CUSCO

Cusco is one of the largest departments in Peru. Its landscape is one of dramatic contrasts, where high mountain ranges combine with barren plains, rolling hills, deep valleys and lowland tropical forest.

There are three mountain ranges in Cusco. They are Vilcabamba, which is defined by the catchment areas of the Urubamba and Apurimac rivers and includes the Salkantay massif (6272 m) and Huayanay and Soray, the Vilcanota range, With Ausangate, the highest peak in the region (6378 m), and the Urubamba chain, with the snowy peaks of Sawasiray (5800 m), Veronica and Terijuay.

Contrasting with the high peaks, the northern and eastern areas of Cusco are characterised by cloud forest and humid tropical forest. It is here one finds the Amazon Manu National Park, and the Tambopata National Reserve, Peru's finest natural reserves and among the most biodiverse regions on Earth.

The Tambopata National Reserve is reached after just a thirty minute flight to Puerto Maldonado followed by a three hour boat ride.

Cusco's archaeological value goes beyond its Inca legacy. The first people settled here around 1000 AD, and are known today as the Marcavalle culture. They were followed by the emergence of the Chanapatas, contemporaries of the Pucará in Puno, who disappeared sometime in the first century, and the conquering Wari. After the Wari came the Killke and then the Incas.

Under the Incas, Cusco became the capital of the great empire of Tahuantinsuyo, founded, according to Inca legend, by the first two Incas, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo between the 11th and 12th centuries. The vast Inca state was later conquered by the Spanish, who refounded the city of Cusco on the 24th March 1534.

Cusco is situated almost 3400 m above sea level. The majority of its streets are built from stone which dates from the time of the Incas and forms the foundations of many of the Spanish colonial houses.

For visitors, there are endless attractions in Cusco's historic centre, including the Plaza de Armas, the cathedral, colonial churches and fascinating museums. The remnants of the city's Inca past can be seen everywhere simply by walking the streets.