Women and Alpacas, Cusco, Peru Poster

"Women and Alpacas in Cusco, Peru" by Catherine Sherman. Two women wearing traditional clothing lead alpacas on the streets of Cusco, Peru. Two lambs follow along. One woman carries a child in a manta, a blanket tied around her shoulders. The other woman carries goods in her manta. An alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid, likely descended from the vicuna. It resembles a small llama in appearance and is bred for its wool and for its meat. The women walk along a wall of the characteristic tight Inca stonework common in Cusco, a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. Another spelling is Cuzco. Cusco, sitting at an elevation of 11,200 feet (3,400 meters), is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. Its population is almost half a million people. Cusco was the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire. UNESCO named Cusco a World Heritage Site in 1983. It is designated as the Historical Capital of Peru by the Constitution of Peru. Two million people visit Cusco every year.