Table of Contents
The House of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega is a 16th-century colonial mansion built on Inca-period terraces that formed part of the ancient plaza of Kusipata. According to the chronicler Bernabé Cobo, this site was home to the fourth huaca of the eighth ceque toward Chinchaysuyo, established during the rule of Inca Huayna Qhapaq.
The building was constructed by Pedro de Oñate and later passed into the hands of Captain Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega, father of the renowned mestizo chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The writer was born under the name Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and was the son of Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega and the ñusta Isabel Chimpu Ocllo.
The mansion is organized around a central courtyard, which connects the main areas of the building. Its rooms open onto the patios and are linked to one another through corridors, preserving both colonial and Inca architectural elements.
Today, the House of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega is the headquarters of the Regional Historical Museum of Cusco, created on March 1, 1967. The museum has thirteen permanent exhibition rooms and one temporary exhibition room, distributed over two levels. Its galleries display archaeological, historical, artistic, and ethnographic collections related to the history of Cusco.
It is located on Garcilaso Street and Heladeros Street, with no street number, just a few blocks from Cusco’s Main Square.
The Regional Historical Museum of Cusco currently operates inside the House of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. On the first level, archaeological material from different periods of cultural development in the Cusco Valley is displayed. On the second level, visitors can find historical, artistic, and ethnographic objects.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday and public holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed on January 1 and December 25. On December 24 and 31, it operates on reduced hours.
Prices or rates: admission is included in the Cusco Tourist Ticket, Circuit II.
Happy passengers