Qoricancha
“Qoricancha” means the temple (cancha) of gold (qori) in Quechuan language. This is an important religious and spiritual center for the Incas and the Andeans in general. It was a place dedicated to the Sun God where thousands of priests and servants lived. Those walls were covered with golden leaves and furnished with objects and statues in massive gold that we cannot see today. Cults were celebrated as well as the observation of the movement of the stars. It is hard to imagine such splendor now: there are only walls, all the gold has left; it is been stolen and taken away by the colonists, and the large and grassy terraces, falling from Santo Domingo Church, with a large court below, covered with grass, and in the middle, an octagonal basin that was, at that time, covered with 55 kg of gold. What remains of spiritual today to this center is that Qoricancha is the obliged point of departure of the celebration called Inti Raymi, the sun festivity, that is celebrated each year on June 24th during the solar solstice. Apart from the few ruins inside of Santo Domingo Temple, there is a small museum that does not have good lighting, and it is located in the court. This is one of the most interesting museums of Cusco, with trepanned skulls, ceramics, metal pieces, etc. and excellent explanations about the Andean worldview and the Inca rites and religious beliefs
