A symbol of the clash between the Incas and the Spaniards, Qoricancaha was once the religious centre for the Incas and legend has it that the “Court of Gold” was so named because the area was literally covered in the stuff when the conquistadors arrived. Imagine what happened next.

The Spaniards actually built a church on top of the old walls (Santo Domingo), but when an earthquake brought some of the European-engineered walls crashing down, there stood the famous Inca stonework intact underneath.

A truncated Temple of the Sun at one end of the church overlooks a grassy area, below which is an interesting little museum displaying skulls that were deformed by Inca surgeons. A must, hence the removal of Qoricancha from the Cuzco Tourist Ticket...

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm; Sunday 2-5 pm;
Plaza Santo Domingo;
tel: 51 84 222-071;
Prices: Not included in Tourist Ticket. Costs S/6 for adults, S/3 for students

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For those who like their religious experiences dark and sinister, Cuzco’s cathedral is for you.

Built on the site of an Inca temple, but clearly not in worship of the Sun God, very little light manages to penetrate the gloom. Huge canvases from the Cuzco School of Art depict the bloody deeds of saints and sinners, seemingly painted from a palette containing only black and red.

Check out the ominous silver altar, adorned with mirrors which do little to brighten the scene. You can taste the history, written in Inca blood.

One chink of light is the painting of the Last Supper, Andean-style – with Jesus and the Apostles sitting down to a delicious platter of … guinea pig.

Plaza de Armas

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