Tours in Cuzco

There are many tours in Cuzco and they are available at all hours with both native and foreign guides leading them. Since there are often some language difficulties when taking tours in Cuzco I have written out some of the most basic of history regarding the beautiful city of Cuzco so that while on your tours in Cuzco you will already have a basic knowledge. When the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, officially discovered Cuzco on March 23, 1534, he named it the "Very noble and great city of Cuzco". The many buildings constructed after the Spanish conquest are of Spanish influence with a mix of Inca architecture, including the Santa Clara and San Blas barrios. The Spanish undertook the construction of a new city on the foundations of the old Inca city, replacing temples with churches and palaces with mansions for the conquerors.

During the colony, the city of Cuzco was very prosperous thanks to the agriculture, cattle ranching, mining as well as the trade with Spain. This allowed the construction of many churches and convents, and even a Cathedral, University and an Archbishopric. Often, Spanish buildings were juxtaposed atop the massive stone walls built by the Inca. A major earthquake that hit Cuzco in 1950 badly destroyed the Dominican Priory and Church of Santo Domingo, which were built on top of the impressive Coricancha (Temple of the Sun). The city's Inca architecture, however, firmly withstood the earthquake. Many of the old Inca walls were thought to have been lost after the earthquake, but the granite walls of the Coricancha were exposed, as well as many walls throughout the city. The major nearby Inca sites are Pachacuti's presumed winter home Machu Picchu which can be reached by a lightly maintained Inca trail, or the train, the "fortress" at Ollantaytambo and the "fortress" of Sacsayhuaman which is approximately two kilometers from Cuzco.