We have the ’menu del día’ in a small restaurant where we get two courses and a drink for only 5 soles. As always, the starter is a soup, often with a few (to us) completely unknown vegetables. Getting the choice of lomo Salavador, aji gallina or pollo for the main course, we opt for the latter, chicken.

Do not miss out on the small, authentic restaurants with no menu displayed outside. Here, the local Peruvians in the former Inca capital have lunch during their workday. The restaurants only reveal that they are restaurants with a simple ‘menu del día’ or ‘almuerzo’ sign in the street – and you are lucky if there is a written menu inside! Often, today’s menu is just told at the table.

Plaza de Armas, Cusco | Visit Peru, Photo: Travel In Culture

In addition to these original places, you will come across here and there in Cusco, you will, of course, also want to visit all the famous top sights of the former Inca capital in Peru. Today, Cusco is a fascinating, vibrant Peruvian city with deep roots in the historic Incan Empire, something which is noticeable wherever you turn.

Cusco is a real gem with all the well-preserved remains from the Inca period. The rich Peruvian Inca civilisation has left traces of constructions, culture and language to posterity. As the former religious and administrative Inca capital, flourishing between 1400 and 1534, ancient Cusco is today an important cultural heritage from the Incas in Peru.

Plaza de Armas, one of the jewels in the heart of Cusco, was originally a significant ceremonial site, where Inti Raymi or the Festival of the Sun was celebrated. Today, it is surrounded by the Cathedral (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Church of the Society of Jesus, the Museum of Natural History, small cosy colonial balconies, museums and a plethora of restaurants, hotels and tour operators.

The Church of the Society of Jesus – Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, Plaza de Armas | Photo: Felipe Lopez / Pixabay

The square is the heart and soul of the city, with a vibrant life all day and night. Visitors relax on the benches, enjoying the Andean sun and atmosphere. The local street vendors come around to sell their products, art pieces, bamboo flutes, woven fabrics, refreshing drinks or whatever it might be. Stay for a while, rest on a bench and soak up the atmosphere and character of outstanding Cusco!

Visit Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru | Photo: Travel In Culture

The impressive Roman Catholic Cusco Cathedral, also known as Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción, was built on an old Inca site in Cusco, beginning in 1559 and completed in 1654. It was constructed on the foundations of the old Inca temple Kiswarkancha when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Cusco in the 1500s. The Spaniards wanted to replace the prevailing Inca religion with Catholic Christianity, and they forced the Incas in Cusco to participate in the erection of the Cathedral.

Another smaller church, Iglesia del Triunfo, is built together with the Cathedral. On another side of Plaza de Armas, the other spectacular church, the Church of the Society of Jesus, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, flanks the plaza. It was founded by the Jesuit Order (Saint Ignatius of Loyola) and has its own Saint Ignatius of Loyola University, which today constitutes the Universidad Nacional San Antonio de Abad.

Carnival parade | Photo: Travel In Culture

Plaza de Armas is the focal point of many events. At one moment, it is the centre of a vigorous demonstration parading with banners. At the next, it is a vibrant carnival. Various schools participate – and it is a huge event! The spectacularly dressed carnival participants parade with their groups, accompanied by lively and rhythmic music. People gather to be part of the fascinating carnival procession, and the watching crowd completely covers the stairs to the Cathedral.

Other famous festivals in Cusco include the Inca Sun Festival, Inti Raymi, in June, which takes place at the ruins of Sacsayhuaman.

Photo: Travel In Culture

Visit the immense, covered San Pedro Market or Mercado Central de San Pedro in Cusco. It is gigantic, with an entire section for any product, whether it is potatoes, bread, cheese, chicken, flowers, street food or woven textiles. You will wish you had a reason to buy and try a wide range of these fantastic products! The crowd there is a mixture of locals shopping and fascinated tourists. It is also the appropriate place to find souvenirs like woven blankets, alpaca jumpers or hats. However, it is the tourist marketplace in Cusco. If you want to find local stuff (and pay more local prices), there are other streets and markets in the city.

Photo: Carlos Chirinos / Pixabay

The female vendors offer pineapple slices, bananas, snacks, corn and street food from their wheelbarrows and carts. Also, freshly slaughtered meat, appetising olives, rice, and exotic fruits are among multicoloured fabrics, woven dolls and an abundance of hats, socks and scarfs. A myriad of people are in the street, not to mention a jumble of vendors, eager shoeshine boys and inhabitants in a hurry. Not surprisingly, the descendants of the Incas in Peru contribute to the uniqueness and culture of the charming, ancient Inca capital.

Sale of fruits and vegetables from wheelbarrows and carts in the streets | Photo: Travel In Culture

Other markets to consider are the local Saturday Baratillo Market in Avenida del Ejército, the local Mercado Artesanal in Avenida Tullumayo or just the local streets south of the historic centre.

Besides historical Inca ruins and culture, one of the absolute top attractions in the Cusco Inca capital are the market streets south of San Pedro Market. It is notably not a market of woven, colourful blankets and other tourist stuff as in many places around Cusco. That is the local market where people buy what they need for cooking and other everyday needs. Freshly slaughtered chickens or hens with feet, tiny bird eggs, shoelaces, matches, empanadas, boiled giant corn cobs, glasses of squeezed orange or slices of pineapple contribute to the local charm. Every street vendor has his/her specific supply of something.

The market for blue jeans | Photo: Travel In Culture

One street corner is the market for blue jeans. The women sit, colourfully and traditionally dressed, along the walls of the buildings with their supplies spread out in front of them. You will pass heaps of avocados, sliced pineapples and selections of nuts. The women bend to feel the softness of the avocados to pick the best ones. The market is outstanding, bustling and intense, and honestly, one of the more unusual highlights of Cusco.

Freshly slaughtered hens with feet are readily available in the street | Photo: Travel In Culture

Another lovely square is the Plaza San Francisco, also surrounded by shops and cafés, and not least, the fabulous Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco de Asís, giving name to the plaza. Today, the church is also a museum. The convent was constructed by the Francisco de Toledo order back in 1572. Plaza San Francisco is a vibrant plaza – ideal for people-watching! You will see a mix of locals and visitors chilling out and maybe enjoying the Andean sun here!

Descendants of the Incas in Peru are still dressed in traditional, vivid skirts, alpaca shawls and hats. The conventional, colourfully striped aguayo or manta, a rectangular piece of clothing, is used for carrying items on the back. It is associated with old Aymara and Quechua culture but is still widely used in the Andean communities.

Feria Artesanal, Cusco | Photo: Travel In Culture

In particular, the women carry their children in aguayos on their backs. A Peruvian woman can do all daily duties with her baby or toddler on her back, and, therefore, there is no need for daycare! Everywhere, we see women wearing their children wrapped in an aguayo sling as the most natural thing in the world. Close to the plaza, you will find a courtyard, which is the location of the Feria Artesanal De Productores El Marquez San Francisco. It is another small market in Cusco’s historical centre where you will find stalls with traditional Peruvian alpaca clothing, blankets, rugs, and a wide variety of handicrafts.

Explore the traces of the Incas in Peru in the courtyard of gold. Korikancha, or Qorikancha in Quechua, was once the most significant and sumptuous temple in the Incan Empire, with hundreds of gold panels and figures inside. In Quechua, the name of the temple means ‘courtyard of gold’. The golden construction in the Inca capital was visible through the valley. The temple was dedicated to the worship of the sun, and there was even a golden sun disc reflecting the sun. Besides being the religious centre of the empire, it served as well as an astronomical observatory in the Incas’ Peru. During the summer solstice, the sun shone directly into a sacred room.

Korikancha, constructed by the Incas in Peru | Photo: Hugo Hiram / Pixabay

You can also visit the convent and church Iglesia de Santo Domingo built on the same site. Most of the original Inca temple here was destroyed after the 16th-century war against the Spanish conquistadors, who used the stones as building material for their houses and churches. Some of it ended as the foundation for the 17th-century Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

Plates of fine gold were later added to the temple by Pachakutiq Inca Yupanqui. Also, the walls were once covered in pure gold, and the adjacent courtyard displayed several golden statues. However, when the Spanish in 1533 demanded a ransom from the Incas to spare the life of their leader Atahualpa, all gold was removed from Korikancha! The Inca stonework was solid! Over the years, even earthquakes have not been able to destroy the massive constructions! In general, the Inca masonry is fabulous – precise and stable. In many places around Cusco, you can view the artwork of the old Inca capital. Do not miss the Twelve Angled Stone in an Inca palace wall some streets away.

Sacsayhuaman | Photo: Tracy Clark / Pixabay

Sacsayhuaman, or Saqsaywaman, with the popular pronunciation association ‘Sexy Woman’, is another extraordinary Inca construction founded on a steep hill overlooking the city. That means there is quite a brisk walk up to the impressive citadel. It is like Korikancha dedicated to the sun, Inti, and its counterpart, in the upper part of Cusco. In the 13th century, the Incas in Peru built a complex of huge stones, accurately cut and tightly fit together without the use of mortar.

You can hike up to this ancient Inca fortress overlooking Cusco. Once there, you can easily spend a couple of hours diving into the details of the stacked stones and the history of the Incas in Peru. The construction is spectacular, and it is believed that about 20,000 men transported the massive stones to this site from quarries around Cusco!

Cristo Blanco, Cusco | Photo: Jeff Huan / Pixabay

Not far from Sacsayhuaman, you will locate the giant 8-metre-high Cristo Blanco. It is a remarkable, white Jesus statue situated atop a hill (the Pukamuqu mountain), which is visible all across Cusco. It was a gift from Arabic Palestinians after World War II, slightly resembling the famous Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro. The artist behind the statue was the Peruvian artist Francisco Olazo Allende. For a magnificent experience and extraordinary views of the surrounding city, you may decide to hike up here from colonial Cusco.

Cusco features a number of intriguing museums, among others, the Inka Museum, Museo Inka, a cultural museum of the Inca heritage. It houses an interesting collection of Inca and pre-Inca artefacts, including skulls, mummies, and artwork. You will spot the museum within a stone’s throw from Plaza de Armas.

Visit Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru | Photo: Travel In Culture

Just behind the Inka Museum, you will come across the Museo de Arte Precolombino. The museum is part of the Larco Museum in Lima and displays around 400 unique pieces of art belonging to the Lima museum. Through the exhibitions, you will discover the art of the pre-Columbian civilisations existing in Peru.

Everywhere in Cusco you will see the colourfully dressed native Peruvians – sometimes with their alpacas | Photo: Travel In Culture

A third museum you might find interesting is the Coca Museum at San Blas – also with traces of the Incas in Peru. It tells the story of the coca plant and its significance in Peru throughout the years and today. The coca leaves have been used for centuries in the Andean communities for medical and other purposes. Today, it is particularly known as ‘medicine’ to cure altitude sickness, and it will be offered everywhere in the city in hotels and the like.

Photo: Jdbenthien / Pixabay

The neighbourhood above central Cusco, San Blas, is a lot quieter, picturesque and charming with artisans, local craft and cafés than the streets more centrally located. Often described as bohemian, the Plazoleta de San Blas is surrounded by narrow, steep cobblestone lanes and alleys, often pedestrian-only.

When the Spaniards arrived, the area changed its name to San Blas, and little by little, the architectural style was converted into colonial with a touch of Andean culture. The San Blas Temple by the quaint square is the oldest church in Cusco, rich in cedar woodcarving cut from one single tree trunk. The construction is a fine example of colonial style. Today, traditional galleries, workshops, bars and restaurants encircle the square, and it has now become one of the favourite visitor spots in the old Inca capital!

Picturesque San Blas in Cusco | Photo: Travel In Culture

The neighbourhood is a gem and a great place to wander around and even get prime views of the entire Cusco from the ‘observatory’ and viewpoints popping up between rustic walls and simple houses. Do not miss the other fabulous viewpoints on this side of the city, for example, the Mirador de Plaza Sán Cristobal a bit further to the side. Up here in the narrow lanes, you may also occasionally bump into vividly dressed Peruvian ladies accompanied by their alpacas – or catch a glimpse of a couple of them sitting on the doorstep for a chat with their animals around!

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