With temples, cobblestone streets and sacred ruins, Cuzco reveals its true power as a living testimony of an extraordinary civilization – and one of them is the Coricancha.
Luminous as gold
In the most central part of Cuzco stands the Coricancha, a temple known in Quechua as “golden temple” and once the epicenter of the cult of Inti, the Sun God. Its name, which combines quri (gold) and kancha (enclosure), alludes to the golden layers that covered its walls and floors and to the symbolic value of sunlight for the Incas.
Built during the reign of Pachacutec, this sanctuary literally shone under the sun, reflecting the deep connection between political power, religion and astronomy in the Inca civilization.
Its walls and floors were lined with sheets of solid gold, while the central garden glittered with life-size golden statues.
Among the opulence described by the chroniclers were figures of llamas, corn and stars, all reproduced in gold, forming a sanctuary that celebrated the abundance of the earth and the greatness of the empire.
Inside, a golden altar to the Sun presided over the Temple of Inti, while plaques covered the other rooms, reflecting the light so that the divinity seemed to inhabit the same physical space.
It also housed sacred enclosures for other deities such as the Moon, Venus, the Pleiades and various celestial phenomena. The large stone walls, perfectly carved, and the gardens adorned with statues symbolized the connection between the Incas and the cosmos, where astronomy merged with religion.
Between two worlds
With the arrival of the Spaniards, the Coricancha underwent what can be called a spiritual conquest. On top of its Inca foundations and walls, they erected the convent and church of Santo Domingo, using the Inca stone as a base to impose the European religious and architectural model.
The colonizers covered the walls with plaster, religious paintings and images of saints to hide the pagan past, until the earthquakes of 1650 and 1950 demolished the viceregal structure and exposed the ingenuity of the Inca builders.
To walk through this converted temple is to inhabit two worlds: that of Inca architectural sophistication and that of colonial imposition. Each stone, each tile, each room invites the visitor to reflect on a past rich in faith, science and power.
Resistant to the force of nature
The Inca architecture at Coricancha demonstrates a surprising solidity that defied the passage of time and the force of nature. The Incas employed masterful techniques, carving stone blocks with such precision that they fit together perfectly without the use of cement, forming walls that sloped slightly inward, a strategy that absorbed and dissipated seismic energy.
Today, the restored temple exhibits these Inca walls, converted into a living testimony of pre-Columbian ingenuity and a legacy that continues to defy gravity and the rumble of earthquakes.
Meanwhile, the subway museum of Coricancha offers an experience that connects directly with the grandeur of the Inca temple and its spiritual legacy. Located just below the present-day Santo Domingo convent, this five-room museum exhibits relics recovered during excavations: pottery, stone tools, finely woven textiles, worked metals and even Inca mummies.
This makes the museum an obligatory stop for those seeking a holistic tourist experience. There, you can observe the dialogue between archeology, history and spirituality, and better understand how the Incas lived, worked and venerated within this sacred space. It is an intimate journey into the heart of an empire that still whispers stories among the stones.
Visiting the Coricancha is one of those experiences that changes the way you see history. Walking among the Inca walls — so perfectly assembled that not even a leaf fits between its stones — and seeing how they still resist the passage of time and earthquakes, made me feel a deep admiration for the ingenuity of this civilization.
Knowing that, under the colonial layers, the golden temple of the Incas still beats reminded me that, although they tried to cover it, the memory of a people never disappears completely.
Images: Edgary Rodriguez R. and Diego Delso
