Peru Best Tours

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Departamento de Cusco
Cusco

Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, is considered the archaeological capital of South America. It was the capital of the Inca Empire from its beginning in the 14th century until the Spanish conquest in 1533. In the city of Cusco, as in no other place, the mixture of Spanish and Inca cultures can be appreciated specially in the fusion of Inca ruins with Spanish architecture.
Also, one of the most visible reflections of the racial mixing, mestizaje, was the Cusco School of Painting, which combined the treatment of native artist with the most religious Spanish motifs, forms, and concepts.

The capital of the Inca Empire is known by its architecture of enormous cut-stone blocks fitted so perfectly that no mortar was needed. Cusco was designed in the form of a puma with the legendary fortress of Sacsayhuaman as the head. The confluence of the Huatanay and the Tullumayo rivers was canalized and straightened to form the tail. The heart of the city, and the puma, was the Huaycaypata, the main square of Cusco, located in the same place as the modern city square, but twice the size. Finally, four main paved roads left the square to the four corners of the empire. It was a city of such engineering excellence and beauty.

Cusco is the main entrance to Machu Picchu, “the Lost City of the Incas”, considered the 8th wonder of the world.

Plaza de Armas

This was built on very site where the Incas used to carry out their own public ceremonies. Of all the colonial plazas in Peru, it is one of the finest and is surrounded by five churches and arcades built in Spanish architectural style.

Church and Convent of La Merced

Considered one of Cusco’s most beautiful colonial churches, La Merced is built in the renaissance and baroque styles. La Merced has a beautiful facade and lovely cloisters with a mural depicting the life of the Merced Order's founder, the French St. Pedro Nolasco.

The sacristy contains a small museum of religious art, including a spectacular solid-gold monstrance swathed in precious stones. The church's crypt shelters the remains of two famous conquistadors, Diego de Almagro and Gonzalo Pizarro. When Almagro began his expedition to Chile, he brought along two Mercederian chaplains from Cusco.

The church was designed a Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1946. There is also a small museum of religious art, which displays a gold monstrance standing 1.3 m high and decorated with diamonds and pearls, with one particularly eye-catching because it is shaped like a mermaid; it is the second largest monstrance in the world.


Round Trips	Regional Trips	Adventure Trips	Luxury Tours

Discover the Empire of the Incas 5 D / 4 N - from $639 Best of the Andes and exotic jungle 10 D / 9 N - from $1189 Best of the Andes and exotic jungle II 9 D / 8 N - from $1159 Best of the Andes 10 D / 9 N - from $1029 Peru Overview 15 D / 14 N - from $1689	Lima, City of Kings 5 D / 4 N - from $199 The Enigma of the Nazca Lines and the Beauty of the Paracas National Reserve 2 D / 1 N - from $239 Discover the Empire of the Incas 4 D / 3 N - from $479 Life at Lake Titicaca 3 D / 2 N - from $209 The great Colca Canyon and the big condor 4 D / 3 N - from $279 Exotic Southern Jungle 3 D / 2 N - from $329 Upper Amazonas 4 D / 3 N - from $329 The Lord of Sipan & Chan Chan 2 D / 1 N - from $419	Rafting at the Urubamba 5 D / 4 N - from $2589 Follow the Inca path 7 D / 6 N - from $1009 Classic Inca Trail 4 D / 3 N - from $2589 Salcantay Trek to Machu Picchu 5 D / 4 N - from $2589	"Our luxury trips offer the best Peru has to offer. These packages are aimed at the more discerning client who wishes to have the more personal or private touch to their holiday. More info"

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