​​​​Lost Paradises - South America and Caribbean

PERU -  Cusco

Located in the south-eastern part of the Andes, Cuzco is Peru's main tourist destination and one of the most important in the Americas. Known by the Incas as the "home of gods", Cuzco became the capital of one of the largest pre-Columbian empires: the Tawantinsuyo. Its name in Quechua, Qosqo means "Navel of the world", which derives from when the city served as a hub for a vast network of roads interconnecting virtually the whole of South America, from the southern part of present-day Colombia to the northern part of what is now Argentina. Furthermore, Cuzco is also both a mestizo and colonial city, with splendid churches and manors built on foundations of elaborately carved stone.