The History of Cusco Peru

The city of Cusco Peru is in Southeast Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region / Cusco Province and has a population of over 350,000. Located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cusco, its altitude is around 10,800 feet. Cusco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost a million visitors a year. It is designated as the Historical Capital of Peru by the Constitution of Peru.

The Spanish conquistadors, translated the Quechua name "Qosqo" into "Cusco", which is how it appears on maps from the 17th and 18th centuries. On maps from the 19th century (as early as 1810 and through the mid-20th century (until 1976), the name appears as "Cuzco". Today, in official Peruvian cartography in Spanish has been into its original transliteration: Cusco, with an S rather than a Z. In English, both S and Z are accepted, as there is no "official" spelling. The name Cusco is derived from the Quechua phrase "qusqu wanka" which means "rock of the owl".

Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire (1200s-1532). Many believe that the city was planned to be shaped like a puma. The city had two sectors: the urin and hanan, which were further divided to each encompass two of the four provinces, Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Qontisuyu (SW) and Collasuyu (SE). A road led from each of these quarters to the corresponding quarter of the empire. Each local leader was required to build a house in the city and live part of the year in Cusco, but only in the quarter of Cusco that corresponded to the quarter of the empire in which he had territory. After Pachacuti, when an Inca died his title went to one son and his property was given to a corporation controlled by his other relatives (a process called split inheritance), so each title holder had to build a new house and add new lands to the empire, in order to own the land his family needed to maintain after his death.

According to Inca legend, the city was built by Sapa Inca Pachacuti, the man who transformed the Kingdom of Cusco from a sleepy city-state into the vast empire of Tahuantinsuyu. But archaeological evidence points to a slower, more organic growth of the city beginning before Pachacuti. There was however a city plan, and two rivers were channeled around the city. Archaeologists such as Larry Coben have suggested this city plan was replicated at other sites throughout the empire.

The city fell to the sphere of Huáscar in the division of the empire after the death of Huayna Capac in 1527. It was captured by the generals of Atahualpa in April 1532 in the Battle of Quipaipan, and nineteen months later by the Spaniards (see battle of Cuzco).

In 1950 an earthquake shook the city causing the destruction of more than a third of the city's constructions. Later, the city began to establish itself as a focal point for tourism and began to receive a greater number of tourists.

Since the 1990s, tourism began to take a dominant role in the city's economy and the hotel sector subsequently expanded. Currently, Cusco is the most important tourist destination in Peru. The city's urban sprawl is still expanding and currently it has extended into the San Sebastian and San Jerónimo districts.

The city of Cusco extends throughout the Huatanay river valley. Its climate is generally dry and temperate. It has two defined seasons: the dry season lasts from April to October and sunshine is abundant with an average temperature of 13° Celsius (55.4° Fahrenheit). The wet season lasts from November to March with an average temperature of 12° Celsius (53.6° Fahrenhei

The original Inca city, said to have been founded in the 11th century, was sacked by Pizarro in 1535. There are still remains, however, of the palace of the Incas, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Virgins of the Sun. There are still Inca building remains and foundations, which in some cases have proved to be stronger than the foundations built in present-day Peru. Among the most noteworthy buildings of the city is the cathedral of Santo Domingo.

The major nearby Inca sites are Pachacuti's presumed winter home, Machu Picchu, which can be reached on foot by an Inca trail or by train; the "fortress" at Ollantaytambo; and the "fortress" of Sacsayhuaman.

Other less-visited ruins include: Inca Wasi, the highest of all Inca sites at 3,980 m (13,134 ft); Old Vilcabamba the capital of the Inca after the capture of Cusco; the sculpture garden at Chulquipalta (aka Chuquipalta, Ñusta España, The White Rock, Yurak Rumi); as well as Huillca Raccay, Patallacta, Choquequirao, Moray and many others.

The surrounding area, located in the Huatanay Valley, is strong in agriculture, including corn, barley, quinoa, tea and coffee and gold mining.