Qorikancha: The Incan Temple of the Sun in Cusco

If you visit only one site in Cusco, it should be the Qorikancha Sun Temple and Santo Domingo Church. Of the 300 Incan Temples which once stood in Cusco, Qorikancha was the most important. It was the religious center of Cusco, which itself was the center of the vast Incan Empire. Incan rulers considered themselves to be the children of the sun god Inti, the supreme deity. They drew their authority from this, and thus the temple they built for the sun god was both imposing and opulent. It awed the Spanish conquistadores, who in their chronicles described it as “fabulous beyond belief”.

Qorikancha means Golden Enclosure in Quechua, but it’s believed that the temple’s original name was actually Inti Kancha, Enclosure of the Sun, or Inti Wasi, House of the Sun. Its floors and walls were decorated with hundreds of gold plates, and its courtyard with golden statues.

When the Spanish kidnapped the Incan leader Atahualpa, he offered a roomful of gold in exchange for his life. Much of the gold given to the Spaniards was collected from Qorikancha, who profited greatly although they did not spare Atahualpa.

The temple served as the home for the mummified bodies of previous Incan rulers, which were taken out into the sunlight each day and offered food and drink, which was then ritually burnt. It was presided over by the high priest, or Willaq Umu, who monitored celestial activities from the site. Men could only enter after a period of fasting, barefoot, and with a burden on their backs to represent their humility.

The Spanish colonists demolished much of the temple, but conserved parts which could serve as the interior and foundations to build the Church of Santo Domingo in its place. The construction took almost a century. When you visit Santo Domingo, you’re visiting a Roman Catholic Church showcasing Incan ruins in a strange architectural mélange. This becomes clear the moment you enter the colonial courtyard, with its Spanish columns and trapezoidal Inca doorways leading to the temples of the moon, the stars, thunder, and the rainbow.

A devastating earthquake damaged the church in the 1600s, but the Incan walls still stood. The earthquakes only served to expose even more of the Incan structure. From the exterior, one now sees a curved stone wall formed of huge, interlocking blocks. It was a an amazingly resistant method of construction despite the lack of mortar. Atop this Incan wall is the old stone church, and aside this is a newer wood extension of the church.

One corner of the garden and sprawling lawn boasts a design featuring a condor, a puma, and a snake, in reference to the Andean symbols for the World Above, the Human World, and the Underground. Underneath the lawn, there is an underground archaeological museum. There, you’ll see textiles, mummies, and sacred idols which were found at the site. Its entrance fee is included on the Tourist Ticket, which allows admission to the archeological sites in and around Cusco. Entrance to the church is separate, and costs S/10 soles.