moray and the salt mines of Maras
- 2-day route along the Inca Trail
- Many more excursions and tours here

The fixation of each stone block is so precise that in some points, if a finger is passed over, it is impossible to determine where one begins and the other ends.

Qorikancha interior

Details of the stone blocks, with the smallest stone in the enclosure

After a more than complete visit, we pass to a viewpoint, from where we have incredible views of Cuzco, which allow us to make a small kit-kat in all the things we have to visit in Cuzco in one day.

Views of Cuzco from Qorikancha

After almost 2 hours of visit, we go to the Church of Santo Domingo, which is right next door and as we said before, it belongs to Qorikancha.

Entrance of the Church of Santo Domingo and Qorikancha

The Church of Santo Domingo was destroyed by earthquakes in 1650 and in 1950 and was also damaged by another in 1986. The photographs in the entrance show the dimensions of the 1950 catastrophe.
At the entrance we can see an Arab-styled portal, in reminder of the centuries of Muslim domination in Spain.
Inside you can not take pictures, something that we dislike, since we found it impressive and we would have liked to take a visual memory.
Although there is something we will not forget, a smell of incense, which for a few minutes transports me to a city that I miss, Jerusalem.
After this visit, we go to the San Blas neighborhood, enjoying the walk through the streets of Cuzco.
We arrive at the famous slope of San Blas and see the tourist of the place, although the atmosphere transmits us very good vibes and we are not at all overwhelming. We are falling in love with Cuzco!

San Blas slope

San Blas is the bohemian neighborhood of Cuzco, to which to access it, we will have to climb the steep slope of San Blas, which shows us incredible images of the city as we ascend.
From this area of Cuzco, we can see the Christ the Redeemer that we will visit tomorrow a day that is more than complete.
Now it's time to climb the famous slope, so we take a breath ... and up!
We arrive at the Plaza de San Blas with a splendid sun and after walking around the neighborhood, we enter the Church of San Blas, a simple church, with an impressive interior.
We took the opportunity to buy 6 postcards with their stamps and we got the scare of the day, 41 soles. It is clear that these souvenirs are increasingly expensive.
We climb to the San Blas viewpoint from where we have incredible views of the city and a bohemian atmosphere that causes addiction.

Views of Cuzco from the Plaza de San Blas

After some shopping, we could not resist the temptation and as an excuse we will say that we had not yet bought anything on the trip, we return to the slope of San Blas, to reach the famous 12-sided stone located on Hatunrumiyoc street.

12-sided stone

This last area of the Barrio de San Blas is the most "overwhelming" in terms of sellers, since until now we entered the stores and part of the "good morning" and "thank you very much" we received no more than smiles even if we bought nothing. Here they already throw a little on us, so we do not spend more time than necessary.
When we arrive at the Plaza de Armas, it is already past 1 noon, so we look for a recommended restaurant in the area and find the "Green Organics" where we order a chicken chili sandwich, a chicken fillet plus a beer and a lemonade and Dessert mango ravioli plus coffee and mate for 113 soles. All great!

Eating at the Green Organics of Cuzco

After a most comforting desktop, we pass by the Casa Andina Cuzco Plaza hotel to leave the purchases we made this morning and we make our way to the Plaza San Francisco, although before we can not stop stopping a few minutes in one of the most special and most beautiful corners of Cuzco, the Plaza de Armas.

Cusco Main Square

Main Square

Before continuing to the Plaza de San Francisco, we pass through the Convent of La Merced, where we ask and they tell us that they open at 5, so we take some pictures of the facade and continue to the Plaza San Francisco where we find the same , closed until five in the afternoon.

San Francisco Church

So we follow the street and reach the San Pedro Market that we take advantage of to visit since it is open.

San Pedro Market

In the San Pedro Market we find everything from crafts to food, through small bars, where people are already tasting the local cuisine. Without doubt the best place to know the way of life of Cuzco and to which we will surely return before leaving the city.

Interior of the San Pedro Market

From here we return to the Church of San Francisco, where a baptism is being celebrated and we have to say that although in the Lonely Planet it says that two crypts can be seen, we after several laps, we cannot find them. (Update 2017: Thanks to a comment that Maria has left us, we have known that these crypts are located in the Church of San Francisco de Lima, not in Cuzco).
It's a little after 4 in the afternoon, so we go to the Plaza Regocijo taking a walk under a sun that continues in the city, but without heating as much as at noon.
We descend again to the Plaza de Armas where we take advantage of changing money in a Western Union and then we go to Avenida del Sol.

Streets of Cuzco on the way to the Plaza de Armas

From the Avenida del Sol we return to Qorikancha where we take the opportunity to do some shopping before returning again through Loreto Street, the first one we traveled when we arrived this morning.
Already at 5 in the afternoon we approach the Temple of Mercy where they are celebrating Mass and no photographs are allowed to go later to the Cathedral, in the Plaza de Armas.
When we arrive at the Cathedral they tell us that they close at 17.30 in the afternoon, so we leave the visit for tomorrow and decide that the time has come to do one of the things we like most in the cities: getting lost in the streets without direction permanent.
And so we discover countless streets with Inca walls that do nothing but surprise us and fall in love more with this city.
Today we had a hard day touring Cuzco in one day, so at 7 p.m. we decided it's time to go to dinner. After several laps, we decided on one of the best trattorias in Cusco, Nonna Trattoria, where we ordered a couple of pizzas, water and coke for 63 soles.

Having dinner at Nonna Trattoria in Cuzco

Apart from the fact that the pizzas are very good, we are surrounded by Inca walls inside, so what else can we ask for? Energy in abundance at this dinner.
And from here and considering that we have been at the plant since 4.30 in the morning and how little we have slept since we left yesterday from Puno to Cuzco, it has been on the bus, so it is time to go to sleep at the Casa Andina Cuzco Plaza and dream about a city that we begin to understand why they call it "the navel of the world".