Cusco

Cusco (also spelled Cuzco) sits in southeastern Peru, nestled in the Andes near the Sacred Valley and the Huatanay and Urubamba rivers. It serves as the capital and biggest city of both the Cusco Province and the Cusco Department, which share its name. For centuries, it has ranked among Peru’s most significant hubs for culture, economy, and politics.

The Killke people lived in the area starting in the 10th century, and they built the fortress Sacsayhuamán around the 11th century. Manco Cápac founded the city in the 12th century as the capital of the Kingdom of Cusco, which later became the Inca Empire’s heart. Spanish conquistadors took over the region in the 16th century and reestablished the settlement on 23 March 1534, raising most of their city atop Inca monuments. UNESCO declared Cusco a World Heritage Site in 1983, calling it the “City of Cusco.” Today, it draws over two million visitors annually and serves as a gateway to Inca ruins like Machu Picchu, one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Peru’s 1993 Constitution designates Cusco as the country’s Historical Capital.

With a 2017 population of 428,450, Cusco ranks as Peru’s seventh-most populous city. It is the largest urban center in the Peruvian Andes, and its metropolitan area is the seventh-largest in the nation. The city sits at roughly 3,400 meters above sea level. The Cusco District, the largest district within the city, had 114,630 residents in 2017—about a quarter of the total.

Spelling and etymology The indigenous name comes from Southern Quechua, but its roots lie in Aymara. It derives from the phrase meaning “rock of the owl,” tied to the Ayar siblings foundation myth. In that legend, Ayar Awqa grew wings, flew to the future city’s site, and turned into a rock to claim the land for his lineage. Spanish conquistadors transcribed the local name as Cuzco or, less often, Cusco.

Cuzco was standard in colonial documents and chronicles, though Cusco also appeared. The 16th-century Spanish pronunciation of Cuzco closely matched the Quechua pronunciation of the time. As both languages evolved, the Spanish “z” no longer sounded like the Quechua original. In 1976, the city mayor banned the traditional spelling and ordered Cusco for municipal publications.

Nineteen years later, on 23 June 1990, local authorities formalized Qosqo, a spelling closer to Quechua, but later administrations did not keep it. No international standard exists. English-language publications use both Cusco and Cuzco; the Oxford Dictionary of English and Merriam-Webster prefer Cuzco, and scholarly writing leans toward Cuzco. The city’s airport code, CUZ, reflects the older Spanish spelling.

Symbols Flag: The official flag of Cusco has seven horizontal stripes—red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, blue, and violet—forming a rainbow. Raúl Montesinos Espejo introduced it in 1973 for the 25th anniversary of his Tawantinsuyo Radio station. Its popularity led the Municipality of Cusco to adopt it officially in 1978. Since 2021, the flag has also included a golden inti, a symbol tied to the city’s historical identity.

Coat of arms: Adopted in 1986, the coat of arms serves the city, province, and region. It blends Inca and Spanish heraldry. Earlier versions showed a golden castle on a red field ringed by eight condors. The modern design centers on the inti, a golden sun emblem, highlighting the city’s Inca heritage.

Anthem: Roberto Ojeda Campana composed the music, and Luis Nieto Miranda wrote the lyrics in 1944. It became the official anthem and has been performed at public events ever since. In 1991, Faustino Espinoza Navarro and Mario Mejía Waman translated it into Quechua. The anthem is sung in both Spanish and Quechua, reflecting the city’s cultural mix and historical weight.

In 2019, the Municipality of Cusco declared that performing the anthem in Quechua at civic events is of public interest and historical importance.

History Killke culture: The Killke people occupied the region from 900 to 1200 AD, before the Inca arrived in the 13th century. Carbon-14 dating of Sacsayhuamán, the walled complex two kilometers north of Cusco, shows that the Killke built the fortress around 1100 AD. The Inca later expanded and used the complex in the 13th century. In March 2008, archaeologists uncovered ruins of an ancient temple, roadway, and aqueduct system at Sacsayhuamán.

The temple covers about 2,700 square feet and has 11 rooms believed to have held idols and mummies, confirming its religious role. Combined with 2007 excavations that found another temple at the fortress’s edge, this suggests the site served both religious and military purposes over a long period. Inca period: Cusco was a major indigenous center for centuries. It served as the Inca Empire’s capital from the 13th century until 1532.

Many think the city was laid out in the shape of a puma, a sacred animal. How exactly Cusco was built, or how its layout was planned, remains a subject of study.