The district of Calca that derives from the ancient toponymy Khallqa, which means stony place, is located in the central part of the Department of Cusco, this traditional town is located 50 kilometers north of the city of Cusco, above 2, 926 meters of altitude, has a climate that varies between 15ºC to 20ºC, the whole city consists of a plain that is constituted as the central part of an orogenic trunk where roads, rivers and watercourses are conjugated. During the Inca period this town was an important population center in which its administrative organization stood out. This is demonstrated by the presence of beautiful pre-Hispanic walls in the streets and squares of the current population as well as in one of its most important architectural samples of the province which is Huchuy Qosqo. In this important town stand out the perpetual snow-capped mountains of Sawasiray and Pitusiray that were important divinities that gave origin to the Legend of Pitusiray. Among its most important attractions are The Fortress of Huchuy Qosqo, Thermal Baths of Minas Moqo, Thermal Baths of Machacancha, Puyas of Raimondi, among others, because it is now also a tourist attraction the Patronal celebrations to the Catholic Saints as is the case of the Festivity of the Assumed Virgin, Virgen del Carmen, Virgen del Rosario, Feast of Chiuchillani Tinkuy among others. In this aspect Calca, like all the towns of the Sacred Valley of the Inkas, is very rich. Starting with its gastronomy, its customs, its clothing, its artistic and handicraft manifestations make it a promising area for tourism. Each of its communities differs from others in the colors and in the chumpi or pallay of their weavings, as well as in the ornaments of their ch’ullus and monteras, size of the poncho, quantity and decoration of their skirts, etc. In the handicraft fairs one can appreciate this ancestral wealth, although dangerously the foreign influence is changing the ways of dressing and even thinking of our indigenous people, recently the villagers are making inroads making a participatory tourism with visitors making them perform activities typical of the region as help in planting, harvesting and activities that are everyday for the villagers, for many reasons now Calca is a tourist attraction of the Cusco Region driven by the desire for growth and improvement of both the villagers and the authorities.
