Cusichaca River (possibly from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

''kusi'' delight, joy, happiness / merry, joyful, content, happy, ''chaka'' bridge, "joy bridge", or ''k'usi'' a cucurbit species, a small

zucchini Zucchini (; : ''zucchini'' or ''zucchinis''), courgette () or ''Cucurbita pepo'' is a summer squash, a Vine, vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and Fruit anatomy#Epicarp, epicarp (rind) are still soft a ...

or ''

Cucurbita pepo ''Cucurbita pepo'' is a cultivated plant of the genus ''Cucurbita''. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies ''Cucurbita pepo'' subsp. ''pepo'', called summer squash. It has b ...

'', "zucchini (or ''Cucurbita pepo'') bridge"), is a river in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

located in the

Cusco Region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth-largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno ...

, Urubamba Province, on the border of the districts

Machupicchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

and

Ollantaytambo Ollantaytambo () is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some by road northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. D ...

. Its waters flow to the Vilcanota River. Cusichaca River originates in the Vilcabamba mountain range east of the mountain

Salcantay Salcantay, Salkantay or Sallqantay (in Quechua languages, Quechua) is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th-hi ...

, south of the Paljay and southwest of the Huayanay. Its direction is mainly to the northeast along the villages Pampacahuana, Churo, Paucarcancha, Ranrapata and Incachimpa. Some of its little affluents are Llullucha River from the left and Churomayo and Quesjamayo from the right. Shortly before the Cusichaca River meets the Vilcanota River it flows along the archaeological site Patallacta. The confluence of the rivers is between the villages Qoriwayrachina and Pichanuyoc or Pinchaunuyoc. The Cusichaca valley is an archaeologically important region in Peru, significant for the evidence that it has provided of

Inca civilization The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fro ...

. It was an agriculturally important part of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

. The valley has been the subject of intensive archaeological study over many years under the direction of Dr. Ann Kendall O.B.E., of the Cusichaca Trust. Since its inception the trust has evolved and now also works with highland farming communities in the rehabilitation of abandoned systems of irrigation canals and agricultural terraces, along with the revitalization of other traditional technologies. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, numerou
archaeological volunteers
from Britain, Peru, North America and other countries worked on the Cusichaca Project and as a result it is one of the most comprehensively studied areas of Peru.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusichaca River Rivers of Peru Archaeological sites in the Department of Cusco Archaeological sites in Peru Rivers of the Department of Cusco qu:Kusichaka mayu

See also

References