Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SAN BLAS
Known as the artists' neighborhood, San Blas is nestled on a steep hillside next to the cen-
ter. With classic architecture, its signature blue doors and narrow passageways without
cars, it has become a hip part of town. As a result, it is full of restaurants, watering holes
and shops.
Iglesia de San Blas
( Plaza San Blas; admission S15 or with boleto religioso; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 2-6pm
Sun)
This simple adobe church is comparatively small, but you can't help but be awed by
the baroque, gold-leaf principal altar. The exquisitely carved pulpit, made from a single
tree trunk, has been called the finest example of colonial wood carving in the Americas.
Legend claims that its creator was an indigenous man who miraculously recovered
from a deadly disease and subsequently dedicated his life to carving this pulpit for the
church. Supposedly, his skull is nestled in the topmost part of the carving. In reality, no
one is certain of the identity of either the skull or the woodcarver.
CHURCH
AVENIDA EL SOL & DOWNHILL
Museo de Arte Popular
( Basement, Av El Sol 103; admission with boleto turístico; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat,
8am-1pm Sun)
Winning entries in Cuzco's annual Popular Art Competition are displayed
in this engaging museum. This is where the artisans and artists of San Blas showcase their
talents in styles ranging from high art to cheeky, offering a fascinating, humorous take on
ordinary life amid the pomp and circumstance of a once-grandiose culture.
Small-scale ceramic models depict drunken debauchery in the
picantería
(local restaur-
ant), torture in the dentist's chair, carnage in the butcher shop, and even a caesarean sec-
tion. There's also a display of photographs, many by renowned local photographer Martín
Chambi, of Cuzco from the 1900s to the 1950s, including striking images of the aftermath
of the 1950 earthquake in familiar streets.
MUSEUM
Qorikancha
( Plazoleta Santo Domingo; admission S10; 8:30am-5:30pm Mon-Sat, 2-5pm Sun)
If
you visit only one site in Cuzco, make it these Inca ruins, which form the base of the colo-
RUIN
