Cuzco (often spelled Cusco, less frequently Qosqo or Qusqu) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes mountain range.
It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province. The city has a population of about 300,000, triple the population it contained just 20 years ago.
The altitude of the city, located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco, is around 3,500 m. The historic capital of the sun-worshipping Inca empire, it has been found in 2006 to be the spot on Earth with the highest UV level.
Cuzco was the capital of Inca Empire. Many believe that the city was planned to be shaped like a puma. The city had two sectors: the urin and hanan, which were further divided to each encompass two of the four provinces, Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Cuntisuyu (SW), and Collasuyu (SE).
According to Inca legend, the city was built by Inca Pachacuti, the man who transformed the Kingdom of Cuzco from a sleepy city-state into the vast empire of Tahuantinsuyu. But archaeological evidence points to a slower, more organic growth of the city beginning before Pachacuti. There was however a city plan, and two rivers were channeled around the city.
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