The half day city tour Cusco runs every day either in the morning or afternoon. The tour in the morning starts at 8:00 AM until 13:00 PM / and in the afternoon starts at 13:00 PM until 6:00 PM

To start this half-day tour in the morning or afternoon, our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby and pick you up in our private transport. Then, we’ll head to the most important temple of the Inca Empire, the Temple of the Sun, known as the Q’oricancha (“golden enclosure” in Quechua). At the Q’oricancha, we’ll be able to observe detailed and intact architecture, and within the temple, we will see smaller temples dedicated to the moon, rainbow, stars, lightning, and thunder, among others, as well, we’ll be able to compare and contrast the building methods of the Incan culture and Catholicism – Q’oricancha was also the key spiritual center of the Incas, which leads to all four quarters of the Inca Empire. Today, the Santo Domingo church stands on top of the temple.

From Q’oricancha, we’ll walk down Avenida El Sol, where we will take our private transport and drive for 25 minutes to the outskirts of the city to visit the spectacular archeological site of Sacsayhuaman which features with its enigmatic stones, 200-ton monoliths. Although the site was religious, the Spanish considered it a military fortress because of its location and the way it was built. Here is made the famous Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun on June 24 of each year. After an explanation of your guide, you will have some time to explore this site on your own.

At the appointed time, we’ll regroup with our tour guide to continue onto other archeological sites in the area. Next, we’ll visit the fascinating Inca site of Q’enqo (Labyrinth or Zigzag). A side built in a natural rock formation to show the complex patterns of steps, seats, geometric reliefs and a puma design. It was also created to represent the Andean constellations and the concept of the three worlds, each one representing sacred animals: the condor, puma, and snake; according to some theories, funerary rituals.

After that, we’ll take another five-minute drive to Puca Pucara, a small, circular Inca site, which was a shelter for travelers coming to Cusco from the Amazon. It was also a military center and used to protect the nearby temple located at Tambomachay. The final stop on our tour is Tambomachay, known as the Temple of Water, with impressive water fountains, thought to be used by the Inca for bathing. Besides, the Incas practiced religious traditions tied to water in order to rejuvenate the land. This tradition is known as the fountain of eternal youth. From there, we’ll drive back down to Cusco city and drop you off at your hotel.

While we expect the tour will run as the itinerary describes. Participants should accept that there is the possibility of changes, being necessary liable to local conditions, e.g, strikes, natural disasters, these changes might be at the discretion of your travel company.

The entrance fee to the archaeological and tourist sites are not included. Please note that you will need to purchase an admission partial ticket (Boleto Turistico Partial) whose cost is PEN 70 Peruvian soles (about USD 25 per ticket) which allows you to access four historical sites located on the city limits like Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Puca Pucara, and Tambomachay (in other words, it is used only on this tour). The cathedral and Q’oricancha (Temple of the Sun) are separate entrance tickets and are PEN 25 Peruvian soles (about USD 8 per ticket) and PEN 15 Peruvian soles (about USD 5 per ticket). However, if you plan to visit historical sites in both Cusco and the Sacred Valley, we recommend you purchase the general admission ticket (Boleto Turistico General) whose cost is PEN 130 Peruvian Soles (about USD 45 per ticket), this ticket allows you to visit 14 historical sites, which are located in Cusco, Southern part of Cusco, Sacred Valley (Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray, and Chinchero), and some museums in Cusco city. The ticket is valid for 10 days. The Maras salt ponds ticket is not part of the boleto turistico parcial or boleto turistico general (partial or general ticket), this ticket should be purchased at the entrance of the same place, whose cost is PEN 10 Peruvian soles (about USD 4 per ticket). It is not necessary to purchase the tourist pass in advance, as you can get it at the first site we visit on the tour.