Peru
Cusco
Welcome back to Peru! Cusco was once the capital of the mighty Inca Empire, and today it's a colorful colonial city where Spanish buildings still sit on top of ancient Inca stone walls.
Why is it famous?
Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire, the largest empire in the ancient Americas, starting in the 13th century.
Today its streets mix perfectly fitted Inca stonework with colorful Spanish colonial buildings built right on top of it.
How was it built?
Inca builders shaped huge stone blocks so precisely that they fit together without any mortar, a skill still admired by engineers today.
After Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1533, they built new churches and homes directly on top of the sturdy Inca foundations that were already there.
Amazing facts
Cusco sits about 11,200 feet (3,400 meters) high in the Andes, even higher than Machu Picchu.
Nearby Sacsayhuamán is an enormous Inca stone fortress built from boulders so large and heavy that no one is sure exactly how the Inca moved them.
Quick facts
- Cusco sits about 11,200 feet (3,400 meters) high in the Andes, even higher than Machu Picchu.
- Nearby Sacsayhuamán is an enormous Inca stone fortress built from boulders so large and heavy that no one is sure exactly how the Inca moved them.
- In the Inca language Quechua, Cusco means 'navel of the world,' because it was the very center of the Inca Empire.
- UNESCO named Cusco a World Heritage Site in 1983 for its incredible mix of Inca and colonial history.