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Central Plaza – Stand with the kids in the central
plaza, and you are, according to 800 year old Inca beliefs, literally in
the navel of the Universe, the center of its four quarters. (The word "Cusco"
means navel in Quechua.) A beautiful spot today, at one time it gloried
in its importance, bathing itself in so much gold the Conquistadors thought
they were hallucinating. You might feel a little dizzy yourself: the city
is 11,000 feet above sea level, so take it slow. |
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The Cathedral – Another 400 year-old structure
from the earliest colonial period, built in response to the political importance
of Cusco in the Inca Empire. This has a magnificent colonial art collection. |
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Koricancha – Inside the Convento de Santo Domingo
are ruins of the Koricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun. Imagine these enormous
stone walls covered in gold – and you'll know why the Spanish liked
Peru so much. |
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Down the hill from the Convento de Santo Domingo, the Museo de Sitio
del Koricancha has a good model of what the Koricancha looked like.
The grassy area around the museum is a fine place for kids to run around. |
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Iglesia San Cristobal – From the plaza outside
the church of San Cristobal, you have a great vista of Cusco, a sea of red
tile roofs, surrounded by high mountains, sparkling in the high mountain
air. Climb up the bell tower for an even better view. Kids need to stretch
their legs – it's a nice walk to the church from the center of town. |
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Tip: In Cusco, buy a Boleto Turistico,
a tourist ticket for entrance into many of the sites in and around Cusco.
The ticket includes Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Tambomachay, Ollantaytambo, Pisac,
Chincherro, the cathedral, Museo de Sitio del Koricancha, Museo Historico
Regional. The ticket is good for ten days and kid's tickets are half price. |
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Pictorial
history of the Inca – rulers, clothing and jewelry, food and homes, roads and bridges,
Inca gods, goddesses, and rituals, with excellent maps of ancient
Cusco and details about the Temple of the Sun and the Inca fortress
of Sacsayhuaman. (Picture book)
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Humorous, handy tips for the Sapa Inca, emperor of the empire – how to live like a god and worship in your own temple (the Koricancha), leading religious ceremonies and commanding the army, and after you die, your body is mummified, paraded through the streets of Cusco, and returned to your own palace where you sit on a golden throne and continue to "live" in style. (Picture book)
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(More children's
books on other Peru pages) |
