Cusco is at the heart of Peru’s burgeoning tourist industry and in its own right is an architectural gem of colonial architecture, much of which has been built on top of the original Inca architecture. While much of the Inca architecture was destroyed by the colonial powers, and the materials simply reused to build enormous churches and other colonial buildings, there is still lots evidence of the original Inca architecture. None more so than the Archbishops Palace which contains several layers of the original Inca stonework with their intricate angles and interconnecting stones including one that boasts 12 angles, which can clearly be seen on Hathun Rumiyoq, one of Cusco’s ancient streets.
Like most Peruvian towns the centre of the city is the Plaza de Armas, which contains well-manicured gardens surrounded by elegant original colonial buildings on all sides. The main cathedral, which is one of the largest in Peru and contains several different chapels, dominates one side of the square. The building reused many of the original Inca materials and is a spectacular example of the wealth of the Catholic Church. In amongst all the treasures inside the Cathedral is a painting of the last supper. This is no ordinary painting as the local artists were unaware of the foodstuffs in the Middle East so painted on the table lots of Andean products including corn, potatoes etc. and in the centre of the table is a large chinchilla, a large Andean hare type animal.
On one of the other sides of the square is the Jesuit church, complete with the largest altarpiece in all of Peru, all covered in gold leaf. Nearby in Plaza San Fancisco is the Franciscan Church. Most of the Peruvian cities have churches designated to the same sects of the Catholic religion – other churches include San Blas, La Merced etc.
Cusco’s streets are very narrow and since our last visit back in 2011 a number of streets have had vehicular access removed including most of Plaza de Armas. Traffic still has to navigate around the rest of the city centre, which with nowhere to stop, taxis and other service vehicles simply have to stop in the middle of the road to discharge passengers and other goods, holding up the rest of the traffic.
The other two sides of Plaza de Armas are two storied colonnaded buildings, which almost entirely support the tourist industry with gift shops, tour companies and restaurants on the upper level. Indeed such is the dominance of the tourist industry most of the roads radiating from the Plaza de Armas have more of the same together with many colonial buildings being converted into hostels or boutique hotels. In addition to the usual tourist gifts of cloths and other artefacts are shops selling designer alpaca wear pretty much at near European prices. The central market of Cusco still contains many food stalls, including a number that display the impressive varieties of potatoes and corn available. However in the edges of the market many handicraft stalls are beginning to encroach which really emphasises the near total dominance of the tourist industry in Cusco.
Just outside Cusco is Sacsayhuaman, a large Inca site on a hill overlooking the city. Sacsayhuaman was never finished as the Spanish arrived before the final layers could be completed. The stonework used to build the complex contains some simply enormous pieces that it is very difficult to comprehend how they were transported to the site from the surrounding valleys. The views of Cusco from the top of Sacsayhuaman and the nearby statue of Christ are particularly impressive and also how the design of Cusco resembles a puma can be clearly imagined. Sacsayhuaman represents the head of the puma, while Plaza de Armas the centre of Cusco represents its heart – originally it would have been the Inca ceremonial central plaza Huacapata.
Date: 03/07/2018 and 12/07/2018