The Temple of the Sun - Qoricancha was originally named “Inticancha or Intiwasi,” which would mean House of the Sun, a religious enclosure built in 1200 AD under the order of Inca Wiracocha.
With the arrival of Inca Pachacútec to power, the entire city of Cusco underwent a beautification process. During this period, Inticancha was renamed Qoricanca, and enormous walls were built around it, adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones.
With the arrival of the Spanish invasion, the Temple of the Sun was looted and destroyed. According to some historians, the gold belonging to this site was transferred to Cajamarca to pay the ransom of Inca Atahualpa.
The temple became the property of Francisco Pizarro, who gave it to the Dominican order. They demolished what was left of the Qoricancha Temple to build the Church of Santo Domingo. The construction suffered three earthquakes (1650, 1749, and 1950), completely damaging the Church of Santo Domingo; only the Inca walls remain intact.
In 1956, the reconstruction of the Temple of the Sun - Qoricancha began, prioritizing the exhibition of the Inca walls.
According to many chroniclers, the first to build a temple in honor of the sun were the original inhabitants of Cusco, the “Ayamarcas,” initially calling it “Inticancha.” This ethnic group inhabited Cusco around the 13th century, before the expansion of the Inca Empire. They had a great rivalry with the Incas, but they were defeated and annexed to the Tahuantinsuyo during the reign of Inca Wiracocha.
Koricancha, Qoricancha, or Coricancha would be understood in Spanish as “Temple of Gold,” deriving from the Quechua words Quri “Gold” and Kancha “Temple.”
We can also say that “Qori” means worked gold, with its Spanish form being Cori. “Kancha” means enclosed site, limited by walls, with its Spanish form being Cancha.
Thus, we can say that the name means “Enclosed site containing gold.”
The Qoricancha Temple was a site dedicated to the worship of the Incas' main deity, the Sun. In addition to the Temple of the Sun, this place has four other small temple complexes dedicated to deities such as the Goddess Killa; the moon, the God Illapa; the lightning, the God K'uychi; the rainbow, and the Goddess Chack'a, the star.
All these complexes had a continuous strip of pure gold three meters from the ground that connected each sector. Similarly, the wire that held the thatched roofs of the enclosures was made of gold. The walls were built with perfectly interlocked natural stones, as seen in other Inca constructions.
Qoricancha is located in the city center, at the intersection of Av. El Sol and Santo Domingo Street, just two blocks from Cusco's Plaza de Armas.
The description made by Garcilaso harmonizes with what still stands today. Although it is only a pale reflection of what Qoricancha was in Inca times.
It was the Main Temple of all Qoricancha, occupying more than half the width of the current Church of Santo Domingo. Garcilaso recounts that within this temple were the embalmed bodies of the children of the Sun, placed in order of antiquity on chairs and golden tables. The walls were covered with gold plates, and there was a disk representing the figure of the Sun made of a thicker gold plate than the other plates covering the temple. The western end corresponds to the current drum overlooking Av. Sol; its eastern end reached the current atrium of the church.
This temple was closer to the Temple of the Sun, as the Moon was considered the Sun's wife. This building was lined with silver planks, and there was a representation of the Moon made of silver. Inside, the mummies of the Coyas were kept, placed in order of antiquity. Approximately half of the Temple was demolished by the Spanish to build the nave of the Church of Santo Domingo. It occupies part of the western side of the Qoricancha's inner courtyard.
It is located near the Temple of the Moon but separated by a beautiful alley, dedicated to Venus and the seven sisters and all other stars. The Incas called Venus “Chasca,” meaning star. In this temple, the Inca was placed, according to historians' references, to be deified or to witness festivals or sacrifices performed in the rectangular courtyard. It occupies part of the western side of the Qoricancha's inner courtyard.
Illapa or Chuki Illapa means lightning, thunderbolt, and thunder. The mentioned temple is in front of the temple of Venus, with three simple jamb doors, equidistant and slightly trapezoidal, and also has a window on each side wall.
In this temple, the Rainbow, believed to come from the Sun, was worshiped. It has identical architectural features as the Temple of Illapa. Part of this temple was demolished by the Spanish to build the buildings of the Dominican Convent. It is located north of the Temple of Illapa and in front of the Temple of the Moon, on the eastern side of the Qoricancha's inner courtyard.
Almost all towns in the world, in all eras, built large plazas in front of their temples. Inti Pampa (translated as Plain of the Sun) is where the nobles, their courts, service personnel, dancers, etc., would stay when the Inca and the nobility moved to Qoricancha during festivals. This site now corresponds to the Plaza of Santo Domingo, and its boundaries and extent have hardly changed. It is located north of what was Qoricancha.
It became the great repository of offerings brought from all the subjugated and confederated nations for the Sun God. The offerings consisted of representations of flora and fauna of Tahuantinsuyo. According to some historians, these offerings made of gold and silver were life-sized and filled the area impressively.
The Spanish called it The Solar Garden due to the number of terraces. In the colonial era, it became the orchard of the Dominican Friars. It is located on the western side of Qoricancha and can be seen in its entirety from Av. Sol.
There were five water fountains, and the origins of the water sources were a well-guarded secret. The fountains had religious significance and were decorated with precious metals. They were located throughout Qoricancha, and today we can see an octagonal fountain in the Qoricancha courtyard.
The Temple of the Sun is open Monday to Saturday from 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
GENERAL ADMISSION is S/.15.00 for foreign or national tourists. The entrance is not included in the Tourist Ticket.
*Please note that with your ticket, you can visit the Qoricancha temple without a time limit.
Happy passengers
