Peru was the core homeland of the Inca Empire.
The Inca state developed in the central Andes, with its political and ceremonial center at Cusco in southeastern Peru. From this heartland, Inca rulers expanded Tawantinsuyu across a vast region of western South America, incorporating territory in modern Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and southwestern Colombia.
Peru was not the empire’s only territory, but it contained its central institutions: Cusco, the royal estates of the Sacred Valley, major roads, administrative centers, and many of the best-known archaeological sites. Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and Sacsayhuamán all lie within modern Peru.
A common mistake is to choose Chile or Ecuador because the empire extended deeply into those countries. Ecuador was especially important in the northern empire, and Atahualpa’s power base was there, but the Inca political homeland and imperial capital remained in the Peruvian Andes.