Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios,

Ucayali The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city o ...

, and Loreto. It borders the departments of

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 establ ...

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 Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it co ...

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 seventh most populous in Peru; ...

, the historical capital of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

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

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es, 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 Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

and

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, ...

Provinces

* Acomayo ( Acomayo) * Anta (Anta) * Calca ( Calca) * Canas (Yanaoca) * Canchis (Sicuani) * Chumbivilcas (Santo Tomás) *

(

) * Espinar (Yauri) * La Convención (

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, princi ...

) * Paruro ( Paruro) * Paucartambo ( Paucartambo) * Quispicanchi (

Urcos Urcos is a small town in eastern Peru, capital of the province Quispicanchi in the region Cusco. It is home to a small lake and ruins. Some time in the 15th Century, it is said that Hatun Tupaq Inca received visions of the Incan creator deity ...

) * 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 Vivien ...

, the language learnt first by most of the residents was

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

(51.40%), followed by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

(46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is

Cusco Quechua Cuzco Quechua ( qu, Qusqu qhichwa simi) is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Cuzco and the Cuzco Region of Peru. It is the Quechua variety used by the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua in Cuzco, which also prefers the Spanish-based five ...

. 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

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s of the Department of Cusco originate from

and also

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

. 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 in Cusco

Sources

External links

Travelogue Cusco Region (Sacred Valley of the Incas)

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