PRICE:
$100 USD Private Service.
The City Tour + Pisac is an unparalleled experience, allowing you to discover the grandeur of the Inca Empire and its subsequent colonial splendor. Within the city, you’ll visit Korikancha, the most important temple of the Inca civilization, which housed gold and silver sculptures.
Outside the city of Cusco, we’ll visit five archaeological monuments. Sacsayhuaman is characterized by its bastions and its impressive view of the city; Q’enqo was a temple built for the mummification ritual; Pukapukara was a checkpoint and surveillance post; and Tambomachay houses the ceremonial fountains. We then head to Pisac, an Inca city in the Sacred Valley, located on a mountaintop and exemplifying the Andean people’s ability to overcome geographical adversities.
KORICANCHA:
Korikancha, known as the Temple of the Sun, was the most important shrine of the Inca culture. The term Korikancha comes from two Quechua words: Kori means gold, and Kancha means stone wall or enclosure. According to the chronicles of the first Hispanics to arrive in Cusco, they describe its “stone walls covered in gold.”
Within the precincts of Korikancha were finely crafted sculptures made of gold, silver, and other precious alloys. These sculptures belonged to the gods of all the nations allied to the Inca Empire.
Currently, Korikancha houses a colonial convent built by the Dominican Order.
SACSAYHUAMAN:
Sacsayhuaman is located northeast of Cusco, at an altitude of 3,632 meters above sea level. It is considered the city’s architectural symbol, with cyclopean walls built with gigantic stones weighing approximately 80 to 120 tons each. These stones were brought from more than 23 kilometers away, crossing rugged terrain, using engineering techniques that were still unknown.
Sacsayhuaman was a temple erected in honor of the god Illapa, or the god of lightning, thunder, or lightning, in the Inca pantheon. Above this temple is an impressive viewpoint with the best panoramic view of the city.
Q’ENQO:
Q’enqo is a rock formation, created by the melting of the last ice age, which dissolved some of the minerals in the rock, creating a natural cavern. Through the intervention of skilled Inca architects, the site was adapted into a space for the mummification ceremony. Inside the Q’enqo cave, the Incas took advantage of the cold, lower than room temperature, to preserve the body while the mummification ritual took place.
PUKAPUKARA:
PukaPukara is a pre-Hispanic construction featuring a prominent tower, surrounded by terraces and fortress-like walls, which is why it is believed to have been a military watchtower. The name PukaPukara comes from two roots: “puka” is a Quechua term meaning “red”; while “pukara,” a loanword from Aymara (a language still spoken in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia), means observatory or lookout. These pukaras were distributed throughout the Inca empire, built on the highest mountains to send and receive messages. Through the reflection of bronze mirrors, they could quickly communicate one city with another, a sophisticated innovation for the time.
TAMBOMACHAY:
Tambomachay was an Inca temple, where you can see water fountains carved in stone, with channels through which the vital liquid still flows. At the Tambomachay fountains, the way the channels and fountains are divided is striking, referencing the concept of the Inca trilogy: the future, the present, and the past (or the condor, the puma, and the serpent). The purification ritual and the ceremony of balance between the dry and rainy seasons, very important for agriculture and the sustenance of Andean society, were performed in this temple.
PISAC:
Pisac was the largest Inca city after Machu Picchu. Due to its geographical location, it was an economic center that connected the jungle with the imperial city of Cusco. This route was used to trade coca leaves, used as the Inca national currency.
The city of Pisac was built of stone. They adapted their homes and agricultural terraces to the most inaccessible parts of the mountains, taking advantage of the lack of usable geographical space for agriculture.
INCLUDES:
Private tourist transportation at your disposal.
Professional driver.
Professional guide.
NOT INCLUDED:
Cusco General Tourist Ticket (BTG)
Koricancha Entrance Ticket.
Food.
Tips.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT TO BRING:
Identification card or passport.
Light clothing and windbreaker.
Plastic rain poncho.
Sunglasses.
Extra money for snacks or souvenirs.
Sunscreen.
Hat or cap to protect from the sun.
Lightweight shoes.
A positive attitude.