Pachacuti Statue in Cusco, Peru Poster

"Pachacuti Statue in Cusco, Peru" by Catherine Sherman. A statue of the great Inca emperor Pachacuti stands in the Plaza de Armas, the main square of Cusco, Peru. He overlooks a hillside in this ancient Inca city. Pachacuti, Inca emperor from 1438 to 1471), was an empire builder who greatly expanded the Inca empire. He has been likened to Philip II of Macedonia. Similarly, his son Topa Inca Yupanqui is regarded as a counterpart of Philip’s son Alexander III the Great. Pachacuti first conquered various peoples in what is now southern Peru and then extended his power northwesterly to Quito, Ecuador. He is said to have devised the city plan adopted for his capital, Cusco, which is in southern Peru. Cusco, often spelled Cuzco, is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cusco Province. In 2013, the city had a population of 435,114. Located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 11,200 feet (3,400 metres). The site was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has become a major tourist destination, hosting nearly 2 million visitors a year. The Constitution of Peru designates it as the Historical Capital of Peru. Many people begin their journey to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco.