Above Cusco and next to Christo blanco, a white Jesus christ statue visible from Plaza de Armas, there is the ruin of the the Inka fortress Sacsayhuamán. Nowadays it is a significant sightseeing of the Inka relicts.
Rock with stairways
Recent archaeological studies date the stonewall even before the Inka era.
Seats in the rock?
The taxi take you there for 10 Soles (= 2,50€), entrance fee 70 Soles per person. There still are different fees for students, local citizens and foreigners in various museums and sightseeing locations.
The stonewall
The giant stone blocks
A worshipper
There is a path leading you from the site to Christo blanco and downhill to town.
Chicha morada: a further popular drink of the locals
Chicha morada is a cold alcohol-free drink made by purple corn and other vegetable ingredients like pineapple, quince skin, apple, cinnamon and cloves. So the drink has a cherry red colour.
Purple corn (maiz morado), grows mostly in the Andes mountain
A break in the bar on the way back to the crowded in town.
A street next to San Pedro market
Delicious custard apple (= cherimoya) sold by the young vendor for 4 Soles
The covent of the Dominicans / Qorikancha, Cusco. The Inka fountain in the courtyard was recorded in a drawing by Ephraim George Squier in 1877
Not far away from San Pedro market and main train station there is the convent and church of the Dominicans, Iglesia de Santo Domingo. Once, conquistador Juan Pizarro, ein half-brother of Francisco, gave the land of Qorikancha to the Dominicans. They built their church and convent on the foundation of the Qorikancha and completed in 1610. But by 1650 the church collapsed fully in an earthquake. The restauration of the present church began in 1680.
Precise stonemason skill in the Qorikancha
The Qorikancha, also called Intikancha, was dedicated to Inti, the ancient Inka sun god, the most sacred temple in the whole Inka empire. Erected in 1438 it has not withstood the Spanish destruction. It was pulled down by order. The earthquake of 1950 disclosed parts of the Qorikancha remnant long believed to be lost for ever.
Today four remaining rooms can be visited in the convent.