The Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor was known in Inca times as Huacaypata, or the Warriors Square, this was the scene for many key events in the history of Cuzco. The Koricancha was the main Inca temple, the Temple of Inti (the supreme god - the sun) and a masterpiece of the Inca architecture. The temple is built in blocks of carved granite and smelted gold in the junctures of the blocks. Inside the temple, there was a garden in which the trees, birds, animals, etc. were represented in gold. The temple was surrounded with a gold cornice and all the walls covered in gold plates.
The Sacred Valley, located hours drive from Cuzco has been the source of agricultural products for the city of Cuzco since Inca times. Its geography and mild climate make it ideal for outdoor sports enthusiasts to practice rafting, mountain biking and trekking, amongst others.
The citadel of Machu Picchu is by far the most important tourist attraction in the Sacred Valley. Discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, this stronghold, overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River is considered one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. It served as a place of worship, a site for stargazing and a private hacienda of the family of the Inca Pachacútec.
