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Coricancha and the Santo Domingo Convent

Reading : 3 min February 20 2020

When exploring Cusco, you will find an impressive number of museums, temples, and archeological sites within and outside of city limits. Coricancha and the Santo Domingo Convent are just two of them.

While the exact history of both is slightly unclear, what is known dates back several centuries and easily captivates the most curious of travelers passing through the ancient Inca capital. Let’s take a look!

What is Coricancha and where is it?

Coricancha – also spelled Koricancha, Qoricancha, or Qorikancha – is an ancient temple that was the most important in the Inca empire. The name translates to golden enclosure in Quechua.

On it stands Santo Domingo Convent, which was built by Spaniard colonists who destroyed Coricancha and used its foundations for their cathedral.

Both Coricancha and the Santo Domingo Convent are located two blocks from the Plaza de Armas at the intersection of Avenida El Sol and Calle Santo Domingo.  

Entrance price to Coricancha and Santo Domingo Convent

There are a couple price options available for you in order to visit the Coricancha museum. They consist of the following:

  • Single-day entrance: 15 soles ($5 USD) for adults
  • Cusco Tourist Ticket: 130 soles ($40 USD) for adults, which allows access to 16 attractions in Cusco and the Sacred Valley for 10 days, Coricancha included

Moreover, discounted prices are offered for children and students. If you would like to see some, but not all, of the attractions included in the Cusco Tourist Ticket, partial circuits are available at a lower cost.  

Schedule

The underground Coricancha archeological museum contains mummies, sacred idols, textiles, sculptures, and more from ancient Incan times. It can be visited:

  • Monday to Saturday: From 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
  • Sunday: From 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Keep in mind that entrance to the Coricancha museum may be limited on public holidays.

Nearby Hotels

If you wish to stay close to the Cusco city center, you have a myriad of options, some of the most popular being:

  • JW Marriott Hotel, which elegantly mixes luxury with colonial design
  • Aranwa Cusco Boutique Hotel, a hotel-museum constructed in an old colonial mansion
  • Plaza de Armas Cusco Hotel, boasting a bar none view to the plaza and its surrounding churches
  • Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza, located just a block from the plaza for easy access to city sites
  • Inkaterra La Casona Relais & Chateaux, a 16th century colonial manor turned boutique

The Origins of Coricancha

There is much debate about the exact origins of Coricancha. Some historians claim the temple’s construction dates back to pre-Incan times, stating that only the temple’s remodeling can be credited to the Inca Pachacutec after his victory over the Chancas in the 15th century.  

Nevertheless, no matter when it was constructed, the foundation and construction of the Cusco temple keeps withstanding the test of time.

The exact precision of the interlocking stones without mortar not only exemplify the imperial power of the Incas, but also have withstood earthquakes throughout the centuries.

Furthermore, Corcicancha was created according to the sky with its four temples surrounding a central plaza: The Temple of the Sun, The Temple of the Moon, The Temple of Venus and the Stars, and the Rainbow Temple. Outside of the enclosed temples was the exterior garden, or Sacred Garden of the Sun.

Without a doubt, the temple dedicated to the sun god, Inti, was most important. It was entirely covered by gold plates, and within its limits were gold and silver statues of deities. Story has it that Coricancha’s sheer amount of precious metals made it shine.

However, with the conquest of the Spaniards in the 16th century, the Coricancha temple was destroyed, and all of the gold was looted and sent to the Spanish royalty.

Then, under Catholic reign, Santo Domingo Convent was built on its foundation. Its construction took the better part of a century.

Coricancha photos

Today, some of the most important features of the ancient Cusco temple are now shadowed by the grandiose Santo Domingo Convent.

A view of the Santo Domingo Convent from outside 

Coricancha Santo Domingo Convent

Perfectly interlocked stones within an original Incan room

Coricancha temple interlocked stones

Curvature of the original Coricancha walls

Coricancha temple walls

Colonial paintings line the halls of the Cusco temple courtyard

Coricancha Cusco temple paintings

Courtyard of Santo Domingo Convent

Coricancha Santo Domingo Convent courtyard

Are you interested in visiting Coricancha and the Santo Domingo Convent? Let us help you reserve your train to Machu Picchu with options that leave directly from the city of Cusco. Don’t miss out on experiencing this slice of history during your personalized Machu Picchu trip!

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