Houses of the Sun

This archaeologist-led experience takes you to two of Cusco’s most prominent sacred sites: Convent of Santa Catalina and Qoricancha (Temple of the Sun). Together, they help you see how Indigenous beliefs shaped Cusco’s spiritual landscape before colonization. As you’ll learn, the area now occupied by Santa Catalina was once an acllawasi, “House of the Chosen Women.” This Inca institution housed women selected for their lineage and skills in ritual crafts such as weaving and ceremonial food preparation. It functioned as a communal and spiritual center, supporting practices tied to agriculture, astronomy, and the worship of the Sun. Built in the 15th century, Qoricancha was the most important religious site in the Inca Empire. Dedicated to Inti, the sun god, its finely fitted stone walls were once sheathed with gold and silver plates. Delsi connects the dots between these two sites—one tied to a sacred institution, the other to state cosmology—and what they reveal about Cusco’s legacy.

Visiting Santa Catalina and Qoricancha with a local archaeologist offers a way to dig below the surface of Cusco’s sacred history through material evidence. Delsi brings depth to what these sites still hold: how the acllawasi functioned within Inca society and how its footprint survives within a later convent complex. At Qoricancha, you see the meeting point between Inca religious architecture and colonial rebuilding: precision of Inca masonry, logic of the original sacred enclosure, and how later structures were placed directly onto that base. The broader historical context helps you understand how these sites fit into the larger narrative of Cusco and the Inca Empire, fostering awareness of the city’s layered history and the challenges of cultural heritage preservation. Subject to site conditions on the day, you may observe a practical example of preservation work. Otherwise, Delsi will talk through the work local archaeologists, including herself, carry out at sites like these.

Delsi Espinoza is a local, fully licensed archaeologist from San Sebastian in Cusco. She has more than 15 years of experience working in the Cusco region on various official projects in a variety of locations. She has worked directly with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, international organizations, local municipalities, and national parks, including Machu Picchu, Saqsaywaman, Pikillaqta, and Urubamba, amongst others. She has led excavation projects, maintenance programs, and education initiatives in the region since graduating as an archaeologist from the Universidad San Antonio Abad Cusco in 2014.

Comfortable footwear. Sun protection. Depending on the time of year, you may wish to bring a sweater or jacket.