Discover the Wonders of Cusco, Peru: Top 10 Unforgettable Fun Facts to Ignite Your Wanderlust!

1. Terrace Kings

In case you were feeling "corny" about your gardening skills: the Incas were the original terrace kings, creating agricultural wonders on the slopes of the Andes in Peru. They cleverly utilized innovative irrigation methods to grow crops like potatoes, quinoa, and corn. Today, modern farmers in the Cusco region are going back to the "roots" and embracing these ancient agricultural practices to combat the effects of climate change.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

2. Puma Heart City

Whoever said "you can't teach an old city new tricks" clearly hasn't met Cusco, the feline-inspired heart-throb of Peru: Originally called Huacaypata during the Inca Empire, Cusco's cultural and spiritual center, the Plaza de Armas, was intentionally built to represent the heart of a Puma, giving the city its purr-fectly vibrant core.
Source => luminous-landscape.com

Did you know there's a park in Lima, Peru filled with over 150 cats? Discover how "Cats Park" became a feline paradise and how volunteers protect these furry residents! 🐾

=> Fun Facts about Lima-Peru

3. Solstice Dance Party

When the Solstice Strikes Back, the Incas take it as a perfect excuse to put on their dancing shoes and bust out their flutes: In Cusco, Peru, the vibrant Inti Raymi or "Festival of the Sun" is celebrated annually, gathering crowds who partake in traditional dances, delightful music, and a wonderfully reconstructed performance of age-old Inca rituals, all to give props to the much-awaited winter solstice.
Source => peruforless.com

4. Inca's Earthquake-Proof Walls

Much like an overbearing mother-in-law's seal on your marriage, the Inca walls of Cusco, Peru have no room for even a paper-thin wedge: Constructed without the use of mortar or cement, the stones fit together so perfectly that they're essentially immovable, earthquake-proof marvels of ancient engineering.
Source => thetravel.com

5. Twelve-Angled Rock Star

When the Inca stonemasons decided to rock and roll, they didn't hold back on the grooves: Cusco, Peru, is home to an architectural marvel known as the twelve-angled stone, a diorite rock formation with flawlessly finished edges and a complex, twelve-angled border, reflecting the Inca's construction prowess and classified as Cultural Heritage of the Nation of Peru.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Tetris Stone Fortress

Talk about a tight squeeze! If you've ever felt as snug as a bug in a rug, imagine being a humble sheet of paper trying to infiltrate the boulder buddies of Sacsayhuamán, an Inca fortress near Cusco: With a precision that would leave even the most skilled Tetris player green with envy, the stones used in the fortress' construction are so expertly cut and fitted together that not even a single sheet of paper can slide between many of them. Weighing as much as a herd of elephants (but don't worry, not as heavy as a Boeing 747), these massive stone blocks have withstood earthquakes, thanks to their tight formation, leaning walls, and rounded corners.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Climate Shuffle

Cusco, where Mother Nature got bored of consistency and turned the climate control to "shuffled": This Peruvian city boasts a diverse geography with mountains, rivers, and lagoons, resulting in a constant change of climates and microclimates that defy simple classification as subtropical highland and maritime.
Source => machupicchuterra.com

8. Cosmic Navel

If you're feeling lost in the cosmos, Cusco might just be the "center-good" you're looking for: As the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, it was believed to be the navel of the universe and the cosmologically central city, dotted with sacred spots and mystical lines believed to connect the Four Quarters of their known universe.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Taste the Cusco Rainbow

Feeling a sudden urge to taste the rainbow in Cusco, Peru? Brace yourselves for a colorful conquest on the flag front: Cusco's official flag features skittles-worthy stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, sky blue, blue, and violet, introduced by local radio station founder Raúl Montesinos Espejo in 1973 and proudly declared the city's emblem in 1978. While it may remind you of the Quechua people and Inca legacy, it's not an ancient artifact – in fact, there's no historical evidence for a similar Inca Empire flag!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Unyielding Grid Square

If you think your city grid system has a monopoly on awesome squares, you haven't seen anything yet: In Cusco's Ollantaytambo, the town layout was impressively arranged around la Plaza, complete with narrow wall streets and Inca masonry so unyielding it forced invading Spanish forces to retreat, later serving as a rebel base for the Incas under Manco Inca.
Source => unitedmice.com