cuzco Photos

CUZCO is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Cuzco is the historical capital of the Inca empire, the greatest pre-Columbian empire in America.

The oldest permanently inhabited town in South America, Cuzco was founded around 1200 by the first Inca, the legendary Manco Capac and extended under the command of Pachacuti. Situated in Peru, not far from Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley), at an altitude of 3,300 m, Cuzco is currently Peru’s historical capital, as per the country’s constitution.

When the Spanish came in 1532, they found the temples of the city covered with precious metals or decorated with gold. After the Spanish conquest, the town was rebuilt on the foundations of the old Inca city, the old Inca temples being replaced by Christian churches, and Inca palaces by villas for the conquerers. The 1950 earthquake destroyed many of the Spanish constructions, revealing old Inca foundations and walls. One of these was Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun, onto which the Spanish had built the Dominican Priory and St Domingo church.

A magical and enchanting town, Cuzco draws visitors like a magnet into its narrow history-ladden streets, and to its exceptional monuments.