Plaza de Armas: the old Huacaypata

You are at the centre of the centre. For the Incas, Cusco was the navel of the world, and this square, called Huacaypata or Haukaypata depending on the source, was its great ceremonial stage. In Inca times it was much larger, also taking in today’s Plaza Regocijo, on the other side of the old course of the Saphi river.

1Mummies, festivals and the Spanish

Chroniclers tell us that the great festivals of the calendar were held here, and that the mummies of dead Inca rulers, richly dressed, were brought out into the square to take part. Royal palaces stood all around, and the cathedral and La Compañía were later raised on their walls.

Francisco Pizarro and his men entered Cusco in November 1533, and on 23 March 1534 the Spanish city was founded here. Three years later, in 1536, Manco Inca besieged the city in a rebellion that came close to driving the conquistadors out.

2The end of Túpac Amaru II

On 18 May 1781, in this square, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, Túpac Amaru II, leader of the greatest Indigenous rebellion in the viceroyalty, was executed along with his wife Micaela Bastidas and other relatives. Today a plaque honours the Andean resistance.

The same square has been temple, market, battlefield and place of execution. Today it is, above all, a meeting point.

3What to look for

• The memorial plaque dedicated to Túpac Amaru II and the Andean resistance.
• The arcades: many rest on Inca stone foundations.
• The seven-colour flag, emblem of the city, often flying beside the Peruvian one.