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From the Quechua word "Qosqo" meaning "navel", Cusco was the capital of
the Inca Empire. Founded according to the dictates of the Sun God,
Cusco was designed in the form of a puma, an animal sacred to the Inca
people. Just west of the city is the famous ceremonial site, Machu Picchu.
Connected to Cusco by the Inca trail, one can travel the route from
Cusco to Machu Picchu along original Inca paths. Cusco was the primary
seat of Inca civilization from around 1200 AD to the mid 1500's when the
arrival of Francisco Pizarro abruptly put an end to Inca rule. However,
the streets of Cusco retain the legacy of the Inca in the stone walls,
pre-Columbian temples, and the Quechua language that is still spoken
today.
Cusco was developed under the Inca ruler Pachacuti, who planned
imperial Cusco to correspond to the body of a puma. At the head and jaws was
the ritual center and safe harbor for the people in the event of
attack. Pachacuti had the two rivers that ran down the valley diverted into
canals and the point where the two rivers merge correspond to the tail
of the animal. The puma's reproductive organs align with the sacred
Temple of the Sun. Finally, at the heart of the puma, Huacapata,
Pachacuti built his palace and ran the business of the empire. The modern
Plaza de Armas resides on this spot today.
West of Cusco is Machu Picchu, known as the "Lost City of the Incas."
Undiscovered for centuries, the temple complex is hidden over an uneven
mountaintop in the Andes. The Incas considered this region to hold
magical powers due to the meeting of the Andes and the Amazon River at
this point. And the sight of Machu Picchu is magical. Temples, baths,
terraces, and fields rise organically out of the hillside. Inside the
temple complex, small waterfalls create a chain of 16 small baths that
were probably used for religious rituals. Nearby to the baths is the
Temple of the Sun, a tower with the most expert stonework found in Machu
Picchu. The exact purpose of Machu Picchu is still unknown, although it
was evidently a religious center with a population of about 1,000
people.
Machu Picchu and Cusco mark the archaeological capital of Peru. Machu
Picchu is indeed the most spectacular achievement of the Inca Empire.
Cusco is a blend of the Inca and Spanish cultures -- a city where the
Temple of the Sun and the Spanish Cathedral reside in relative harmony.
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Learn Spanish in Peru: Cusco |
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