Qorikancha (Coricancha and Santo Domingo)

Qorikancha, often written Coricancha, was the most important temple in the Inca Empire. Its Quechua name means golden temple, and it was originally known as Intikancha or Intiwasi, the house of the sun. It was dedicated to Inti, the sun god, and a high priest lived and officiated here. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, who rebuilt Cusco, is credited with enlarging the temple and adding the gold plates for which it became famous. Its walls were once sheathed in sheets of gold and the courtyard held golden statues, and in 1533 most of the gold gathered for the ransom of Atahualpa came from here.

After the conquest the temple was largely destroyed and its stones were reused across the city. The Dominicans built their church and convent of Santo Domingo directly on the Inca foundations, and the present buildings date from after the earthquake of 1650, which wrecked the first convent; construction took most of a century. The result is one of the clearest pictures anywhere of how colonial Cusco was literally built on top of the Inca city.

Inside the convent you can see four surviving Inca rooms with sloping walls of beautifully cut ashlar masonry, fitted without mortar. The curved outer wall is built of pink and grey granite, and andesite, diorite and limestone appear among the surviving relics. Carved stones from the temple are displayed in the rooms, including a block pierced with three holes that may have drained rainwater or libations of chicha. Some interior surfaces show a vitrified layer that is said to have reflected light. The site looks over the Intipampa, the open area in front of the temple.

The complex is managed by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture together with the Dominican Order, and it is part of the City of Cuzco World Heritage Site inscribed in 1983. There is also an underground archaeological museum nearby with mummies, textiles and sacred objects from the site, which makes a good add-on if you want more context.

Qorikancha is a short walk downhill from the Plaza de Armas, so it is easy to fit into a morning in the historic centre. It pairs well with Sacsayhuamán, since the two together show both the religious heart and the monumental scale of Inca Cusco. Opening times can change, so check locally before you go.