Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and

Puno Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establish ...

on the east;

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. Its capital is

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

, the historical capital of the Inca Empire.

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

), barley and quinoa.

Provinces

* Acomayo ( Acomayo) *

Anta Anta may refer to: Biology * Fava d'anta, a tree found in Brazil * South American tapir, known in Portuguese as '' * ''Phytelephas seemannii'', known in Quechua and Choco as '' Places * Anta Department, in Salta Province, Argentina * Anta, a ci ...

(Anta) *

Calca Calca may refer to: *Calca Peninsula, a peninsula in South Australia * Calca Province, one of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region of Peru * Calca District, one of the eight districts in the Calca Province * Calca, Peru, capital of the Calca Distr ...

(

) *

Canas Canas or Cañas may refer to: Places * Canas (Lycia), a town of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey * Amatlán de Cañas, a municipality in Nayarit, Mexico * Cañas Canton, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica * Cañas, Costa Rica, capital of the Cañas ca ...

(Yanaoca) * Canchis (Sicuani) * Chumbivilcas (Santo Tomás) *

(

) * Espinar (Yauri) *

La Convención LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

(

Quillabamba Quillabamba is a city in southern Peru. It is the capital of La Convención Province, which is the largest province in area of the Cusco Region. It is located in an area called the high jungle. Agriculture is the most important activity, princip ...

) *

Paruro Paruro is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Paruro in the region Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the ...

(

) *

Paucartambo Paucartambo may refer to: * Paucartambo Province, Cusco region * Paucartambo District, Paucartambo Paucartambo (from Quechua: Pawqar Tampu, meaning "colored '' tambo''") is one of six districts of the Paucartambo Province in Peru. Geography On ...

(

) * Quispicanchi ( Urcos) * Urubamba ( Urubamba)

Languages

According to the

2007 Peru Census The 2007 Peru Census was a detailed enumeration of the Peruvian population. It was conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática on Sunday, October 21, 2007. Its full name in Spanish is XI Censo de Población y VI de Viviend ...

, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province:inei.gob.pe
INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

Toponyms

Many of the toponyms of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of ''Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC'' (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute ''(Instituto Geográfico Nacional, IGN)'' The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru. The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage.

Notable residents

Raul Geller Dr. Raul Geller (ראול גלר; born January 23, 1936) is a Peruvian-Israeli former professional footballer, who played as a forward, and an orthopedic surgeon. In Peru he played for Deportivo Municipal, Porvenir Miraflores, and the Peru na ...

(born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer

Gallery

File:Cuzco Décembre 2007 - Balcons.jpg, Balconies and arcades at the

main square Main Square may refer to: * Main Square, Plzeň * Main Square (Bratislava) * Main Square, Kraków * Main Square, Maribor * Main Square Festival, named after the Grand-Place in Arras, France * Main Square (Toronto), a building complex See also * ...

in Cusco

Sources

External links

Travelogue Cusco Region (Sacred Valley of the Incas)

{{Cusco-geo-stub