The crossroads of empires Sep 24, 2021

The crossroads of empires

Today, we"re 11,000 feet above sea level in the city of Cusco, in the Peruvian Andes. Cusco is considered the historical capital of Peru, a designation that"s even enshrined in the country"s constitution. The city served as a capital for the Incan Empire in the three centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

© sharptoyou/Shutterstock

palette

Today in History

Sep 24, 2018Mooncake time
Sep 24, 2019With leaves this tasty, who cares about a view?
Sep 24, 2020Till the cows come home
Sep 24, 2022National Public Lands Day
Sep 24, 2023World Rivers Day
Sep 24, 2024Skaftafell, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
Sep 24, 2025Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 20, 2018Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
Apr 26, 2022Landscape Architecture Month
Oct 12, 2021High tide at the walled city
Dec 13, 2018Iceland awaits the Yule Lads
Nov 1, 2018Celebrating the Day of the Dead
Mar 30, 2025Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Feb 18, 2020Too awesome to be a planet
Sep 26, 2024Blue-throated toucanet, Los Quetzales National Park, Costa Rica
Sep 15, 2023National Hispanic Heritage Month
Apr 19, 2018Craig Goch Dam in the Elan Valley of Wales
Dec 10, 2018Feeling crabby?
Sep 19, 2020Arrr, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day
Nov 1, 2024Native American Heritage Month
Dec 30, 2019Sky island views
Aug 15, 2023Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Jul 30, 2019A long, erratic commute
Aug 31, 2019Walk the line
Jun 3, 2018Travel Sunday: Liverpool
May 26, 2021Behold the blood moon
Jul 13, 2019Batten down the hatches
Oct 25, 2022 Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
Mar 4, 2023Mount Pico, Portugal
Aug 2, 2025Petroglyphs near Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Jul 26, 2020A path to access
Oct 17, 2025Rock River Falls, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Aug 23, 2018Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
May 21, 2022Albion Falls, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Apr 23, 2023World Book Day
Oct 19, 2020A cliff-hanging complex of temples
Jan 7, 2019An avian predator built for the snow