Introducing Cuzco
The high-flying Andean city of Cuzco (also Cusco, or Qosq’o in the Quechua language) is the uneasy bearer of many grand titles. It was once the foremost city of the Inca empire, and is now the undisputed archaeological capital of the Americas, as well as the continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city. Few travelers to Peru will skip visiting this premier South American destination, which is also the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Although Cuzco was long ruled by an inca (king) or a Spanish conquistador, there’s no question of who rules the roost in the 21st century: city life is almost totally at the whim of international tourists. These days nearly every building surrounding the historic Plaza de Armas seems to be a tourist hotel, restaurant, shop, travel agency or busy internet café.
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Performance of folk dancers, Cusco.
- Ralph Hopkins
- Lonely Planet photographer
