ABSTRACT
The city of Cusco, Peru, rests in a lengthy valley, surrounded by grassy hillsides that take on a dry, brown color for much of the year. At an altitude of 10,565 feet, the air is crisp, the sun shines brilliantly, and puffy clouds appear to move with purpose across the deep blue sky. About 312,000 people live in this historically and culturally rich city-the seventh largest in Peru. Long ago, the Incas plotted the contours of Cusco in the shape of a puma, an animal revered in their culture. The Tullumayo River formed the spine of the puma and a hill overlooking the main plaza represented its head. The Incas referred to the city as the navel of the universe, and called the nearby fields irrigated by the Urubamba River the Sacred Valley. The indigenous, in their colorful, traditional clothing and speaking in their native tongue of Quechua, can still be found on almost every corner. The United Nations designated Cusco a World Heritage site in 1983, and this has encouraged its citizens to preserve and thus capture the city in a snapshot that reaches back to the colonial period. The visual impact is stunning. Terra cotta roofs line the valley floor and reach up the hillsides as if they are attempting an escape, or searching for a better view. Many of these building are of adobe construction, with strands of hay poking out from their walls. In the city center, they crowd narrow sidewalks that frame winding, cobbled streets.
