Tour to the Valle Sur

At 09:00 hrs. We leave for Tipon which is about 40 minutes from Cusco. We enjoy the lovely mountains and vistas along the way to Tipon. We will visit the ruins of Tipon dedicated to religious worship by the Incas. Then we will continue to Pikillacta, a well-preserved archeological site from the Wari period, a pre-Inca culture. Finally we will visit Andahuaylillas, a small village famous for its Sistina chapel. We will see the beautiful murals made by artists of the Cusco School, amazing embroideries and carved altars. After a glorious time we drive back to Cusco arriving in the afternoon.

Tipon

Is a very important Archaeological site that has numerous impressive terraces that are still being cultivated today. Even more impressive is the irrigation system that is still serving agricultural areas nearby. It consists of carved stone channels, precisely calculated and sometimes with almost vertical falls that all together constitute a hydraulic engineering masterpiece.

Piquillacta

The constructions of Piquillacta are composed of more than 700 structures: 200 Kanchas (departments), 504 qolqas (storages) and different buildings that should have sheltered a population of about ten thousand people. The city was displayed in a harmonious and symmetric way, in blocks with straight streets that embraced many sectors such as the administrative, ceremonial, urban, defensive and a road system. Its buildings had 2 or 3 floors of 12 meters high each one.

The walls were made with mud and stones, wide at the bottom but thin at the upper part. At the beginning of the nineties, these walls were covered with mud of 9cm, that then were painted with plaster. Floors were also made with a kind of thick plaster showing the appearance of a white city.

Andahuaylillas

The most important attraction for the visitors is its church: San Pedro de Andahuaylillas considered as the “Sistine Chapel” of America due to the quality of its art pieces. Built at the beginning of VII century, the interior of the temple is decorated with murals performed by Luis Riaño (XVII century) representing the path to glory and the path to hell. Besides, this church holds a majestic piano, numerous canvases of the Academy of Cusco, silver work and baroque altars.