Qosqo Qhawarina Viewpoint

Above the San Blas neighborhood, stone terraces form a public viewpoint with two levels. Their line follows the old Inca steps on the slope, and three retaining walls hold the ground beneath the eucalypts. Here, a private plot became an urban space that any city resident can climb up to for a panorama of Cusco. The Quechua name Qosqo Qhawarina says the same: the city can be seen from here.

The eucalypts above the two platforms are older than the public viewpoint. They were planted by the children and nieces and nephews of the Vizcarra Fano family, when the slope belonged to the family and a private house stood here. Wilfredo Vizcarra Fano received the property from his father. Later, his wife Hilda Becerra became the owner; she had to defend the plot in a lawsuit against two other claimants.

At that time, Mayor Daniel Estrada Pérez was remaking the streets and public spaces of San Blas. During the dispute, the municipality bought the land from Hilda Becerra. From June nineteen ninety-two to February nineteen ninety-three, workers reconstructed the entire neighborhood, including this viewpoint. The two platforms repeated the line of the old Inca terraces, and three stone retaining walls held the slope in place. Private property became a place any city resident could visit.

At the same time, the sector's old name was restored: Qosqo Qhawarina. In Quechua, it means “from where Cusco is visible.” Estrada sought to bring Andean names back into use in the city; here, the chosen name also described the purpose of the new park.

A few years later, one purchase proved not to be enough. The platform was no longer maintained, the structures were damaged, and by the beginning of two thousand eleven, official documents already called it a hotbed of crime and a dangerous place. San Blas residents wanted to reclaim their only public terrace above the neighborhood. Their neighborhood council, led by Jesús Maña, secured more than half a million soles for reconstruction.

After the work was announced, people appeared claiming to be the landowners, although the plot had been municipal property for about thirty years. Cancellations and new approvals began. The claims were checked, and construction was nevertheless permitted. From January to October two thousand eleven, municipal specialists, together with the Spanish cooperation program, restored the platforms, improved the accessway, and installed panels about the city's history.

The eucalypts remain from the last private owners. Beneath them are the stone levels that were fought over twice: first by landowners, then by residents who did not allow the public viewpoint to disappear again.