1-Day Tour of Cusco City and Nearby Ruins

We offer a 1-day city tour of Cusco and nearby ruins which takes you through all the important landmarks of the city in a few hours. All the archaeological sites in and around this city are close by, therefore, there is less distance to cover and more exploring to do. We offer two different packages. You can either choose the morning tour or the afternoon one.

Our Cusco city tour takes you to the following sites (in the order as given):

  • Cusco’s Cathedral or the Qoricancha temple
  • Saqsaywaman
  • Quenqo
  • Puka Pukara
  • Tambomachay

Our guided tour of Cusco city and nearby ruins begins from your hotel. We will pick you up at the prescribed time and move towards our first destination, either the Qoricancha temple or the Cusco Cathedral. You can choose between the two sites, the Qoricancha temple being the most preferred one.

The Qoricancha temple of Cusco is an ancient spiritual temple built to worship the revered Sun God by the Incas. This large temple houses many deities in separate courts. The Dominicans build a magnificent Catholic church upon the original structure after the Spanish conquest.  Surrounded by beautiful gardens, the Qoricancha temple or the Sun Temple, is a grand site which pays a tribute to the spiritual heritage and presents a beautiful mix of the Incan and Spanish architecture.

The alternatives site i.e. the Cathedral is the most magnificent Catholic Church in the whole of Peru and perhaps South America itself. It was built on the site of the Wiracocha Inca Palace after Cusco had fallen to the Spanish invaders. This Cathedral houses some of the most amazing woodwork and Cusquenian art. It is five centuries old and sands tall in its glory till date.

Our second stop on the Cusco city tour will be the Saqsaywaman fortress. This amazing structure was built centuries ago using the Inca engineering techniques of construction. It hosts three distinct platforms each of which is build using stones. Sizes and shapes of the stones vary from one part of the structure of another. This fortress is a classic display of Incan skill in stonework. This site is located 2 kilometers away from Cusco mainland.

From the Saqsaywaman fortress, we head towards the site of Quenqo which is just one kilometer from the grand fortress. This site served as the ceremonial cult center for the Incas It is known for is spacious and magnificent amphitheater. This amphitheater is only half its original height now, however, it is quite a sight. A century ago, or perhaps even earlier, Incan mummies from all nineteen trapezoidal niches could be found in this ancient complex.

Our next stop shall be the Red Fortress i.e. the Puca Pucara complex. The fortress gets its name from the shade of red tinting its walls. The stones used to build this structure contained a lot of iron, therefore, the whole structure is reddish in color. The Inca civilization possessed superior engineering skills and were well ahead of their time in making labs and farms. Puca Pucara is said to have been built as a dairy farm and watch post for Tombachay. The aqueducts, fountains and several enclosures housed in this complex simply show how amazing the Inca engineers and craftsmen were.

 From Puca Pucara, we continue our journey towards the last destination before returning to the city square. Tombachay is the last site we explore on our 1-day city tour of Cusco. Tombachay is also known as the “water cult” and rightly so. It is a stone structure around the most enchanting waterfalls near Cusco. There are several aqueducts which must have served as water carriers back when the city of Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire. There is a tower standing tall in front of the original structure. It is believed to have been the primary guard post for this important site.

Cusco City:

$90 USD per person provided you are going in a group of 4 people.

Terms and conditions apply, and prices may vary accordingly in case you are travelling in more or less numbers, customized trips, trips including more sights, solo or with family.

For further information or queries:

Call us

+1 (248) 420-4630

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@caminalosandespage

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+1 (248) 420-4630