Incan temple, Incan museum

The ruins of the temple of Koricancha is mixed with the Santa Domingo monastery.
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Since this is the second entry on Cusco, I'll skip most of the major stuff. Honestly, we did a lot of souvenier shopping during the second visit, which isn't so exciting to read about, or write about for that matter.

However, we did see a couple great sites. First was the Museo del Inka, and from there we went to Koricancha, an Incan temple that was for centuries hidden by the walls and plaster of a monastery.

Some legends say that the walls of Koricancha -- which means "house of gold" -- were plated in gold.

In the plaza of the Museo del Inka, where many women weave by the traditional methods.
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Museo del Inka

We arrived again to Cusco during the late afternoon, and we had two more nights here before flying to Lima. The first night, we were all tired from the trek, so we just grabbed a quick dinner on Plaza de Armas and headed back to Torredorada, where we were once again staying (review in first Cusco entry).

The next morning, we went to the Museo del Inka, which is located about a block up the hill from the central plaza. Again, we lucked out with the Spanish-speaking guide, who was passionate about the museum and abuut native history. I'm pretty sure he was still angry at the Spanish. The museum included works from many pre-Incan cultures and a second floor of Incan pieces, including vessels several feet tall.

One of the temples of Koricancha.
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Also, it was built in a beautiful colonial house, and most of the original decorations still survive, including ceilings painted in mudejar style.

House of gold: Koricancha

That afternoon, we went to Koricancha, an ancient Incan temple inside the Santo Domingo monastery. The temple had been lost for centuries, buried behind the walls of a Spanish monastery. The Spaniards had tried to destroy it and use the stones for other things, but the stonework was so strong that they gave up and covered it with plaster. It was unknown and thought lost when an earthquake shook down parts of the monastery and plasters walls on top of the temple.

The two-story courtyard of the Santo Domigo monastery is quite charming, and there is Dominican art tucked underneath the arches.
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Some legends say that the walls of Koricancha -- which means "house of gold" -- were plated in gold. That is probably apocryphal, but it is believed that the trapezoidal windows throughout the temples held golden statues. A legend says that there was one special golded statue, the size of a boy (there is wide disagreement about this boy's age, and therefore the size of the statue. We heard both two and 11 years old). There was a hole on the top of the statue's head, with a channel leading to its stomach. After the Inca king died, it's said that his heart was placed in the hole and burned. Then the ashed fell into the statue's stomach. Because for the Incas gold represented the sun (it had no economic value until the Spaniards arrived), they then believed that the Inca would join his father, the sun.

There are actually several temples inside Koricancha, dedicated to different Incan gods. The stonework is some of the most perfect left behind by the Incas. Because the Incas built their structures with the area's tectonic activity in mind, the walls largely survived the earthquake, while the colonial structures did not.

The odd thing is that if it weren't for the Incan ruins, you would probably still visit the monastery, and enjoy the architecture. But because the mosastery covered ruins for centuries, the tendency is to ignore it, or even to consider it an unfortunate inconvenience. Still, the monastery's interior courtyard, estilo patio andaluz, is rounded with beautiful archways. There is also a large collections of paintings.

We spent the rest of the time shopping, mostly around San Blas, and on the hilly streets between the plaza and San Blas. You won't have any trouble finding places to buy souveniers, though.