Plaza de Armas

Cusco [1]’s Plaza de Armas is surrounded by colonial stone arcades and graced with two extraordinary churches, the Catedral [2] and the Jesuit Iglesia de la Compañía [3].

Though a grove of native trees was unfortunately ripped out in the late 1990s, Cusco [1]’s main square is a lively place for locals and tourists alike—full of child shoe shiners, hand-holding schoolgirls, and old men sharing crossword puzzles.

Two flags fly over the square, the red-and-white flag of Peru and the rainbow-colored flag of the Inca nation, which is nearly identical to the gay pride flag. It is much older, of course, and its eight colors represent the four corners of Tahuantinsuyo, the Inca empire.