Museo de Sitio Qorikancha

★★★★★ 4.3/5 (31,214 reviews) Very Good

About This Museum

Everyone comes to Qorikancha for the famous church built atop the Inca temple, but the real magic for history nerds like me is hidden underground in its site museum. Descending into this modern, minimalist space feels like peeling back layers of Cusco itself. You walk right past original Inca irrigation channels and foundational walls that have held the earth at bay for centuries. It’s an incredibly intimate look at the engineering genius that predates the Spanish conquest, all while standing literally beneath one of Peru's most iconic structures.

Collection Highlights

The most compelling exhibits are the foundational stones of the original Temple of the Sun and a collection of intricate metal and ceramic artifacts recovered from the site. Don't miss the scale model showing how the entire complex looked in its Incan heyday—it completely recontextualizes what you see above ground.

Visitor Information

It's located right underneath the main courtyard of the Santo Domingo Convent, so buy a combo ticket to see both. It's small but powerful, so you can easily do it in 30-45 minutes, making it a perfect rainy-day or high-altitude acclimatization activity.

Architecture & Building

The museum itself is a stark, contemporary concrete structure built directly around and within the original, brutally beautiful polygonal Inca stonework, creating a fascinating dialogue between ancient and modern.