Department of Cusco

For other uses, see Cusco (disambiguation).

Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkusko]; Quechua: Qusqu suyu [ˈqɔsqɔ ˈsʊjʊ]), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno on the east; Arequipa on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. Its capital is Cusco, the historical capital of the Inca Empire.^[2]

Cusco Departamento del Cuzco (Spanish) Qusqu suyu (Quechua)
Department
Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca
Flag Seal
Location of the Department of Cusco in Peru
Coordinates: 13.26°S 72.11°W / -13.26; -72.11
Country	Peru
Subdivisions	13 provinces and 108 districts
Largest city	Cusco
Capital	Cusco
Government
• Governor	Jean Paul Benavente García [1]
Area
• Total	71,986 km2 (27,794 sq mi)
Elevation (Capital)	3,399 m (11,152 ft)
Highest elevation	4,801 m (15,751 ft)
Lowest elevation	532 m (1,745 ft)
Population  (2017)
• Total	1,205,527
• Density	17/km2 (43/sq mi)
UBIGEO	08
Dialing code	0484
ISO 3166 code	PE-CUS
Principal resources	Gold, maize, barley, quinoa, and tea
Poverty rate	20.3%
Percentage of Peru's GDP	4.4%
Website	www.regioncusco.gob.pe/

Political division of the Cusco Region

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible lupin), barley and quinoa.^{[citation needed]}

Provinces

• Acomayo (Acomayo)
• Anta (Anta)
• Calca (Calca)
• Canas (Yanaoca)
• Canchis (Sicuani)
• Chumbivilcas (Santo Tomás)
• Cusco (Cusco)
• Espinar (Yauri)
• La Convención (Quillabamba)
• Paruro (Paruro)
• Paucartambo (Paucartambo)
• Quispicanchi (Urcos)
• Urubamba (Urubamba)

Languages

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua.

The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province:^[3]

Province	Quechua	Aymara	Asháninka	Another native language	Spanish	Foreign language	Deaf or mute	Total
Acomayo	22,262	12	2	4	3,117	-	52	25,449
Anta	36,512	42	3	10	15,248	8	132	51,955
Calca	43,008	101	4	117	18,128	13	142	61,513
Canas	32,790	31	6	11	2,910	-	40	35,788
Canchis	53,695	107	5	7	37,702	2	120	91,638
Chumbivilcas	64,087	102	9	1	6,063	2	104	70,368
Cusco	63,675	781	94	306	282,610	1,521	466	349,453
Espinar	40,594	120	8	1	18,116	6	71	58,916
La Convención	62,145	276	2,802	9,278	81,111	120	318	156,050
Paruro	26,707	53	5	1	2,192	1	42	29,001
Paucartambo	35,996	95	15	207	5,682	9	65	42,069
Quispicanchi	57,587	152	11	12	18,562	20	86	76,430
Urubamba	27,523	104	4	9	25,075	823	68	53,606
Total	566,581	1,976	2,968	9,964	516,516	2,525	1,706	1,102,236
%	51.40	0.18	0.27	0.90	46.86	0.23	0.15	100.00

Toponyms

Many of the toponyms of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru.^[4]

The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage.^[4]

Notable residents

• Raul Geller (born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer

Gallery

• 
  Balconies and arcades at the main square in Cusco

See also

• Administrative divisions of Peru
• Machiguenga Communal Reserve
• Megantoni National Sanctuary
• Otishi National Park

Sources

1. "Gobernador Regional del Cusco". Gobierno Regional del Cusco. Gobierno Regional del Cusco. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
2. "Official page (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
3. inei.gob.pe Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007
4. "Decreto Supremo que aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley N° 29735, Ley que regula el uso, preservación, desarrollo, recuperación, fomento y difusión de las lenguas originarias del Perú, Decreto Supremo N° 004-2016-MC". Retrieved July 17, 2017.

External links

• Travelogue Cusco Region (Sacred Valley of the Incas)