The planning of the city of Cusco

The planning of the city of Cusco, Aracari Travel

The City of Cusco

Cusco is a welcoming, captivating city. Rustic nostalgia fills its narrow streets, as colonial buildings stand in stark contrast to the Inca walls. Urban explorers can saunter through the myriad of shops and examine the rich heritage of Cusco’s crafts workshops and markets. In 1533, Francisco Pizarro and his team of Spanish conquistadors discovered the Cusco. The conquistadores described the imposing city in their report to King Charles V:

“This city is the greatest and the finest ever seen in this country or anywhere in the Indies…We can assure your Majesty that it is so beautiful and has such fine buildings that it would be remarkable even in Spain.”

Planning inspiration in the form of a Puma

Cusco was originally built in the shape of a Puma. When the city was first being developed as the centre of an expanding empire, the great emperor Pachatuteq and his contemporaries planned the layout of the city in the form of this great Amazonian cat, well know.

Even in modern day Cusco traces of this design can be seen. The head of the puma was Sacsayhuaman, of which the zig-zagged shape is thought to represent the Puma’s ferocious teeth. The heart of the Puma was at the main ceremonial square, now the Plaza de Armas. It’s tail, meanwhile, was the convergence between the rivers of Saphi and Tullumayo. And the Koricancha sun temple? This was the hips of the puma, representing life and reproduction. A great depiction of this design can be found here.

Cusco City Design

As centre of the empire, the ingenuity of Cusco’s design did not stop at animal representations. This was the finest city in pre-Columbian South America, with exquisite stone masonry and excellent civic planning, making it a Peru travel hotspot.

Incan Walls

The walls of the city of Cusco are a highlight of a visit to the city, and an opportunity to appreciate the skill of Incan stonemasons. No cement was used in their making, where giant stone building blocks fit together perfectly. Learn more about Incan walls in Cusco.

CUSCO GUIDED TOURS

Aracari specializes in private, tailormade tours to Peru. We arrange expert guiding across the country, including Cusco, and can connect visitors with specialists in their field such as anthropologists and historians for travelers looking to learn more about the Incas.

Contact us today to speak to an expert travel consultant to plan your trip to Peru.

Related Post
A Breed Without Equals: The Peruvian Paso Horse The Spanish Conquistadors did more than defeat the Incas in the 16th Century. They sowed the seeds for the evolution of a unique breed of horse,  the ...
The kids of Patakancha We could not consider our tours of Peru, Bolivia and Galapagos to be of the highest calibre and authenticity without basing our operations in responsi...
The Festival of Cusco Festivals: Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Festival in Cusco  The Corpus Christi Festival is Cusco's most important religious procession. The oldest religious festival in the Am...
Aracari features in Travel + Leisure’s ‘World’s Top ... Travel + Leisure's World's Top Adventure Trips ''T+L has surveyed the field to create the ultimate directory of adventure trips around the globe, eac...
Visiting Hacienda La Caravedo Ica On a recent trip to Peru I took a long weekend and headed 4 hours south of Lima to visit Ica, an area of vast fertile land that produces succulent gra...
Chilcano Week 2015 Lima Chilcano Week If Happy Hour and other such drink deals and socializing opportunities appeal to you, look no further. Starting last Friday, January 9t...