| ||||
     Tweet  | |
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
Author: Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
Cusco (Spanish: Cuzco, Quechua: Qusqu) is a city in southeastern Peru. It is a well known as the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire. The modern city of Cusco has a population of 360,000 people (2011 estimate). Its historic center was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
Guide to Cusco Hotels
Here's a list of hotels in Cusco that you can book online, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites. This helps you to make your room booking with the site that offers the best price.
Coricancha, Cusco
Author: Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
More on Cusco
Cusco is located near the Urubamba Valley, within the Andes mountain range. It is 3,400 m (11,200 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest major cities in the world. The city is also a major tourist destination, receiving close to two million visitors every year. The government of Peru designate it as the Historic Capital of Peru.Due to its high elevation, Cusco experiences a subtropical highland climate. The daytime temperature is quite constant, around 19°C (66°F) while the night time temperature may drop as low as 0.1°C (32.2°F). Cusco receives the most rain in January, at 145.3 mm (5.72 in).
Cathedral of Santo Domingo, Cusco
Author: Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
The Cusco region has been inhabited long before the Spanish, and long before the Inca built their empire. According to archaeologists, the Killke culture occupied the area between AD 900 and AD 1200. The Inca spread its empire into Cusco in the 13th century.
The discovery in 2008 of an ancient temple, roadway and aqueduct in Sacsayhuamán, on the northern outskirts of Cusco, suggested the area had been used for both religious and military purposes.
Cusco became the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until 1532, when civil war between rival brothers turned the city into a battlefield. Two years later, the Spaniards under conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived, defeated the Incas, and brought an end to the empire.
Sacsayhuamán walls in northern Cusco
Author: Lars Falkdalen Lindahl (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
The city was recaptured by the Inca under Manco Inca Yupanqui in 1536. The siege lasted 10 months although Manco was only able to occupy it for a few days before the Spanish recaptured it. The Spaniards rebuilt Cusco after taking it over. The buildings erected during this period reflect a fusion of Spanish and Inca indigenous architecture.
Cusco was the base used by explorer Hiram Bingham to rediscover the ruins of Machu Pichu in 1911. The city suffered a massive earthquake in 1950 that destroyed a third of its structures. Its role as a tourist destination began in the 1990s, and accelerated as infrastructure for mass tourism improved.
Rooftop view of Cusco
Author: Rodrigo.Argenton (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
Visiting Cusco
The Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, located at the edge of Cusco, receives flights from Lima as well as Arequipa, Juliaca, La Paz and Puerto Maldonado, among others. Tourists departing from the airport has to pay an airport tax. If this is not included in your ticket, you need to pay it in US dollars.To leave the airport, take the unofficial taxi you find outside the terminal. The fare is around 7 soles, compared to the official rate of 30 soles or more.
Places of Interest in Cusco
- Archbishop's Residence
Originally the palace of Inca Roca, 6th Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco. - Barrio de San Blas
The artisan neighborhood with workshops and craft crops, located in one of the most charming parts of Cusco. - Cathedral of Santo Domingo
The most important church built by the Spaniards after taking over the city. - Convent and Church of La Merced
Religious complex founded in 1536. It has cloisters in the Baroque Renaissance style. The present church and convert dates to 1675, after the 1650 earthquake destroyed the earlier complex. - Coricancha
Sanctuary dedicated to the Inca sun god Inti. The walls were once covered with gold leaf by the Incas. - Sacsayhuamán
A complex of stout walls built by the Killke culture, which predates the Incas.
Destinations from Cusco
- Machu Picchu
The ancient Inca city rediscovered by Hiram Bingham.
Return to Discover Peru
Return to My World Travel Guides
  
   
Point - Click - Discover!Thanks for visiting this webpage. To continue exploring, choose another destination! My World Travel Guides - celebrating a beautiful world beautifully. Earning a living as a Happy Jobless GuyI am a Happy Jobless Guy! I am one of the few people who is fortunate enough to earn an income from my websites that I don't to go out to work. My sites get thousands of visitors every day. It has been a long process, but it is something everybody can achieve, and that means YOU. The following are some articles which you might want to read if you want to do what I do:
 |