Department of Cuzco


Cusco, also spelled Cuzco, is a department in Peru. It is bordered by 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.

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi, barley and quinoa.

Provinces

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua, followed by Spanish. 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:

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 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.
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.

Gallery