Is it Cusco or Cuzco?

When traveling through Peru and Cusco, you will notice a major difference: some people write "Cuzco" with a "Z" and others write "Cusco" with an "S." Why is this? Let’s dive into the history behind this culture to see whether it is Cuzco or Cusco.

The city of Cusco was the capital of a great empire, one of the largest in pre-Columbian America. In the time of the Incas, it was called "Qosqo," which means "navel of the world" in Quechua. When the Spaniards arrived in this city, they baptized it with the name "Cuzco."

Following the establishment of the Republic, the people of Cusco did not pronounce the "Z" sound as it is spoken in Spain, which led to the preference for spelling it with an "S" based on the following considerations: Etymologically, as a place name, Cusco derives from the Quechua word Qosqo. Since we, the people of Cusco, pronounce it Cusco and not Cuzco, the Provincial Council of the Municipality signed a decree on March 12, 1971, which was further supported by Ministerial Law 420-86-ED on July 9, 1986. For all these reasons, it is written and pronounced this way in Peru.

However, the truth is that both Cusco and Cuzco are valid. "Cusco" is preferred in Peru, while "Cuzco" is more widespread throughout the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, according to the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts (Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas).

There you have it! The great spelling mystery of whether it is Cuzco or Cusco solved. The next time you visit this city, you can surprise everyone with this knowledge.