The city of Cuzco, a UNESCO World heritage since 1983, located at an elevation of 3400 meters above sea level in a fertile valley of several rivers in the heart of the Central Peruvian Andes of South America. Cusco has been inhabited continuously for over 3,000 years. It was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th to 16th century until Spanish conquest, and now is a major tourist destination.
Cusco was occupied by the Killke people from 900-1200 A.D. Evidence from the ruins of the walled complex of just above the city center of Cusco, show that the Killke people constructed it around 1100 and the Inca later expanded and occupied the complex starting in the 13th century. Inca civilization began in Cusco around 1200 A.D onwards. Incas built Cusco city, it is unknown how the large stones were gathered and transported to the site, or how they managed to build with techniques so far advanced for their time.
With the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the urban structure of the Inca Imperial city of Cuzco was preserved and temples, monasteries and houses were built over the Inca city. They were mostly of Baroque style and local adaptations. Of the colonial city, thee remain the freshly whitewashed houses, the palace and the marvelous Baroque Churches mixed with that of the Inca masterpieces.
The Spanish arrived in Cusco in 1533 and after effectively annihilating the Incas, and taking away their most precious riches, the Spanish moved the capital of their newly-formed Spanish colony, Peru, to Lima. In 1780, a massive revolt against the Spaniards was staged by revolutionary natives and of mixed Amerindian and Spanish descents into an ultimately unsuccessful uprising. The Cusco revolt of 1780 is believed to be the founding stone for Peru’s eventual victory, for independence from Spain, in 1821.
