The best city hikes and walks in Calca

The Temple of the Sun is one of the most impressive relics of the Inca culture and was built in honor of the sun god Inti. It was the spiritual and religious center of the Inca Empire. Today, the Qoricancha stands as a symbolic example of the fusion of Inca building culture and Spanish colonial architecture. The Qoricancha housed not only the Temple of the Sun, but also other sacred shrines for other deities. (Temple of the Moon Goddess, the Temple of Lightning, the Temple of the Rainbow, the Temple of Water, and others. All temples were clad in gold and adorned with precious stones. The Spaniards plundered the treasures and partially destroyed the temple to build a monastery on it. The monastery was repeatedly damaged by several earthquakes, but the walls of the Inca temple have remained undamaged, which speaks to the exceptional architecture. Even today, 15 monks still live here.

You should definitely drink a freshly squeezed juice here and eat the quinoa bread from a nearby place. Simply delicious.

Even if you are no longer allowed to photograph inside the cathedral today (or precisely because of that), visiting it is a must for anyone visiting Cusco. Countless altars in various architectural styles and materials, the different patron saints, the silver monstrance, and of course the entire architecture are admirable. The supporting walls of the nave are built from stones of a nearby Inca temple. After an earthquake, the cathedral's roof was destroyed and rebuilt in the Gothic style.

Plaza San Francisco is considered one of the main squares in the city and is known for its colonial architecture and historical significance. The square is surrounded by several important buildings, including the Church of San Francisco, which is considered one of the most important colonial churches in Cusco.

How I would have loved to look out over the Incas’ garden from here, with all the animals and plants made of pure gold.

The square was part of Huacaypata, the old Inca square. With the arrival of the Spanish, the buildings were constructed that separated it from the Plaza de Armas and what was then called Plaza de Tlanguis, occupying the space of the current Plaza Regocijo, Espinar Square and the site where today is the building of the old Cusco Tourist Hotel and where the Cusco Mint was built for the first time. During the colonial period, in the year 1572, Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, during his general visit to the entire territory of the Viceroyalty, ordered that the Church of San Francisco be built on the southwest side of this square by the Franciscan friars, who had already settled them in this space since 1549.3 Since then, both due to its location and its extension, it became the second most important public space in the city after the Plaza de Armas. Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_San_Francisco_(Per%C3%BA)

The Church of the Company of Jesus is a Jesuit church in Cusco, Peru. It was built on the site of Amarucancha, the palace of Huayna Cápac. It is located in the Plaza de Armas in the center of the city. As is well known, in the Inca period the large main square of the Incas was surrounded by numerous palaces. One of the most modern and extensive was the Amarukancha, which belonged to Wayna Qhapaq and was granted to Hernando Pizarro during the Spanish invasion. Later, the property was acquired by the heirs of the conqueror through the spouses Diego de Silva and Teresa Orgoñez and was donated to the Jesuits upon their arrival in this city in 1571 to build the church of their order. The church is made mainly of andesite and has the most beautiful and elaborate façade among the churches in the city; above the entrance door is a Virgin of the Immaculate Conception carved in berenguela (a material similar to marble). It has two external chapels attached to the main building, to the north is the Chapel of the Virgin of Loreto (since 1894 it has been known as the Chapel of the Virgin of Lourdes), which is still used for worship and where the Lord of Loreto is almost always venerated. Burgos, which was transferred from the demolished church of San Agustín, and to the south the Chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola, donated to the Society of Artisans of Cusco. The Society of Jesus inside consists of a single nave, in the background of which the imposing main altar stands out, carved in cedar wood in a hybrid style by Cristóbal Clemente around 1670 and entirely gilded with gold leaf, measuring 21 meters high and 12 meters wide. In the central part of the altar is the large image of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, above it a painting representing the Transfiguration of the Lord and above it an unknown order sign. Source: https://www.cusco-live.com/es/directorio/item/iglesia-de-la-compania-de-jesus.html

Practically everything is sold here: meat, fish, fruit, cheese, souvenirs, food and drink. It's worth a visit.