San Blas Cobblestones and Crafts

The Twelve Angled Stone is a massive block of dark green diorite, fitted perfectly into a wall on Hatun Rumiyoc Street. Each of its twelve sides meets the adjacent stones so tightly that a razor blade cannot slide between them. This stone…

The Cuesta de San Blas is a narrow, steep stone staircase rising sharply from the colonial heart of Cusco toward the artisans' quarter. Its walls, built from heavy, irregular Incan stones, still hold the base of what were once elite…

The Plaza San Blas is a small, sloping square defined by the stark white, carved stone pulpit sitting outside the San Blas Church. Before the Spanish arrived, this neighborhood was called T'oqokachi, meaning salt hole, and served as a…

The Templo de San Blas features a pulpit carved from a single piece of cedar, an intricate piece of woodwork that defines the interior. Spanish priests ordered the construction of this church in fifteen sixty-three, placing it directly…

The Museo Hilario Mendivil houses a collection of elongated-necked religious figures carved by the master artist Hilario Mendivil and his wife Georgina Dueñas. Hilario began crafting these images of saints and virgins in the nineteen…

The Mercado San Blas is defined by a bright, corrugated metal roof that marks a stark contrast to the surrounding centuries-old colonial stonework. This neighborhood market operates as a central hub for residents, filled with rows of…

The San Blas View Point sits atop a narrow street, marked by a stone balcony that offers a jagged, red-tiled panorama of Cusco. It exists as the primary threshold between the colonial plazas below and the ancient artisan neighborhood…

The L'atelier Café Concept sits behind a distinct, bright blue wooden door set into the thick, whitewashed stone walls of a colonial building on Calle Carmen Alto. It serves as both a coffee shop and a boutique for locally crafted…