Plazoleta de las Nazarenas and Siete Culebras

After the bustle of the Plaza de Armas, this little square feels like another world. But here too the stone has a story to tell. Look at the base of the large white building: it is an Inca wall, with a colonial mansion built on top.

1From mansion to beaterio

In the late 16th century the plot was the mansion of a Spanish resident; later the Jesuits used it for a school and, in the 18th century, it became the beaterio of the Nazarenas, a community of religious women that included members of Indigenous noble families. The community remained until the 1960s. Today the building is a hotel, the Palacio Nazarenas. Opposite, the Casa Cabrera houses the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art.

2The seven snakes

Step a few paces into the alley at the corner. Its old name, as recorded, was Amaru Qhata, ‘the serpent slope’. Look on the stone blocks for wavy shapes in relief: they are carved snakes. Tradition says there are seven on each side of the street, hence its name, Siete Culebras, ‘seven snakes’.

For the Incas, the amaru, the serpent, was linked to water, the underworld and the fertility of the earth.

Exactly who carved these reliefs, and when, is unclear. But in the late afternoon, in raking light, the snakes seem to slither across the stone.

3What to look for

• The serpents in relief, especially at the corner with the square.
• The Inca wall forming the base of the former beaterio.
• The stone bell gable rising above the white façade.

From here the route climbs: take your time and stop to breathe whenever you need to.