Cusco Province is located in the southern highlands of Peru and is the smallest of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region. Its capital is Cusco, which is also the Historical Capital of Peru.[1]
It is bordered to the north by the provinces of Calca and Urubamba, to the east by the province of Quispicanchi, to the south by the province of Paruro, and to the west by the province of Anta. It has a population of 447,588 inhabitants.
Geography
Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:[2]
The province is divided into eight districts (Spanish: distritos, singular: distrito), each of which is headed by a mayor (alcalde). The districts, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
Cusco Province is administered by the Provincial Municipality of Cusco (Municipalidad Provincial del Cusco), which also administers the city of Cusco. Its current mayor is Luis Pantoja Calvo (2023–2026).
Ethnic groups
The province is inhabited by indigenous citizens of Quechua descent. Spanish is the language which the majority of the population (80.87%) learnt to speak in childhood, 18.22% of the residents started speaking using the Quechua language (2007 Peru Census).[4]
Archaeological sites
Some of the most important archaeological sites of the province are as follows: