If you visit only one Cuzco site, make it these Inca ruins forming the base of the colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo. Once the richest temple in the Inca empire, all that remains today is the masterful stonework. The temple was built in the mid-15th century during the reign of the 10th inca, Túpac Yupanqui. Postconquest, Francisco Pizarro gave it to his brother Juan who bequeathed it to the Dominicans, in whose possession it remains. Today’s site is a bizarre combination of Inca and colonial architecture, topped with a roof of glass and metal. In Inca times, Qorikancha (Quechua for ‘Golden Courtyard’) was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets, each weighing about 2kg. There were life-sized gold and silver replicas of corn, which were ceremonially ‘planted’ in agricultural rituals. Also reported were solid-gold treasures, such as altars, llamas and babies, as well as a replica of the sun. But within months of the arrival of the first conquistadors, this incredible wealth had all been looted and melted down. Various other religious rites took place in the temple. It is said that the mummified bodies of several previous incas (kings) were kept here, brought out into the sunlight each day and offered food and drink, which was then ritually burnt. Qorikancha was also an observatory where high priests monitored celestial activities. Most of this is left to the imagination of the modern visitor, but the remaining stonework ranks with the finest Inca architecture in Peru. A curved, perfectly fitted 6m-high wall can be seen from both inside and outside the site. This wall has withstood all of the violent earthquakes that leveled most of Cuzco’s colonial buildings. Once inside the site, you enter a courtyard. The octagonal font in the middle was originally covered with 55kg of solid gold. Inca chambers lie to either side of the courtyard. The largest, to the right, were said to be temples to the moon and the stars, and were covered with sheets of solid silver. The walls are perfectly tapered upward and, with their niches and doorways, are excellent examples of Inca trapezoidal architecture. The fitting of the individual blocks is so precise that in some places you can’t tell where one block ends and the next begins. Opposite these chambers, on the other side of the courtyard, are smaller temples dedicated to thunder and the rainbow. Three holes have been carved through the walls of this section to the street outside, which scholars think were drains, either for sacrificial chicha (fermented corn beer), blood or, more mundanely, rainwater. Alternatively, they may have been speaking tubes connecting the inner temple with the outside. Another feature of this side of the complex is the floor in front of the chambers: it dates from Inca times and is carefully cobbled with pebbles. Colonial paintings around the outside of the courtyard depict the life of St Dominic and contain several representations of dogs holding torches in their jaws. These are God’s guard dogs (dominicanus in Latin), hence the name of this religious order.

The name Sacsaywaman or Sacsayhuamán is derived from two Quechua words: “Sacsay,” which means satiate and “wamán," which means hawk; together they mean “eat your fill, hawk.” This puzzling meaning is a reference to the fact that the birds were divine protectors of the Incas and the military battalions. It is located 1.25 miles from Cusco's square at an altitude of 12,140 feet above sea level, surrounded by the mountains Ausangate, Pachatusán and Sencca. It covers an area of twelve square miles, which hold incredible archaeological and architectural sites, including: Kolcampata, Qenqo Grande and Qenqo Chico, Laqo, Kusilluchayoq, Lanlakuyuq, Llaullipata, Chacan, Pukapukara and Tambomachay. It is believed that around 20,000 men worked to cut and transport gigantic stones from Huaqoto and Rumiqolqa and build this ceremonial Inca fortress. Sacsayhuamán is an architectural work with megalithic walls made of stones than can weigh from 99 to 138 tons. The stones are different sizes and some have more than one hundred angles, each fitted and joined to the other with no mortar of any kind.

The Incan Empire was completely destroyed by European forces in the 16th century. Many of their massive temples, fortresses and cities were left standing, but without any clues as to their purpose. Qenqo Temple, fifteen minutes from Cusco is similarly mysterious and a dark account has formed in the historical vacuum. In Quechua, Qenqo means labyrinth or zig-zag and the temple is named for the crooked canal cut out of its rock. Although it is clear the canal carried some sort of liquid, researchers have been forced to guess at its purpose, and at what liquid it transported. Hypotheses range from carrying holy water, chicha (corn beer), or blood. All three indicate that Qenqo was used for death rituals, possibly to embalm bodies or detect whether a person lived a good life by the course the liquid followed. Qenqo is a unique temple in its construction as well, having been entirely carved out of a gigantic monolith. Stretched across a hillside, the temple is carved out of rock and marries the man-made tunnels with natural chambers. One of these chambers features 19 small niches and is set up as an amphitheater. Once again, the purpose of the theater has been lost over time, but most agree the area was used for some type of sacrifice to the sun, moon and star gods who were worshipped at the site. From the information available, it appears Qenqo Temple was an extremely holy site for the Incas. Their dead were judged and possibly embalmed in Qenqo’s winding tunnels, and blood sacrifices were offered to the heavenly gods. Despite the probable grisly purpose of the temple, its carved tunnels and chambers are an amazing work of ancient architecture, and a trip to Qenqo is sure to turn the wheels of mystery inside every visitor.

4.5 miles northeast of Cusco stands Tambomachay. At 12,350 feet above sea level, the architecture of this Inca bath consists of a group of structures built with precisely cut stones. Water from nearby streams runs through the site in aqueducts and small cascades. Tambomachay was linked to the veneration of water, an important element in the Andean world view. For that reason, it has two aqueducts with artistic engravings in the rock that transport and supply a constant flow of clean water all year round. Its name, which means "place of rest," leads experts to believe the Inca came to this bath to rest. Today it is one of the best hiking routes because it offers tourists an adventure amid fascinating natural scenery.

The complex holds numerous halls, inner plazas, aqueducts, watchtowers and paths. Its role would have been a "tambo" or a place of rest and lodging. According to legend, each time the Inca visited Tambomachay, he was accompanied by a large retinue that stayed in Puka Pukara. Its fortified appearance led to it being called a fortress.