Plaza de Armas, the beating heart of Cusco

You have reached the place where all of Cusco crosses paths. Before looking at the monuments, find a bench and sit down: at this altitude, a pause never hurts.

1Two churches face to face

On one side rises the cathedral, built between 1560 and 1654; at the corner, the Church of the Society of Jesus, rebuilt after the 1650 earthquake. Together they form one of the most photographed Baroque ensembles in the Americas. Along the arcades that close the square, the wooden balconies recall the colonial city.

2The square in festival mode

Every 24 June, Cusco celebrates Inti Raymi, the Inca festival of the Sun, revived as a staged performance in 1944. The show usually begins at Qorikancha, passes through this square and culminates on the esplanade of Sacsayhuamán. A few days before or after, depending on the calendar, comes Corpus Christi, when the statues of saints from the city’s parishes gather at the cathedral and people eat chiriuchu, a cold dish with guinea pig, hen, sausages, seaweed and toasted corn.

An Inca festival and a Catholic one share the same stage: that is Cusco, a city that adds its layers rather than erasing them.

In 2011 the golden statue of an Inca, which many identify as Pachacútec, was placed on top of the 19th-century fountain. Its installation was controversial, and some people still question it today.

3What to look for

• The wooden balconies on the arcades.
• The Inca statue on the fountain.
• The mountains around the square: on the slopes you’ll see neighbourhoods climbing the hills and, depending on where you stand, the Cristo Blanco up high.